BioCharlie Make Biochar in Your Fireplace Let Your Fireplace Go Green Tonight with This Hand Crafted Fireplace Accessory

I am a gardener and have wanted to make my own biochar for a while now, this was a great deal to me. I was at the mother earth news festival and went to listen to an author talk about biochar. I found out cardboard, nut shells, anything that was once alive of the plant nature can be made into biochar. With that knowledge and this product, I am off to making my own biochar. Also when you put biochar in the ground it takes excess carbon from the air for 1000 years. Maybe not reversing the green house gas effect but slowing it down. : )

This product was really fun to use, but I had some problems with it. First, the black paint would chip off after each burn. It was really annoying. Not sure why they had to paint it black to begin with? Also, this product only lasted me maybe 12 fires until it started developing holes. I didn't have the fires THAT hot, but they were still hot wood fires... The metal could be a little thicker gauge. Was fun while it lasted, but a little pricey for only lasting 12 burns.

You really need to balance the value of creating some biochar against the damage you do by allowing the byproducts of producing the biochar to enter the atmosphere. This device is probably illegal in many states that mandate only efficient woodstoves be used. Incomplete combustion, which is what this device does to produce the biochar, produces far more air pollution than burning the wood efficiently. You would probably be better off buying some natural lump charcoal from a responsible producer that controls the emission from their charcoal making operations.

I got the Biocharlie and just LOVE it to amend my soil and help my plants, trees, organic veg garden to be able to absorb more nutrient and the great thing is you don't have to replenish this because it will last for hundreds of years. (Look up biochar on youtube for excellent how-to info on how great it is for your plants). I make biochar with the BioCharlie every night in my woodstove using old bones and pinecones which we have an abundance of and are free, but I have a challenge that I hope someone out there can tell me how to fix. The end keeps falls off some mornings when I try to remove it from the stove and all my bio char falls into the fire. I am not talking about the end with the handle on it, but the other end. I try to be careful when lifting it out, but it is difficult when it is so hot. Does anyone know how to keep the other end on so I won't lose all my biochar every morning? It is not fun finding and digging my spilled biochar out of the hot ashes and fire. I am concerned that if I weld that end on, that there wont be enough openings for the gasses to escape which is very important. Any Biochar experts out there who know this answer? Thank you PS: I am not complaining as this is a fabulous tough little unit ready made and to make something yourself takes some technical know-how and some time as you can see if you go on youtube for other ways to make biochar.

Makes biochar (charcoal) in the fireplace while you enjoy and an evening winter fire. The volatile gases given off are fuel for the fire as well. This is perfect for the fireplace or outdoor fire pit. A large retort would get the job done faster, but we can't do that here in the 'burbs', so this is a good alternative. Great for those vines and bits that are too small for the fireplace, but not suitable for the compost heap (vines and palm frond stems especially).

Worked good the first few times. Handle broke after the 4th use. Overall not to happy.

Received this yesterday. It was a nice day so decided to build a fire in our outside pit. Filled BioCharlie with oak twigs and walnut shells and set underneath the logs I was burning. Just now retrieved from pit and opened (24 hours later) and I have about half a gallon of biochar. I am happy with this product. I don't have to worry about what to do with walnut shells, they are now just carbon and won't harm my garden.

Works exactly the way it's advertised. Couldn't be any easier to use in my wood burning fireplace. This will definitely save money and I can make as much as I want, when I want. Thanks for one of the greenest ideas I have seen, my garden loves you!