HeavyG said:

Yeah but for the price of a whole bag of RO you would only get one piece of that charcoal.

Plus the Royal Oak comes with stones. Buy enough bags and you can build your own kiln and save even more money.

Cool process- would be interested to hear @stlcharcoal take on this one

why don't we typically see this level of carbonization in production charcoal in the US? I assume one main difference in the process is we use wood scraps?

@stlcharcoal   Enlighten us further on this topic. 

@stlcharcoal ... would you guess that this true Binchotan or the Royal Oak of Binchotan?

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Style-Charcoal-Bincho-Zumi/dp/B00131T8BC

Not a bad price ... $230 for 20 pounds ... with free shipping.

That is Japanese Style not the real thing.

Try this website. Under $8 a pound. http://korin.com/Grillware_2/binchotan_accessories_2

@jeepster47 This price was not even close to my range for lump so I didn't bother to check the shipping cost. They are located in NY. Shipping/handling cost to PA is $18.53.

stlcharcoal said:

Three letters.........   E     P    A    (or DNR)   See the smoke?  That's why.

Also, see the one guy have to monitor & adjust that little kiln for four days to end up with *maybe* a pallet's worth of charcoal??  You're looking at hundreds of dollars a bag easy for that small of a load because of the manual labor involved.  No loaders, conveyors, afterburners, manifolds, workman's comp insurance, government oversight, etc in that hut.

Cool stuff, but it would be ungodly expensive to produce here in any kind of quantity.

So you make charcoal without smoke?  Do EPA regulations actually prevent you from removing all the VOCs from charcoal?  Do tell!!!

Seriously, we have technology.

@HeavyG ... you'd be surprised then. 

As pertains to personal space ... the person, the house, auto, street in front ... they were, on average, head and shoulders ahead of the States for cleanliness and order.  Never saw a Bubba house with yard cars and a washing machine on the front porch.  But, as to the government enacting stringent California style regs ... not apparent from the environmental conditions we saw on a daily basis.

Although the image of Japan is one of over crowding, once you get away from the rail lines, most of the countryside is not that populated.  It would be easy to set up a small kiln type operation with few complaints from the neighbors.  And, because of the long tradition of charcoal cooking and heating in the home, much would be overlooked.

Jeepster47 said:

@HeavyG ... you'd be surprised then. 

As pertains to personal space ... the person, the house, auto, street in front ... they were, on average, head and shoulders ahead of the States for cleanliness and order.  Never saw a Bubba house with yard cars and a washing machine on the front porch.  But, as to the government enacting stringent California style regs ... not apparent from the environmental conditions we saw on a daily basis.

Although the image of Japan is one of over crowding, once you get away from the rail lines, most of the countryside is not that populated.  It would be easy to set up a small kiln type operation with few complaints from the neighbors.  And, because of the long tradition of charcoal cooking and heating in the home, much would be overlooked.

I lived in Japan for four years so I'm quite familiar with the country.

Yes, much of the country is fairly rural and the population density isn't all that high in many parts. Even so, Japan is a fairly compact country that is smaller in area than California yet has about 3+ times the population of Cali. So, there is Japan rural and there is US rural.

I would agree that given Japan's reverence for traditional skills/activities that binchotan production would likely get a pass from most emissions rules.

Jeepster47 said:

@HeavyG ... where in Japan?

Mostly around Atsugi & Sagamihara.

Pretty cool clip! @HeavyG He's lucky he's not trying to market that stuff...some folks in this crowd would bi+ch and moan that the pieces were too small.