Western Australian Peppermint

Anything Wood Fire related (including what woods to use) pellet grills and pellets.
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chrisg
Posts: 782
Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:21 pm
Location: Perth WA

Western Australian Peppermint

Post by chrisg »

Have been taking down a big old WA Peppermint in the garden with a mate who is a professional tree lopper over the past two weekends.

The tress was getting way past its use by date, shedding limbs and huge amounts of dry leaves.

So now I have a considerable amount of timber all chainsawed into suitable rounds etc for drying and a stump that we may burn out but I'm thinking it will with some thought make quite the feature :)

Some of that timber I'll be using for an open pit fire once it has thoroughly dried, say a year, possibly longer, a lot of it is very old and hard centred.

But with that much I think it is worth setting up a charcoal drum.

My mate had never thought of it which surprised me given his profession but with the timber he can acquire in an average year we could have a steady supply of charcoal.

I haven't had the ability to make my own charcoal for a long time, not since living in South Australia when my metalworking maestro youngest brother put one together. There was hardly much point with only palm trees to work with but now I have the urge again.

I know it can be as simple as filling a drum with wood and building a fire around it but I think the local ordinances might frown on that so the two-drum method my bro used is preferred.

There's a good article here on how it is done:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Charcoal

My bro's rig was rather more elaborate with a hinged perforated door and a grate and ash raker but this should suffice, unless anyone has a better method to use in a back garden?

Either way I've plenty of time whilst the wood cures to plan it out, then, charcoal production :)

Talking to a bushie a few weeks back when this thought first came up knowing the tree was coming down he said this wood makes excellent charcoal, certainly looks like it, guess we'll find out :)

Well, step one, find some drums :)

Cheers
Smokey
Posts: 5958
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:47 pm
Location: Terranora- Tweed

Re: Western Australian Peppermint

Post by Smokey »

Peppermint Gum makes for great burning wood, It's no good for commercial production because of it severer surface checking and drying collapse and shrinkage.
But with a green density (GD) of about 1100kg m3 and an air dried density (ADD) of about 800 kg m3 , It's up there with some of the harder woods.
There are three main varietys
One , the eucalyptus radiata , who's leaves are used in soap making, perfumery and disinfectants.
Should make an excellent char.
The only method I used is the drum in the drum.
I used masses of dried bamboo to fuel the drum.
There are a few things missing from that how to.

1) knowing when the gas burns clean from the top and when the char starts white smoking, Time to shut down.
2) Stopping the fire ubruptly by covering the bottom with something like sand over a metal door.
3) the flame coming out of a cracked lid can be like an F 111 after burner with gums. Better to make a rudimentary flu to get a vortex going that can be tapped off once the gas stops burning with a pie tin.
Think ventury rockets, I know you know :wink:

I reckon if you split it up now , It will be ready to process by late spring or summer, pending your fire restriction seasons.
Just watch the white ants :|
If trees screamed when we cut them down, We wouldn't. If they screamed all the time we would.
http://www.aussiecue.com.au
chrisg
Posts: 782
Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:21 pm
Location: Perth WA

Re: Western Australian Peppermint

Post by chrisg »

:)

All good information Mick, I do recall when we were making charcoal in SA the vent temperature was definitely blowtorch hot.

White ants do concern me, WA is rife with them but the wood pile is on brick at the back of the garden and we checked some old pieces of wood down there, no sign.

Cheers
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