BIOCHAR THE SIMPLE METHOD

[@gasonthebrain3738]

Hi John. Love your videos. I’m giving them all a like as I watch them. You deserve a few more subs. Maybe this comment will help too. I have a thought for you. There must be a lot of heat coming out of the drum. So why not build a simple stand and position another drum above it. It would need to be a drum with a removable lid, so you could fill it with smallish pieces of wood, put the lid on, and then position it above the lower drum where all the heat is coming from. A few slits cut in the downward facing section, with an angle grinder, would allow the gasses to escape, and after a while ,would probably catch fire and be self sustaining. If you placed it a reasonable height above the lower drum, you would still have plenty of room to feed the lower drum. You wouldn’t need to feed the top drum, it just cooks off the heat from the lower drum. You wouldn’t have to quench the top drum, not enough air will get in. It would just cool naturally. Have you heard of a wood gasifier. You can use the gas to power an internal combustion engine. I’m playing with them and a bit surprised you haven’t had a go yet. It’s sort of along the same lines as making charcoal using pyrolysis. All the best. Regards. Stephen. NZ

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks for the ideas. And thanks for your support. The wood gasifier I know a bit about my great grandfather in WW2 used to make charcoal to make gas for cars when petrol was rationed. And I have been aware of the technology since I was a kid. I have a way to go with the biochar and there is only so many hours in the day. I would like to explore all the options if I had time. One thing I did try before I was making KZbin video's is making ethanol. I built a still and successfully made ethanol. I think your idea of a drum above the burn drum has some merit well worth looking at. I have done the double drum method and its sort of similar in a way. Except you waste the wood in the outside drum. The principal is sort of the same except both drums would make char. I will give it some thought and see what I can come up with. John

[@georgemartin9618]

I'm going to convert my 45 gallon compost tumbler into one of these charcoal burners . The rotating tumbler is proving impossible to turn when loaded but they never tell you this in the videos. My tip for reducing smoke is to store the timber fuel alongside the barrel to preheat and drive off moisture. Obviously keeping a close watch in case it bursts into flames prematurely. This method is used in wood fired pizza ovens and works well in reducing smoke especially if you're using "green" timber. Thanks for all your excellent videos John .

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thats a good idea to dry the wood to reduce moisture smoke. You may have to have the wood away from the barrel a bit they get hot as hot. Thanks for watching and commenting. John

[@charlescoker7752]

Good Day John. For those who need a source of wood. Local Lumber yards / stores get a bunch wood pallets. Where I get mine. They give them away. And will load them for you. Just have to cut them to fit the barrel. They do have nails, and staples. A strong magnet will pull them out of the char.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thats a really good tip about the magnet. Its hard for me to conceive the idea of not having wood we have so much. If you live in a town I guess its hard to come by. I know here pallets are easy to get sometimes they are out the front of shops to give away. John

[@denisaugustine4478]

Enjoy watching your biochar videos. I have acquired a large barrel and have cut it as you showed and have gathered a large amount of wood to try. Only holdup is , living in Canada , it’s winter , and a bit cold outside and my compost piles are frozen, my outside water is shut off till spring and I believe the cold temperatures would be counterproductive in trying to reach the temps required for biochar. It’s another reason to look forward to spring I guess. I’d rather shovel biochar and dirt than snow , but beggars can’t be choosers as the saying goes. Being down under, I would expect it’s nice and warm now. Enjoy.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

We live in a fairly good climate where we are. We are in the tropics 2200 feet on top of a mountain range cooler than the coast and a lot less humidity. At the moment we have a cyclone predicted for Thursday afternoon 2 days time. I agree with you if its cold enough to freeze your compost piles I think its to cold. John

[@shaneward4461]

great video John , and to think i've been watching channels about making retort contraptions for two days before finding yours . cheers.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Yeah I saw a video on this idea done recently and it was my video with my filming re labelled and uploaded from a channel in India. Its hard to crack the algorithm that decides who gets recommended. John

[@carolewarner101]

Wow John, it's so refreshing to see that you can make such a simple version of a biochar "kiln" and still get great biochar! We have loads of branches we've cut off downed fir trees to deal with or they'll become fuel for the next forest fire that passes through. Most people in our area burn all that sort of thing in winter during the rains to get rid of it, but I MUCH prefer to use it to increate increased fertility in our garden than to treat it as a waste product to burn away. That or at least to chip it all up for garden paths. Great way to return all that fertility to the soil! Thanks man.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks for watching. John

[@theadventuresofzoomandbettie]

When I first found your channel I went back and watched all your biochar videos! Great to get an update!

