How to crush, grind, pulverise charcoal

[erich]

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Erich J. Knight

[Flapjack]

Hi Erich

 

Thank you for the advice but I have solved the problem for free. Only a few miles away I have found a company that imports and grades charcoal. Most of which comes from Brazil but not rainforest but from a Eucalyptus plantation. I get the really fine charcoal dust that is taken from the extractor scrubbers for free. They even bag it and put it into the car for me.

 

The results that I am seeing for the use of charcoal on Fuchsia species is very good.

[Fukudairafarm]

Hmm.... Charcoal.... Will it blend?

[Flapjack]

The powdered charcoal blends in fine with the potting compost, but I do not mind if there are larger pieces everything goes in. Unlike most of you guys I do most of my planting in plantpots. With my speciality being Fuchsia species, some do not tolerate our winters so have to be taken in to the greenhouses for protection

 

I am also try lumps of BBQ charcoal as crocks in the bottom of the pots.

 

Living in the city has its limitations as we are totally smoke free, so cannot burn anything. All the small branches are either shreded and composted or put in the green bin with the cardboard and compostable packaging that the council takes away for composting.

 

I volunteer my services to teach kids from 6-11 years garden science and conservation and I am looking forward to getting them to do some trials in the small science garden we have at the school

[Michaelangelica]

I thought this was a clever idea on pulverising charcoal from Roy Lent on the terrapreta list

He I got the idea originally from people using tumbling drums powered by water wheels to polish jasper and agate pebbles for jewellery use.

Here in Costa Rica we have a small company (Atlantis Energy S.A.) dedicated to the planting and cultivation of Jatropha curcas, principally to produce biodiesel. We are mostly planting on wet, slopes with worn out soils that were pasturage for cattle. I have always assumed that our soil management would include the advantages of terra preta.

 

The cultivation of Jatropha curcas should include considerable prunning and although these prunings would make poor fuel charcoal, they should be suitable for terra preta uses. Since I assume that the charcoal should be reduced as finely as possible to go in the soil, why not place it in a rolling drum with some rocks to be turned by a small water wheel?

[Michaelangelica]

OK Here is something to get the grey matter moving

 

On the TP list group there has been a discussion about whether it is necessary to grind Char at all.

 

One or two reckon the "wee beasties" will eventually grind it down for you ? ! /!/

 

What do you reckon?

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

What would you people do with out me....;) ( :) )

Here's what ya need to do first find an old clothes dryer (If you're like me you should already have one or two "spares" in your basement. You may have to get a comercial sized one if you're doin big loads) next remove the heating element (or burner), next plug the vent inside the drum, [optional line the drum with chicken wire or some other suitable grating material not only will it make the pulverising go quicker it will also make it quieter], lastly load your char plug the bugger in and turn it on.

 

Oh yeah one last thing you might want to disconect the blower:hihi:

[Folke Günther]

If the pieces not are so large that they hamper the garden cultivation, you dont have to do anything. The plant roots and worms do the job, plant roots by hunting for microorganism end prodcts and inserting carbohydrates in return, worms by hunting for microoganisms.

We put our charcoal on the surface. By that, they deter snails. The next time we cultivate the soil, the char pieces slips down into the soil.

[Michaelangelica]

. By that, they deter snails. The next time we cultivate the soil, the char pieces slips down into the soil.

i live at snail central. the snails and possum divide up anything that is edible in the garden between them

I also have a clothes dryer on its last legs

Which way to go?

I am a bit loathe to use my hard won char as mulch.

[Michaelangelica]

THE SECRET

Well the last of my charcoal chicken Mallee char i soaked in a witch's brew of sugar, kelp powder, manure, and a tough of soluble, acid fertiliser

Something grew and left a horrible smell and a white miscus on the top.

BUT

What I discovered when I emptied out the char from the "water" was that it was much easier to crush. You could do it underfoot. A bit easier in the mortar and pestle but you couldn't tell how fine it was because it was wet.

