iCan

Grass Tablet Biochar
4 cm Grass Tablets
Household Grill modified with an iCan reactor

The grass tablet biochar (pyrolytic carbon) shown above was made in an iCan TLUD
with a variable speed blower. This charcoal was air quenched and is thus bone dry.
When wet, it is very soft and can be formed to fit a variety of shapes. I have found, for
example, that grass tablet biochar saturated with cold water is effective at reducing the
pain of burns.

The following pages illustrate some of the ways the above biochar was made.
Note: Grass biochar will be ashy as grass has considerably more ash content that
wood

Grass tablets broken into short sections prior to being loaded into the fuel chamber of
the iCan reactor.
These tablets were made from field grass about 3 years ago in Shelburne, VT. Note
that the longest fibers are about the length of the diameter of the tablet. Shorter is
better.
These tablets are about 4 cm in diameter.

Download the attached Grass Tablet Biochar How To for detailed Reactor photographs and answers to questions posed to Jock by the stoves community.

Shop: Nike

A few more pictures to clarify how the Rim Fire iCan is built. It is quite simple.

Materials:

Jock Gill, May, 2011

Jock has updated his iCan instructions on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jockgill/sets/72157626640937954/

from Jock's email:

The triplets of triplets in the secondary air supply is a significant improvement.

The 18-12-6 iCan now has much greater total time with a very well behaved flame and an air fuel mixture that is lean to good for most of the run.
There are still several minutes of a too rich mixture that does emit some soot.

Run time on 350 grams was 27:45, most of the smoke was gone within 2 minutes, just two floaters, and the biochar had a good clean nose. This is about as good as I have gotten so far.

Jock Gill, April 2011
Peacham, Vermont, usa


My little iCan made from a 3 lbs Costco coffee can boiled 1.75 liters of water in 42 minutes this afternoon. Ambient temp was 47 [8.33C]. This was done in 5 batches averaging 350 ml each. A very clean burn. Some soot at the start of each batch when the water was cold. Just a soon as the water in the cup warmed up a bit, the soot stopped.

Of course I also made some biochar as well.

Fuel was a good quality wood pellet. Cost of fuel: about 17 cents assuming pellets at $230 per ton. They can be bought for a good deal less, but I am using a higher number to be safe.

Cost per liter boiled: ~ 7.4 cents, allowing 4 cents as the value of the biochar captured at the rate of 17.5% of the dry weight of the fuel.

Jock Gill, May 2010

With one can: I can make a stove I can cook a meal I can make biochar I can be carbon negative I can start to change the world

This iCan is made from a 7" tall pineapple juice canThis iCan is made from a 7" tall pineapple juice can

I took a 7" tall pineapple juice can, removed the contents, and then marked it thusly:

1. A line around the can 1/3 from the bottom --- this is the top of the fuel load

2. A line around the can 1/3 from the top -- this is the line for the secondary air holes

The middle section is for the wood gas buffer to insure pyrolysis, not combustion.

Next

Primary air supply for a 7" tall pineapple juice canPrimary air supply for a 7" tall pineapple juice can

Marked the bottom of the can off into 8 equal sections. I then used a nail set to make 8 equally spaced holes about half way between the outside of the can and its center. I made a 9th hole in the center. Not too big -- about 1/2 way down the small nail set shaft.

Then I used the line1/3 down from the top to locate the secondary air holes.
I made 8 equally spaced holes with the small nail punch and then used the the biggest punch to enlarge the holes to the full width of its shaft.

At this point I removed the top of the can completely. I left it on for the best structural integrity while I was punching holes.

Done. The All-in-One TLUD is complete. Very simple. Just 17 holes in the right places in one can.

More pictures, are also available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jockgill/sets/72157624142002304/
and click here for more story details: http://www.bioenergylists.org/node/2827

Jock Gill, March 2010

For pictures of the original, See Sweet 16, the student TLUD

The design of the two can Sweet 16 TLUD has evolved a bit. No more bricks. Added a focusing plate.

_DSC9858

Jock Gill Dragon - Early version of the iCan Teaching Stove

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