By Dr Paul Taylor, Russell Burnett and James Jenkinson. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

There are three configurations of the Kon-Tiki 1.2m production model now available for sale:

1-Cone on 3 legs (it easily tips over 2 of the legs) AUD$2090 (plus GST)

2-Cone with 3 legs and flatpacked lightweight galvanised 'quad' heat shield AUD$2300 (plus GST)

3-The Kon-Tiki 'Rolls'. Cone with a flatpacked cradle that easily tips on 4 removable heavy duty wheels on castors with brake for logistics  AUD$2590 (plus GST)

4-The Kon-Tiki 'Rolls'. Cone with a flatpacked cradle that easily tips on 4 removable heavy duty wheels on castors with brake for logistics and flatpacked lightweight galvanised 'quad' heat shield AUD$2800 (plus GST)

All cones are made from 3mm HW350 weathering steel. More configurations are also available eg.a larger Kon-Tiki 1.65m, or see below

The Kon-Tiki biochar kiln is the fastest, cleanest way to make substantial batches of biochar from local unprocessed biomass, and condition it for application.

The Kon-Tiki deep-cone flame-curtain process was developed by Dr Paul Taylor (author of 'The Biochar Revolution' book) and Hans-Peter Schmidt at the Ithaka Institute in Switzerland in 2014. In 2020 its use has been recorded in 80+ countries. The kiln was named Kon-Tiki after the Peruvian sun God, and inspired by the voyage of discovery of the Kon-Tiki raft Thor Heyerdahl sailed across the pacific.

1. Low cost, simple and elegant compared to other biochar production technologies.

2. Proven, high quality biochar – fulfills all conditions for the European Union Premium Certificate for biochar.

3. The natural vortex dynamic of the Kon-Tiki cone kiln supports an “air-curtain” and flame cap that pyrolyzes the feedstock, burns the smoke and protects the char.

4. The Kon-Tiki has tested lower air emissions compared to other low cost kilns.

5. Rim shield provides safety, and heat protection, as well as clean combustion and uniform biochar.

6. Low feedstock processing requirements compared to other technologies.

7. Accepts a range of feedstocks, including mixed feedstocks and higher moisture content feedstock, in sizes from small off-cuts, through hog fuel and limb wood up to 4ft in length and 6in diameter.

8. A high volume of biochar can be produced in a few hours (up to 1.5 cu yd batch size). The volume yield is about 45% and mass yield about 17%, comparable to other kilns and gasifiers that produce a high temperature biochar.

9. A 1.5" bottom drain allows flooding the kiln for a full, safe quench of the hot char. Hot quenching washes the char, reduces condensates (tar), and increases activity, pore volume and 
surface area.

10. Nutrient charging can be conveniently done during charring, quenching or post-production right in the kiln. Add, eg. sea minerals such as liquid kelp or SEA-90, molasses, blood and bone et al
    

11. The kiln comes complete with screwed legs or a sturdy tilting cradle (useful for the Kon-Tiki 1.65m) that allows the biochar to be easily tipped.

12. Quenching liquid and nutrients can be easily captured and recycled or used for multiple purposes. Can be done with an IBC and 12V water pump with battery, which can be charged from a solar panel
    

13. Agronomic trials show the Kon-Tiki system to be especially effective for improving crop yield.

14. Relatively little training required to safely and effectively use the Kon-Tiki.

15. Clean up your property, and enjoy the fire while making valuable biochar.

16. The Kon-Tiki provides about 300kW of heat from biochar production, which can be developed for other purposes (e.g. cooking, water purification, drying, distillation of essential oils etc.)

• Small property holders, farmers, Foresters, sawmill operators and others with readily available feedstock, stranded biomass.
• Landowners and agencies concerned with toxic water and land pollution and remediation.
• Gardeners, farmers, and community gardens seeking greater yield and healthier more nutrient density crops.
• Entrepreneurs seeking early entry into the biochar revolution and market.

Videos of Kon-Tiki operation Using the Kon-Tiki 1.65m kiln

Insructions
-Siphon the water from the rainwater tank into the IBC and add the liquid kelp and whatever else you want to activate/'hot charge' the biochar with
-Solar charge the battery from the solar panel before doing the burn
-connect all the irrigation lines and fittings. Note that the pump needs 1/2" to 1" socket (BSP) on the input/output connectors and 1" end connectors (BSP) on the rural line which will interface with a 1.5" to 1" (BSP) socket to the 1.5" ball valve connected to the 1.5" drain

-Make the biochar (see video links above)
-To quench the Kon-Tiki biochar kiln, connect the water pump to the battery to start pumping when the final layer of feedstock is added to the burn - it's a slow pump. Note that there is an arrow on the pump to illustrate the water flow direction. For the quench, this needs to be pointing towards the drain
-Pump until the water level is 1" below the upper rim of the kiln cone
-Push the biochar into the water (the back of a shovel works well) until there are are no more flames or burning biochar pieces
-Leave overnight then next morning pH adjust the quench water with food grade Phosphoric acid, measured with a pH meter eg.Digitech until pH=7 or customise pH for alkaline or acidic biochar which may be required for some soils/Permafert. Note that if too much acid is used, and the pH drops below 7, ash can be added to increase the pH.

-Leave for another 8 hours then drain the kiln...
-Do a quick flush of the drain then connect to water pump, this time in reverse and pump quench water back into the IBC ready for the next burn. This water mix now has 'smoke water' and could be used as a foliar spray

Shipping is additional cost. This is calculated before the order is confirmed.

Shipping to Australian customers only and no PO Boxes.

Tracking number and receipt will be provided.

Only Paypal payment accepted at this stage.

There will be Public Liability Insurance from the manufacturer of the Kon-Tiki biochar kiln.
The only product insurance is for manufacturing defects encountered in the first 15 days after delivery. This would include such things as, brackets falling off, welds that break, latches that don’t work. There is no 6 month or 12 month warranty. Reasonable after-sales support available.

Please contact me on the 'Contact' page for further information and/or an order form...