So would soaking in just plane water do the trick?

[Folke Günther]

acid fertiliser

Why do you use that? I think the base effect of char comes not from the char itself, but from the biological activity, and that is not favoured by the acidity

Something grew and left a horrible smell and a white miscus on the top.

BUT

What I discovered when I emptied out the char from the "water" was that it was much easier to crush. You could do it underfoot. A bit easier in the mortar and pestle but you couldn't tell how fine it was because it was wet.

So would soaking in just plane water do the trick?

 

I think it was the 'something' that broke up the char.

FG

[Michaelangelica]

Why do you use that? I think the base effect of char comes not from the char itself, but from the biological activity, and that is not favoured by the acidity

 

 

I think it was the 'something' that broke up the char.

FG

I have a lot of garden soil with a pH of 9 which I am trying to rectify.

[Philip Small]

I am progressing through larger and larger mortars and pestles. My current pestle is a small oak trunk section 3" x 6'. My mortar is a 2'x1.5' wide plastic bin with a plywood floor insert. Good for coarse crushing a cubic foot or two of charcoal at a time. For producing 50:50 fines:gravel size, it works well, but not quickly.

 

A soil laboratory sized hammer mill would be my first candidate for transitioning from the human-powered pestle ...

 

I went a different route this last weekend. After trying a cheap blender, and breaking it after running 3# of hard charcoal through it, I researched and decided on a small electric garden chipper/shredder. This is the McCulloch 14 amp chipper/shredder. It weighs 90#, and arrives Friday or so. I chose it specifically b/c it can discharge into a 5 gal bucket - all the other chippers discharge up and out - fine for wood chips, not for charcoal.

 

I'll still use the mortar/pestle + screen step to get the size down. I'll probably step the charcoal's moisture content up to control dust. I use a jar of water with holes punched in the lid to sprinkle water on the charcoal to keep it from getting too dry in storage.

[Philip Small]

...the McCulloch 14 amp chipper/shredder...

 

This is working out very nicely for me. By wetting up the charcoal, in combination with a cover for the bucket, the dust is well controlled. I especially appreciate the product's coarse grind: larger is more microhabitat friendly in my view. Output is about 3 liters per minute. Like I mentioned, I pretty much have to pre size the feedstock: anything larger than 2 cm has to be forced through the opening. The alternative is to remove the top piece but that is not per manuf specifications for use.

 

Anyway, I mixed it with equal parts good soil (easy inoculate) and chicken manure and mixed it into the fresh leaf pile, leaves donated by friends and neighbors. Biochar's compost quickening abilities are being called into service here. I am using a lot less charcoal than the 1% v/v reported in one of the IBI-1 presentations, but it's what I got.

[ceeray]

how about taking the rough charcoal and piling it on the driveway, then putting some lumber on it and driving over it back and forth a few times to at least break it down into some more manageable particle sizes

[mavrickjohn]

I tried most all of the grinding systems mentioned here. What I'm using now is a Maize grinder that I found in a local Mexican Supermarket. Its Cast Iron and very durable. I've been using Cowboy brand for my bio-char and I can take the material straight from the sack and hand feed it into the grinder with no trouble. It cranks out the material faster than any other way I've tried. The grind is adjustable and the unit cost between 35 and 40 dollars. Just take the hopper off when using it and use a blunt stick to pressure the pieces as you grind. I don't suggest using your fingers the auger is not very forgiving even though you are cranking the unit. Wearing gloves also helps as does a dust mask though The unit doesn't make all that much dust in the air it's best to be safe.

[froggy]

So does anyone have some suggestions?

I get it good and wet in a bucket and put it outside for a day in Wisconsin winter weather. Bring it in and repeat if necessary. Not rocket science, just cold hard science using the resources you got. It just so happens that one resource I got lots of is fridgid cold... when you get handed lemons, make some frozen lemonaide I say!