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Crushing and Grading Charcoal
Lump charcoal comes in pieces from fingertip to fist size. A forge or a smelting furnace burns evenly only on pieces of one size, so the lumps are broken in a sack and sieved into grades. Bloomery smelters break it to about 2.5 cm and sift the fines out through a 1 cm (3/8 inch) mesh; the fines are kept for the furnace base, for insulation or for the garden.
Weigh each grade: the split tells you how much of a sack is usable at your size.
Beginner
About 1 hour per sack
Instructions
1
1
Choose the size
Choose the size
Decide the largest and smallest piece you want. For a bloomery: no larger than 2.5 cm and nothing smaller than 1 cm. A forge fire takes the same range or a little smaller.
Tools needed:
Tape Measure2
2
Damp the dust
Damp the dust
Work outdoors. Mist 2 kg of lump charcoal lightly with water to keep the dust down, and put on a dust mask, gloves and glasses.
Materials for this step:
Charcoal - Lump2 kg
Water0.1 literTools needed:
Water Spray Bottle
Dust Mask
Leather Work Gloves
Safety Glasses3
3
Break it in the sack
Break it in the sack
Put the charcoal in a burlap sack, fold the top over, lay it on hard ground and strike it with the wooden mallet. Turn the sack and feel the size through the cloth; stop while most pieces are still larger than you want, or it all turns to dust.
Tools needed:
Burlap Storage Sack
Wooden Mallet4
4
Sieve into grades
Sieve into grades
Sieve the lot through the coarse screen: what stays on it goes back in the sack. Sieve what passed through the 1 cm screen: what stays on top is your crushed charcoal, what falls through is fines.
Tools needed:
Sieve Set (Graded Mesh)
Metal Bucket5
5
Weigh the grades
Weigh the grades
Weigh the crushed charcoal and the fines. Write down the share of each: it is the sack's yield at your size.
Tools needed:
Weighing Scale6
6
Store dry
Store dry
Let damp charcoal dry in the air, then store each grade in its own lidded metal bin, labelled. Wet charcoal spits and burns cold.
Tools needed:
Metal Bucket with Lid7
7
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
Charcoal crushing troubleshooting.
Flow
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Tools Required
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