How To Turn Manure Into Charcoal

How To Turn Manure Into Charcoal ENERGY Alternative Fuels You can make charcoal out of horse cattle or donkey manure in a modified 55-gal drum says Jeff Hoard Austin Nevada
     In less than an hour you can convert a 55-gal barrel into a charcoal kiln with just a hammer and a cold chisel says Hoard The manure charcoal looks and burns just like ordinary charcoal I burn it in our wood stove for home heat
    Here s how he does it
     First I chisel off the barrel s lid and straighten it out Then I pull out the 1/8-in lip which allows the lid to be put back later on without falling into the barrel I turn the barrel over and chisel about 20 sq in worth of vent holes into the bottom
     I like to use donkey manure because it s briquette size but horse and cattle manure or chunks of wood work fine too The first step is to put chunks of manure on a tarp to dry
     Once the manure is dry enough to burn I dig a hole about 4 in deep and a little bigger in diameter than the barrel Then I put 3 or 4 bricks inside the hole and place the barrel û open end up û on top of the bricks I put some paper and kindling into the barrel along with a few buckets of manure and light it Then I slowly add manure until the barrel is completely full
     As I fill the drum with manure the fire will fluctuate from a flame to a smolder but eventually it returns to a flame Once the fire is burning hot enough that it won t go out I cover the bottom of the barrel with loose dirt to restrict air flow leaving a 3 or 4-in gap Then I put the barrel lid on cockeyed so smoke can exit
     As the moisture burns off a thick white smoke will come out of the barrel After the smoke dies down some I use a 2 by 4 to smack the barrel a couple of times to settle the contents The white smoke will come back for a little while but I watch it carefully When the smoke turns to a transparent blue it s time to seal the barrel and let it cook
     First I cover the bottom of the barrel on the outside all the way with dirt Then I put the lid all the way on and cover it with dirt so the barrel is completely airtight After 24 hours I dump the barrel and screen the chunks from the ash
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jeff Hoard HM Ranch HC 61 P O Box 6108 Austin Nevada 89310 HMfgRanch@gmail com

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