Adam Downing, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent, demonstrates the process of loading the kiln to make charcoal out of ailanthus and walnut timber. While log length is not important except for ease of loading, logs/wood thickness is important. Pieces of similar diameter/thickness should be loaded to insure evenly charred pieces at the end of the burning process. Smaller diameter/thickness pieces combined with bigger pieces of wood will result in lower yields as as the smaller pieces burn up and leave ash and the larger pieces do not have time to completely char resulting in unfinished pieces , called “brands”.. The kiln should be loaded as tighlty as possible. The more wood that can be fit into the kiln, the greater the charcoal yield will be. Once the wood has turned into charcoal, it's necessary to close off the kiln. This involves starving the fire of oxygen. Sand is spread around the bottom barrel where the holes are located. The top barrel or afterburner is removed and the lid is secured on the bottom barrel which contains the charred wood. After everything has cooled the following day, the charcoal can be removed safely. It's best not to handle the pieces too much as they are very fragile and fall apart easily. Large chunks are preferred by most grillers for the simple fact of staying ontop of the charcoal grate in their grill. For more information on charcoal production, please visit this website: http://web1.cnre.vt.edu/forestry/char...