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks Zoom and Bettie been doing it this way for 3 years now and haven’t found a better way. I need to crank up all 4 drums again I need a shipload to make fertilizer for next year. John

[@AttitudeAdjuster]

I really enjoyed the step-by-step nature of your system and what interests me is that I have recently become interested in making Bio Char but have not yet started, But I have watched the double barrel method which while Interesting has a low yield for the amount of material used and return. Your system allows such ease of operations while you can be doing many other jobs around the area with minimal supervision once the area is prepared which any of us who use fire as a tool are extremely good at setting up. Your yield is extremely high and your product is by far the highest usable material I have seen so I am keen to start producing here on our Farm for our Market Gardens which will start simply to supply us and family and increase Until we have a saleable product as an overflow. Given what we have witnessed over the last 3 years and our Constitutional rights being criminally removed I find that we must take over our Food security now, look at the facts that Government decides if you can work or not, and if your Government workers then you get paid, Public do not, now this is all criminal and no work means no money for mortgage or Food so before food becomes an issue we intend to take charge of our needs and our footprint. I Love that you have timber constantly being produced as we also do and people do not realize the need to clean house so to speak to manage those issues before fires come through, so it would be burned anyway as a management practice but using the process to expand fertility is a no brainer and using our stock which in our case is horses and Chickens makes biochar a potent weapon in soil life. I love the video John and thanks for sharing that wealth of knowledge that is so practical and makes the process cost effective as well as I can see real fun in it for you as you improve the farm around you to extend its versatility into the future. Cheers from Garry

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks Garry the first method I tried was the double drum top lit method. It worked no problems. But has some drawbacks it is labour intensive to prepare. You need two drums. The retort goes out when its finished because of lack of fuel and oxygen which you would think would be an advantage. The open drum method you put water on the char to put it out this adds a huge benefit, it cracks the char microscopically which makes fissures that increase the surface area of the char allowing better water retention more homes for beneficial microbes etc. Of course you must charge your char start saving your pee its a great source of natural urea. One mistake I see people do is put a lid on the drum thinking they need to limit the air this is a huge mistake and shows a misunderstanding of the process. John

[@rhondaavasalu7249]

I'd love to see how you add it to your garden and what the result is. Thank you, this was very informative and answered a lot of my questions.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

I have some video's on growing trials. John

[@ravikanthyella9361]

The most useful and inspiring vedio on KZbin for gardeners with biochar dreams. Love and respect from India gentle man.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thank you for watching my video I am slowly upscaling my biochar out put fertilizer is getting very expensive. John

[@HOMESTEAD_AUS]

Hey John that looked a great way to do the biochar..nice and clean..Amazing how the bark stays like that.Ive read a bit about how great it is over the years and will get around to making some one day once I convince Wayne to cut one of his precious 44s for me..might be waiting a while !Have a good night!

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

44s are easy to get up here. I have 4 of them cut like the one in the video and when I get up the energy I have them all going at once then I get a lot done in a day. John

[@steveriddell1937]

Once again Jon you have built quite an amazing life hope it continues for you untill you are ready to become bio char mate

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

I am still enjoying life and becoming biochar sounds alright but not yet. John

[@johncourtneidge]

Hurrah! I loved the original one too. The water dissolves the potash which is a good nutrient for the fruits of plants.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks for watching. John

[@vaughan7835]

Hey John. I've watched a whole heap of your videos on biochar. I think this is the best 1 I've seen! Short, sweet & straight to the point. You make it look so simple. I feel a fair bit more confident having a shot at it now. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. Oh, I might have to look into getting hold of some chickens too. 👌

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Making biochar is actually pretty strait forward. Man just makes it involved. John

[@dawidherculesjoubert2024]

Thankyou John Very interesting We are destined to walk this road here in Zimbabwe

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

@@dawidherculesjoubert2024 I think world wide we will have to rethink a lot of things. John

[@cazmarsh6395]

I loved it 🥰 we’ve been burning a big stump up the back for months and I going to use your ideas and make some bio chard myself 🥳 thank you for sharing your beautiful life with us

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks for watching and commenting. John

[@garyhaslam5735]

i think this method has to be the best because it is easy to control.great video john . stay safe and well. gary

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Yeah its easy alright I have been thinking about ways to improve on it but havn't come up with much. Stay safe and well. John

[@gbofus51]

Thank you sir for the information! f From Oklahoma!

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks very much for watching. John

[@johnboyle4062]

Great video Great results very Well burnt bio char Ireland calling thanks

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

G'day in Ireland Thanks for the support. John

[@alvarohernanduartehoyos8443]

Muy buen video.- desde Colombia. felicitaciones y gracias.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Very sorry I can only speak Australian. John

[@gasonthebrain3738]

He said, “Very good video-from Columbia. Congratulations and thanks.

[@michaelmorgan6154]

G'day, I've got a combustion heater I use as an outside heater. Works great, I keep all the coals out of it and charge them up with nutrients, comfrey tea etc. works wonders on the garden.👍🏻

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

We use the char left from the inside stove and do the same but we don't get enough out of just that. John

[@arthurblackwell9076]

I'll add a shroud made out of a couple of sheets of roofing iron to my drum so to keep a bit of warm air along the sides as Tassie can get cool and windy, afterwards the iron can then be dropped down to roll the char out onto .

