I use the two barrel method and burn two at a time. 30G drums aren't easy to find, you have to call many auto repair/mechanics to find them. Don't forget to burn off whatever was in your 55 and 30 G barrels before you burn.

I use oak firewood and stack it as tightly as possible on end. I keep my pieces 3-4" diameter max or you'll have an uneven burn. If you have oak rounds you can chunk them to 4"x4" pieces and that works very well. Try to keep it all uniform so you have an even burn - this is critical.

If you want to use large branches [I do anything 3"+] that will work, don't worry about the bark.

Also, use a high btu fuel like those mentioned above so the fire stays very hot and less fuel is needed...it can be a strain on your back having to bend over and feed the fire every 5 minutes for several hours. Stuff as much as you can in your kiln and keep it full to reduce cook time. My record is 3.5 hrs for a 85% burn - last was just about 4 hrs for a 100% burn - which is your goal. You can't just light this and take off to do chores or you'll add a lot of time and an element of danger with an unattended fire. This might seem obvious, just reiterating from my experiences flirting with disaster.

Bear in mind mulberry and osage both pop a lot, so if you're using either woods for kiln fuel be sure you're not in a field of tinder dry prairie grass. Also, you want a moderately windy day [10-15 MPH], with the kiln opening directly into the wind to catch as much O2 possible and burn hotter. This also prevents sparks from flying out of your kiln and igniting anything surrounding. Have a hose handy or several 5G buckets of water - I've needed them twice in my life or would have burned down the section.

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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