Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Primitive Technology: Making Charcoal in a Closed Pot”.
At the brick and tiled hut, Old cracked pot, ( 25 cm tall and wide ) Breaking wood, ( northern olive ) into small pieces. The wood is stacked in alternating layers into the pot. The pot is upturned onto a soil filled fire pit. It is pressed into the soil to stop air getting in A brick. Enclosure is built around it. A bit smaller than 50 cm diameter 2 layers tall 25 cm high.
A fire is lit on the pot Smoke evicts a mouse from the house. Fire is tipped into enclosure and wood added to stoke it Wood gas coming out of the crack burns on contact with the fire After 2hrs 30 min. I leave the fire to die down A couple of hours later I seal the crack with clay. The coals are doused The next day the bricks are taken off, Coals and ash are taken out. The result is good. Most of the wood has carbonized completely. The wood on top is fully carbonized, as it came in contact with the most heat, The wood that was touching the ground didn’t carbonize, though, as it was touching, the cold ground Charcoal on left under cooked wood on right, Charcoal is put on the heap for the Forge wood is set aside for fires At the creek collecting clay. The clay is dense enough and adequate for pottery Clay is dug and taken for processing clay tipped into levigation trench water is mixed with clay Clay slip is drained into collection, pit, The rocks and sand are left behind in the trench. Fine clay settles in the collection pit, Old bricks and potsherds are used to make grog. They are crushed into a powder. The clay is poured onto the grog The next day. The stiffened clay is mixed with the grog. The mixed clay spread out to dry, Forming the base of the pot Base is 50 cm in diameter. Trowel is pushed under pot to ensure it doesn’t stick to floor as it would crack, while drying Base is moved to prevent it. From sticking to floor Clay coils to form pot walls, Pot is measured, so it will fit in kiln, ( 50 cm diameter, ) Coil layers scrapped to ensure better joins Finished pot. ( 50 cm tall 50 cm wide ) Making lid Fire drying Pot and lid Pot into kiln Stacking pot with alternating layers of wood Clay seal is added to pot rim. Lid is pressed onto seal. A gap is left for gas to escape Roof tiles. Put on to protect from rain Fire by friction Fire placed in firebox of kiln, The pot was dried slowly, The next day another fire was lit and the proper firing began with the roof removed, A crack has appeared and wood gas is spewing out.
Wood gas is also shooting out of the hole in the seal. I stopped adding wood to the kiln and the pot is still shooting out flames. Multiple cracks have appeared and luminous flames now shoot out of them. I attempt to seal the cracks, but the heat won’t.
Allow the clay to stick. The pot fell apart, and I tried to douse the coals Most of the coals, reignited and burnt to ash. Some good charcoal was salvageable, though The broken pot was put on the grog heap for recycling. The kiln was rebuilt and covered for the next project, Probably best to continue with the mound, charcoal method for now, as it’s more efficient and less work, though, the retort method makes better quality charcoal .