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Good idea even here in Far North Queensland insulation would help. John

[@inyayardhomestead5693]

G'day mate, love this method nice and easy I give this a go at my new place at some stage. Thanks for sharing and God bless you guys. 🦘👍

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

It’s pretty easy all right I think it works better as time goes on unlike most fertilizer that stops working after a while. John

[@jacknanuq6119]

Great job. Love your videos

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks. and thanks for watching & commenting. John

[@LittleGardenBigDreams]

This is great John, thanks for sharing how you do it. I must try this xx Cathi xx

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Yeah Cathi works good. Hope it goes well for you. John

[@niallwildwoode7373]

TBH I'd been delaying making biochar for ages, paralysed by the idea of wasted heat and/or woodgas. But I had to shelve efficiency for now, as making the char is top priority. I've just made a burner like yours, so can spend more time on the drawing board to design one that'll also heat my workshop during the burn. Thanks for your videos.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Heating the workshop while you are making char sounds good. I have made a wood bbq along the same lines and I get some char each time I use it. John

[@jazzakahmapasa3620]

Hello John.... Am really interested in how you draining the water. I have been following your playlist of Biochar, so far so good, always inspired throughout. Keep up

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

I think you mean after the biochar is cooled. I take the bung out of the barrel or I put the hose in and run the water until the hose is full then turn it off and unhook the hose off the tap and put it on the ground and it syphons the water out. John

[@jazzakahmapasa3620]

@@farminglifeaustralia6716 Thanks alot for the reply. This is so helpful, i intend to do the exact approach. Much love from Malawi 🇲🇼🇲🇼🇲🇼.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

@@jazzakahmapasa3620 If you have any questions just message me. John

[@Aermydach]

1:52 Hahahahaha! Bloody larrikin! Also, added this invaluable gem to my biochar playlist!

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Used to be a young larrikin once. John

[@iikmubarakachmad3054]

fantastic job

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks for watching and commenting. John

[@manapools4x4safaris30]

Classic Aussie humour..nice one bud...

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks for watching. John

[@DownunderFarmandForge]

Nice method mate, never seen it done that way before. Have made charcoal with the jet method using the wood gas to feed back to the flames, but ended up with all the neighbors hanging over the fence to see what the noise was, not good in the suburbs.🤦‍♂️

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

It works great it’s easy a drum isn’t hard to get just cut the piece out of the drum with a grinder or plasma and off you go.

[@DownunderFarmandForge]

Farming Life Australia yeah looked dead simple, thanks for sharing

[@jonboyle326]

it great to see life as it is and an aussie

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Its how it is here anyway. John

[@heerahramrattan1777]

Hello Sir, when I saw your Chanel about making biochar, I went back saw all. Fantastic. I have a question, actually 2. Please can you tell me what kind of manure you mixed fresh or dry and how days after mixing you use it on the soil? Hope to have an answer. Thank you, from Mauritius.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

I mostly use cow hose and chicken whatever we have, and plenty of urine I leave it a minimum of 2 weeks, longer is better I also add a bit of watered down Molasses now days as well to feed the micro organisms until they are well established. Even if you dont charge the char with anything it will eventually work. If you don't charge it it will suck all the nutrient out of the soil until it gets working you will get a negative effect because of no nutrients for the plants until it gets charged. Once it has been in the soil for a while it will get better with no added inputs. John

[@faizalmohd9536]

Why didn't you put a lid to cover the opening? It will further reduce the oxygen intake?

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Its hard to get your head around but with this system that's the last thing you want to do. John

[@ClickinChicken]

i can turn my broken well psi tank into one next! Hope your finger lighter works! *laugh trouble is it's a lot smaller.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Yes you can make a kiln out of any drum shaped thing. Thanks for watching and commenting. John

[@devriescustomleather1109]

Good John

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks for watching and commenting. John

[@kevinstory872]

i will over feed my grill with wood for a bbq and at the end i will drop all the coals in a bucket of water. i bbq a lot.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

I save all the char and ash from my wood stove as well as the BBQ. John

[@steveriddell1937]

Nothing worse than wet fingers when your Tring to get them to light or when you get to our age arthritis

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

One thing I have been lucky with is no arthritis in the fingers. The rest of me has it but my hands are ok which is surprising because I have given them a hell of a hiding. I play a couple of stringed instruments weather that has helped I don't know. Anyway so far so good. John

[@bobkernahan6340]

From what I've heard it is char until you inoculate it with compost or nutrients and then it is biochar

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

It depends on who you talk to. The finished product inoculated and ready to use is considered biochar but the way its made by most is important if its considered biochar. At the end of the day as long as your garden grows better and you don't destroy the environment in the process its all good. John

[@billiev8705]

I had to look up what on earth a "chook" was... For those who are as poorly versed in Australian English as I am: it's a chicken. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Duh. (In my defense: I am not a native speaker of English, and I learned most of my English in the US. 😬)

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Yeah we have quite a few words that are a bit different Australians are big on slang. We dont have much trouble with American because of TV. John

[@paulopaixao611]

Brasil 👍👏

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Thanks for watching. John

[@terrymacleod6882]

i thought they were 45 gallon, lol.

[@farminglifeaustralia6716]

Ok I have just always known them as 44's. What a gallon between friends. Stay safe. John