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Post by grunt on Feb 5, 2011 22:41:26 GMT -5
Another link, that will explain terminology to you, and give you another couple hundred hours of chasing and reading = www.bioenergylists.org/en/taxonomy/term/113 . Also had a brainstorm about using one of these stoves indoors = if you have a fireplace, set it up in the fireplace. Alternatively, if you don't have a fireplace but have a wood stove, erect a hood over the TLUD, and connect it to the chimney = should still have the same effect. I would, in either case, make sure to have a carbon monoxide alarm in place. |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Feb 6, 2011 8:49:50 GMT -5
Another link, that will explain terminology to you, and give you another couple hundred hours of chasing and reading = www.bioenergylists.org/en/taxonomy/term/113 . Also had a brainstorm about using one of these stoves indoors = if you have a fireplace, set it up in the fireplace. Alternatively, if you don't have a fireplace but have a wood stove, erect a hood over the TLUD, and connect it to the chimney = should still have the same effect. I would, in either case, make sure to have a carbon monoxide alarm in place. Thanks Dan! LOL That's all I need, something to spend time reading!  I will have to check it out though. We have a place called Saigon Sam's in town. It turns out that they have 2 portables that are available from their online store, both are under $10. One uses cannister fuel, the other uses... pellets I think? Anyhow, I do not believe either one qualifies as a TLUD. More a question there than a statement. saigonsamsmilitary.com/search.php?pg=1&stext=stove&sprice=&stype=&scat=I think we do have a carbon monoxide alarm. I know the smoke alarms work a charm! We do have a fireplace as well. Wouldn't the hood over the stove work sufficiently to draw the gases out? |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Feb 6, 2011 8:53:54 GMT -5
Dan! You'll never believe this, but I actually was on that link already! I've been working on digesting it for the last few days actually. I found it when I googled TLUD on an earlier suggestion. With your recommendation, I'll bookmark it for safe keeping. Pretty fascinating stuff, I just have to take it slow because it isn't the sort of thing I "absorb" well.
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Post by grunt on Feb 6, 2011 11:57:05 GMT -5
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Post by grunt on Feb 6, 2011 11:59:21 GMT -5
By the way, if you want to put in a link in quick reply, just type in the address = it converts it to a link automatically.
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Post by garnetmoth on Feb 8, 2011 22:59:12 GMT -5
Alrighty. Got a little impatient and made a tin can TLUD. its cooooooooooooooold out so I cant try it tonight. I would love it if it ran well on rabbit manure- its like using super grass pellets right? If that doesnt work well, the bunnies love to chew the bark off maple and sycamore twigs, and we have lots of barkless twig shards (if I remember to start collecting them and not just throwing them back in the yard)
Ill guess the twigs will give better biochar, but its worth a go.
I have a fairly dull hole punch that I barely use on paper because it leaves a bad edge, but it worked fine (if not a bit hard to pop thru) to make the top holes around the fuel chamber. The other holes I made with a nail, hammer, and big ones with a "churchkey" style bottle opener, and pinched the big center hole out of the bottom of a can with a pair of pliers after starting it with a nail.
If I have decent luck with these, I would like to send a few sets of instructions, hole punches, and churchkeys to my friend Salma in Pakistan. She is a farmer and says the area is energy poor. I suggested solar ovens but I dont have direct experience building them from cardboard, and after she'd read about them she was just a bit hesitant about trying to build tech I hadnt been successful with. (and honestly cardboard solar ovens arent super durable)
Should I start a new TLUD/Char Stove thread, or keep this here?
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Post by mnjrutherford on Feb 9, 2011 9:38:13 GMT -5
hmmm, good question... I vote that you start a new thread particularly if you can throw out some photos. Maybe some words about how you proceeded as well?
I would imagine bunny poo would work a wonder, but I would defer to the superior knowledge of others should they have a differing opinion.
