Last weekend Josh and I moved the charcoal retort into Pop’s wood so that we could start to perfect our technique and use the oven to its best effect. I was a bit concerned that we would struggle to manoeuvre the bulky item through the trees up to the top of the wood, I am keen to tread as lightly as possible and so didn’t particularly want to have to make a track or hack down any trees. In the event the transit went remarkably well. We loaded the oven onto the log carrier and strapped it down. I had imagined having to set up the winch to gradually pull the whole load up the slope which would have been very slow but the decent sized wheels on the log carrier made the going relatively easy and after a trial push we realised that it was practicable to simply push it all the way. When I say “we” it really was a joint effort apart from when I filmed Josh on a short section. The laughter on the end of the short clip was me being amused by the bizarre sight of a large metal can rolling past in the middle of a wood.
The second burn started off in the rain so unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to spray paint the outside of the oven, this will have to wait until next time. Following the conclusion from the first firing that there was a cold spot at the bottom of the retort, I raised the floor to be level with the combustion tube using house bricks on the base. This should mean that the whole of the wood in the oven is exposed to sufficient heat to complete the process and turn to charcoal.
The wood gas phase of the second burn was a lot more enthusiastic than the first one with flames roaring out of the top of the chimney. This part of the burn is where the gas being driven off from the wood in the oven is sufficient to provide all the heat to keep the oven hot without the need to add any further fuel wood. This section lasted for approximately 40 minutes. Hopefully this bodes well for there being charcoal when I open it up later this weekend. 
Nettles are amazing. The plants are nowhere to be seen over the winter period and only show their heads towards the middle of spring but by now in June they are well into their stride. From not being visible they can easily reach heights of six foot and above and have a very healthy leaf growth in that 6 week period. They are the UK’s only common stinging plant and have entered literature with Aesop stating:
“Gently touch a nettle and it’ll sting you for your pains,
Grasp it as a lad of mettle and soft as silk remains”.
This may refer to the fact that if a nettle plant is grasped firmly rather than brushed against, it does not sting so readily, because the hairs are crushed down flat and do not penetrate the skin so easily. Go on give it a go and test out the theory!
As someone once said after being stung by a nettle on his private parts “Can you take away the pain but leave the swelling”.
Nettles are fascinating – more on them next time……
Tim Burr 