Biochar Experiment Pit Method

This video is about trying an experiment with the pit method to produce char.

[@theadventuresofzoomandbettie]

Interesting to experiment with the different methods. You never know until you try it, really.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Yes you never know if you don't have a go. John

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

For larger stuff you need to set it up in a mounded pile, cover with soil to limit air access, light it then choke it down like the old charcoal burners did in England pre coal days for iron making. I was lucky enough to visit the Weald and Downland Museum near Singleton in the Old Dart a good few years ago where they had a set-up like this amongst their "how it was done in the old days" re-enactments. Glad I didn't leave such things till I retired!

[@Michael-vp4zt]

Sounds like the way to go. I was watching a video from South America and they would build a bonfire then pile dirt on and leave it for 3 days.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

I am aware of the old way of making charcoal in a mound with a very cold burn I think for me having to tend it day and night until the big logs burnt would be a bit much I like my bed of a night to much. John

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@farminglifeaustralia6716 You see that m'Lud of Buckingham! You just can't get good peasants these days! :D

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

@@theoztreecrasher2647 Yes you are right peasants good or bad are hard to come by. John

[@KAKALaundryKh]

1 Like. Great job 👍 happy working 👍👍🙏🙏

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks Garden Creator Life. John

[@Michael-vp4zt]

Good experiment. The bigger stuff is a problem you might need to think about, I'm sure you'll work out a way.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Well at the least I got some char it wasn't a failure I just like the simple method with the drum a lot better. As far as the big stuff I could make it smaller but I would be there for years I have that much of it. John

[@garyhaslam5735]

i think your right john .small is better you have more control .thank's for taking the time to film and post .stay well. gary

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

It did work but I don't think its my cup of tea and a pit for the home gardener would be impractical. John

[@Bernie5172]

Great project mate .

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

It was a bit of fun. John

[@graytell1]

Forgive me if this has already been mentioned I was watching this during my lunch time. When you were building this using the loader I was wondering how you would even out the heaps of soil so there was less turbulence of the airflow from the breeze flowing over the fire, This turbulence will force the unburnt gasses up and allow oxygen in onto the wood surface. For this reason I think the pit idea is a better option so the air turbulence is minimized.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Ok thanks for that. John

[@braderstvariderslife6453]

very interesting

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks for watching and commenting I will check out your channel

[@charlescoker7752]

Good Day. John. Looks like some good dirt! It gets so hot in Louisiana. You can put all the compost you want to add. And by the next season. Its all gone. I hope the Char will make my soil better. Seems the pit allows to much air to get to the fire. Seems I remember the Amazonian got the fire going. And covered it up with dirt.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Yes a lot of people world wide have made charcoal by building a big pile and covering it with dirt and grass to restrict the air but you get a very cold burn and a lot more smoke and impurities and its really slow. All round for me I think the barrel method is the easiest and simple way. to me making the char is easy its the getting it charged and crushed etc that takes the effort. John

[@petek55]

cheers mate !

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

G'day Pete Kreft. John

[@braidenforest-weaver4274]

Mate you're so close to being able to make Bio-char on that larger scale that you're trying to do. The one thing that I've struggled with in the past, making it myself, is that you need a HEAP of water to be able to really quench the red-hot coals. Once that fires really roaring, and you keep stacking more and more wood on, you need a way to rapidly quench the coals, otherwise it reduces to ashes, or just keeps burning cause of how much power the fire can have. Hope this helps! Bio-char is such a fantastic thing to incorporate into the soil profile.

[@braidenforest-weaver4274]

it's like if you made a pit that was lined with clay so as to be water proof, you could dump a heap of water into the pit and submerge the red hot coals. In the process you've made 'activated charcoal' like they sell in the health food stores. Cracking the cells of the carbon by rapidly changing the temperature of the carbon by submerging in water is the real proof of quality Char. It's that pore space that's created in all the microscopic cracks that is like a home for the microbes, holds onto nutrients and is reasonably absorbent of water. Not all chars are created equal ;) The people who made Terra Preta understood this. Earth wisdom, ancient techniques....

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

That's why I used a one thousand litre tank to quench the fir instead of a hose I don't have any other way to put a heap of water on quickly. Thanks for watching and commenting. John

[@Trapezius8oblique]

Hi John what is the name of your grass there ? What are the different grasses you use on your property ?

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

The grass we have the most of is called braci decumbens or the common name signal grass we planted it nearly 20 years ago. John

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

Steer clear of that comment with the triangular atavar John! That's another iteration of those SOB Bots again!

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

I figured that I have started to attract a few of them lately. John

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@farminglifeaustralia6716 Not only you John. They are everywhere! Well I guess the kids in the cities have to find something unuseful to do now that they're locked up inside and can't go out stealing cars. :(

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

@@theoztreecrasher2647 I don't know who or whats behind it I don't get what they get out of it. John

[@DownunderFarmandForge]

Yeah not a fan of this method mate, prefer your drum or a retort method. Other thing is when you use the soil to hold the burn, you are burning the goodies out and sterilizing the soil closest to the fire. You end up needing to replace that biota with rotting matter and time.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

No its crap I only tried it because in my comments a couple of people said the drum was a waste of time making it in the ground was better. I don't know if they tried the drum if they did and followed the method I am sure they would change their mind. John

[@DownunderFarmandForge]

Farming Life Australia lol gotta love armchair experts, taking the old slow burn colliers method, mixing with modern fast burn and you get bad results. If I ever get hold of a spare drum will be trying your drum burn, I can do retort style in a firepit with a paint tin in the back yard which makes that handy for me. I would love to try and set up a retort with a pine tar collection tank included in the off gas line, I think that would be a cool experiment. But I somehow think the neighbours might complain at that set up running in my backyard 🤣😂🤣