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Post by grunt on Apr 1, 2011 17:54:48 GMT -5
Here's an example of biochar production This is what he burns:  This is how he lights it:  This is what he burns in:      Here's the address for the video = it's 14 minutes, and 93 Mb. www.youtube.com/embed/dqkWYM7rYpU |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 2, 2011 7:32:08 GMT -5
Excellent video Dan. Thanks for posting it. I'll have Mike give it a watch a bit later.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 13, 2011 6:50:56 GMT -5
The first sample from our pit has been received by the extension office testing center. The online "updater" shows the status as "In Process". From previous experience it should be about a week or so before results are posted and available for download. I'm really excited about this. I THINK my biggest soil issue here is nitrogen deficiency.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 14, 2011 6:30:33 GMT -5
Well folks, I got the soil sample results on the TP back today. Anybody wanna guess about the results? I'm gonna list out the items. I don't understand the numbers without comparing them to all the little pamphlets. But if any of you were in suspense about it, I won't keep you wondering: Soil Class - MIN HM% 0.18 W/V 0.96 CEC 63.9 BS% 100.0 (really? me??? 100% BS?  ;o) Ac 0.0 pH 8.7 (I'm thinking this isn't really great) P-I 833 K-I 799 Ca% 76.0 Mg% 18.0 Mn-I 291 Zn-I 1661 An-AI 1661 Cu-I 405 S-I 162 Na 0.9 Missing categories were not listed because there are no numbers shown. The only recommendation given was to add 1 lbs Nitrogen or EQUIV PER 1000 SQ FT. That is given the assumption on their part that I intended to plant general garden veg. In filling out the forms you have to say what you are planting and if you are planting a second crop. |
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Apr 14, 2011 8:29:45 GMT -5
Well folks, I got the soil sample results on the TP back today. pH 8.7 (I'm thinking this isn't really great) That's due to the ashes from burning. If you have a soil for which liming is recommended that could be a good thing. |
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Post by petitvilaincanard on Sept 8, 2012 11:49:03 GMT -5
On the net you find many talking about making biochar for saving the planet. Personally I think this is kind of scam. A better way to reduce dependency on fossil fuels is less car driving,smaller cars less heating,no airco,reducing the dependendy on industrial technologie(all hungry in fuels and polluting)as much as you can. All kind of engines are proposed for making biochar,from simple steel barrels to things looking like petrochemical plants. Hardly any attention is given to to simplest device you can imagine:the heap.However this is allmost the only disposition that don't need industrial input. This is very illustrating for the industrial deformation of modern thinking.Industrial input is considered as evident,allmost "natural". Even if the industrial disposition is more expensif,less efficient,and,everything count, more labourintensive it's the first thing people will think of. That's the modern industrial paradox:we want to create 'jobs'. ok,enough preaching now,I'm just trying out what's good for the soil and the plants.Yes,I'm saving the planet too,but that's just a side-effect.lol mainpoints of the method: 1 very slow smoldering of a heap 2 much clay and calcium incorporated sawdust from a local sawmill,woodashes  liquid mud from my mini claypit with quicklime  With some dry grass and dry weeds and sawdust,I build layers well sprinkled with liquid dirt and ashes roughly estimated 1/2 bucked dry ashes,1/2bucket dry quicklime,10 buckets sawdust,a cartain amount of dry plantmatter,maybe 4 buckets of dry clay, but that's very difficult to estimate in liquid form. The pole in the middle is meant as kind of chimney,the heap was quite wet inside.  the heap ready for start  After one day of smoldering  after allmost 3 days..  Then I lost a bit of my patience,I turned it over,there were still wet areas in it.Then it heated quite fast,it even heated a bit to hot to my taste.Then I stopped it with water And I ended with this heap of black stuff.charcoaldust wit blackened clay.In fact you don't really see that there is a lot of clay in it  an extreme closeup of the stuff  I don't know if I can put it in the garden directly For the moment I start to incorporate it in compostheaps to enrich it with life and nitrogen. That was it for the moment. |
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Post by oxbowfarm on Sept 8, 2012 13:04:10 GMT -5
What's the justification for using quicklime instead of plain lime? Lime is inert while quicklime is dangerously caustic. Wouldn't regular lime convert to quicklime inside the heap in any case?
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Post by petitvilaincanard on Sept 8, 2012 13:13:42 GMT -5
Well,the justification is that I had a leftover quicklime lying around  You're absolutely right.crushed limestone will do about the same thing.I just think it's rather the other way around :quicklime will convert to carbonate.CaO +CO2 --> CaCO3.But that's a guess You can even do it without lime,this is not essential for my experiment.But I think some calcium will be good. |
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I will have to check it out though. 
;o)
