flame cap kiln innovations - small kilns

The Oregon Kiln

Neighbors get together to process woody debris in Oregon kilns. When full, each kiln yields about 1 cubic yard of biochar. 

Local cannabis growers turn stalks into biochar in an Oregon Kiln. Turning crop waste into biochar preserves minerals that the crop needs. Why pay for inputs more than once?

Wilson Biochar Associates designed the Oregon Kiln and this specialized trailer for easy loading and unloading of the 200 pound kilns. We can stack up to 6 kilns in the trailer in 2 stacks of three.

The original Ring of Fire kiln was developed by the Umpqua Biochar Education Team design group of Scott McKain, Den Morgan and Don Morrison. This kiln consists of a number of 4 foot sections of roofing steel bolted together in a ring.

This Ring of Fire is made of three sections of sheet steel with bent flanges so it easily clamps or bolts together.

Arborist Brandon Baron of Burns, Oregon made this kiln out of a 10,000 gallon water tank.

Derek Lowstuter of the North Dakota Forest Service had this kiln made from an old oil field tank. We are in a farm field  to process waste from dead shelterbelt trees.

Flame cap developing in the oil field tank kiln. The kiln has a capacity of 42 cubic yards or 8,483 gallons.

At the end of the day, we did not have enough water to quench this giant kiln. So we flipped it over (turtled it). Hence the name of this kiln - the Turtle Kiln. Excluding air, the fire will extinguish and cool, saving the biochar.

Meanwhile, in Utah, Darren McAvoy of Utah State is developing a new series of Big Box or BB kilns. There are two sizes, the larger BB16 and the smaller BB12. Darren reports: The 4 foot height of the BB12 is much more accessible to firefighters/operators. The double walled construction  of the BB12 makes it easier for firefighters to work near with the equipment. 

Loading the BB12 kiln with a mini-excavator.