Has anyone made their own lump charcoal?

Hi all,

I completely forgot about a conversation my brother and I had a couple weeks ago, until today. I just got done buying a small turkey that I planned on smoking today. Well, I get home and noticed the empty bag of lump in the garage. I had forgot to get a new bag down since my last smoke (26lbs of bacon ) So I go up into the atic to check my winter reserve pile, empty! I'm out of charcoal

So, I unloaded the groceries and wondered how this happened. I thought I bought enough lump for my winter smoking? But I did get a new smoker this year, that's really insulated so much better than the previous modded SnPP. Oh well...I'll have to get more lump. Although it won't be today...I've got to get cookin'!

Then I remembered a conversation my brother and I had a couple of weeks ago. Has anyone here made their own lump charcoal? I've seen some instructions over at the NakedWhiz website. I was just wondering if anyone has tried it and what the results may have been.


thanks,
dan

My cousin has been making lump charcoal for years. It helps that he has a woodlot.

Knock down dead tree
Age for a year or so
Cut into manageable hunks with chain saw
Have a prepared pit (big) in the ground
Pile in the hunks
Apply fuel (we use recycled truck crankcase oil) and light
After fire is going well, cover with something like corrugated metal and dirt
Leave minimal air source
Let the thing smolder for a couple of days
Put the remains in 55-gallon drum

little500 wrote:My cousin has been making lump charcoal for years. It helps that he has a woodlot.

Apply fuel (we use recycled truck crankcase oil) and light

Hi,

No offense intended but, this does not seem to fit the concept.

Tim

Tim wrote:

little500 wrote:My cousin has been making lump charcoal for years. It helps that he has a woodlot.

Apply fuel (we use recycled truck crankcase oil) and light

Hi,

No offense intended but, this does not seem to fit the concept.

Tim

To which concept do you refer? The OP asked if any of us had made lump charcoal. Well, the answer is yes, we have. For personal use.

Assuming you object to the use of recycled oil, I would ask how you intend to ignite the wood without some sort of accelerant?

Commercial producers use above-ground kilns, but they start the fires using kerosene or other cheap fuels.

little500 wrote:My cousin has been making lump charcoal for years. It helps that he has a woodlot.

Knock down dead tree
Age for a year or so
Cut into manageable hunks with chain saw
Have a prepared pit (big) in the ground
Pile in the hunks
Apply fuel (we use recycled truck crankcase oil) and light
After fire is going well, cover with something like corrugated metal and dirt
Leave minimal air source
Let the thing smolder for a couple of days
Put the remains in 55-gallon drum

Ive often wondered how folks made their own lump charcoal, thanks for the basics on how its done.

Assuming you object to the use of recycled oil, I would ask how you intend to ignite the wood without some sort of accelerant?

If you want to stay "pure" you can start a wood fire with another wood fire (use pine logs and kindling).

Thanks everyone...I appreciate you taking the time to respond

Jim, you can take a look at the NakedWhiz for a how to make lump on a smaller scale too. Pretty interesting.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/makinglump.htm

dan

gonefishin wrote:Thanks everyone...I appreciate you taking the time to respond

Jim, you can take a look at the NakedWhiz for a how to make lump on a smaller scale too. Pretty interesting.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/makinglump.htm

dan

thanks dan, Ive been to NakedWhiz to look @ lump charcoal ratings, but never looked around enough to find that info on making it yourself.