13 replies to this topic

[jcow]

Does anyone know a british supplier of partially cabonised rye charcoal? I want to try making some cocoa powder. this site shows the recipe http://petelin.gozdi...coa powders.htm . Alternatively is there a british website where i can buy rye seeds? (i have plenty of growing space and im sure you get a lot of homemade charcoal per meter of growing space)

thanks

[fishy1]

i very much doubt anyone carries it, and if you grow it you'll need a fair amount of ground to grow it on.


(i have plenty of growing space and im sure you get a lot of homemade charcoal per meter of growing space)


from what i remember, you'll get maybe 2-3kg of rye plants off a square meter. to make it into straw, the weight will go down to maybe 800g . you'll get about 100g charcoal.

Edited by fishy1, 14 April 2006 - 05:38 PM.

[EnigmaticBiker]

Does anyone know a british supplier of partially cabonised rye charcoal? I want to try making some cocoa powder. this site shows the recipe http://petelin.gozdi...coa powders.htm . Alternatively is there a british website where i can buy rye seeds? (i have plenty of growing space and im sure you get a lot of homemade charcoal per meter of growing space)

thanks

You could look for wholefood/specialist seed suppliers and make it yourself, I suppose it depends on whether it needs the whole seed or the kernel used for food. Never tried this myself.

If you're looking for fast BP type that can be made without a mill etc. I had some success with cork.
Nice smell too (probably wasn't cooked enough).

[jcow]

You could look for wholefood/specialist seed suppliers and make it yourself, I suppose it depends on whether it needs the whole seed or the kernel used for food. Never tried this myself.

If you're looking for fast BP type that can be made without a mill etc. I had some success with cork.
Nice smell too (probably wasn't cooked enough).

i have'nt got a ball mill, so i'll try the cork method! The pub where i work has a large stash of used corks outside. im sure i could blag a handful
I might try the local health food store, they may sell rye seeds. Another possibilty is finding a field full of rye and 'borrowing' a few seeds.

one question, i know this isn't the correct thread for this, but how much faster does H3 burn than black powder? I have made some H3 using a pestle and mortar that burns much faster than my black powder. The H3 is also relitively cheap and it may be not worth making the cocoa powder if it burns at a similar speed to H3.

[pyrotrev]

I would reckon the best way of getting some rye straw would be:

1) Get a book on grasses etc. so you know what rye looks like
2) Wait a few months until the crops are up, then sklk around the countryside to locate a farmer who's growing some
3) Negotiate a bale or two of straw when he harvests.

Altrnatively if you have any friends who have horses/livestock they will probably know the numbers of local straw dealers - it's typically ?2.50 ..... ?5 per bale (~20Kg) around here, so you'd likely get a carrier bag full for free.

Edited by pyrotrev, 15 April 2006 - 11:09 AM.

[fishy1]

i have'nt got a ball mill, so i'll try the cork method! The pub where i work has a large stash of used corks outside. im sure i could blag a handful
I might try the local health food store, they may sell rye seeds. Another possibilty is finding a field full of rye and 'borrowing' a few seeds.

one question, i know this isn't the correct thread for this, but how much faster does H3 burn than black powder? I have made some H3 using a pestle and mortar that burns much faster than my black powder. The H3 is also relitively cheap and it may be not worth making the cocoa powder if it burns at a similar speed to H3.

H3 burns alot faster than blackpowder,.my balsa H3 will burn a meter in the blink of an eye.

[jcow]

I think most straw is barley or wheat, but i know some people who have livestock, so i'll ask them. there must be wild rye growing in meadows, so i'll try and find some. Growing some rye would be an good way of getting rid of my useless sodium nitrate fertiliser:)

My H3 made with charcoal briquettes (the only stuff i have at the moment) burns pretty fast. H3 made with proper charcoal must be impressive!

Edited by jcow, 16 April 2006 - 12:51 PM.

[pyrotrev]

Mind you cork charcoal's pretty good.... and it gives you an excuse to hang around pubs and drink more wine

Edited by pyrotrev, 17 April 2006 - 07:33 PM.

[fishy1]

Mind you cork charcoal's pretty good.... and it gives you an excuse to hang around pubs and drink more wine

From what I see, corks for wine are starting to be made of plastic, or worse, screw lids. Still get some real corks, but not all are.

[EnigmaticBiker]

From what I see, corks for wine are starting to be made of plastic, or worse, screw lids. Still get some real corks, but not all are.

Polyurethane wine cork charcoal, probably a first...

I've used non-varnished floor tile cork, and wine cork.
Fantastically low density, if I remember a litre volume weighs about 25g, thats what drew me to it as well as easily powdering. (Working on the idea that the porous nature of charcoal is the main factor in producing BP).

That was before the mill of course.

[littlejohny]

I've used non-varnished floor tile cork, and wine cork.
Fantastically low density, if I remember a litre volume weighs about 25g, thats what drew me to it as well as easily powdering. (Working on the idea that the porous nature of charcoal is the main factor in producing BP).

That was before the mill of course.

I just went and had a look at the density of my balsa charcoal "powdered" 25.2grams goes into 2.5 litres I am finding it impossible to CIA it in small quantity's, my problem is that I have to use too much water to keep it at a soupy consistency, any ideas

[fishy1]

I just went and had a look at the density of my balsa charcoal "powdered" 25.2grams goes into 2.5 litres I am finding it impossible to CIA it in small quantity's, my problem is that I have to use too much water to keep it at a soupy consistency, any ideas

i screen it in with perc, 3:1.

it burns nicely, if you wanna make a noise a gram of it in a tube will wake the neighbours.

[EnigmaticBiker]

I just went and had a look at the density of my balsa charcoal "powdered" 25.2grams goes into 2.5 litres I am finding it impossible to CIA it in small quantity's, my problem is that I have to use too much water to keep it at a soupy consistency, any ideas

Yep, similar problem with cork, when I was using it I used water/alcohol mix just ground and ground and ground and ground it until I had a well wetted paste which I very gently (~45 degC) warmed with more grinding until I had evaporated most of it.

Usually ~50g batches.

Couldn't think of an easy way round it I'm afraid, adding alcohol initially (50/50) seemed to wet the cork more easily.

[TzaRocket]

Is this BP whit rye charcoal that good?Because I have like 10 kg of rye home.I will try to make some tomorow...