Bonjour Pierre,
Thanks for posting a most interesting video. I’ll never moan about spending 20 bucks for a pickaxe again.
They party at the end, they deserve it. There was a funny moment when the narrator mentioned some of the men get a tool from China, now.
Pepe
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That’s a better idea than I had. A bellows was what came to mind lol
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Hi all,
Another really good old topic to bring forward.
Look back through the pictures of how some were/are woodgas system sucking/blowing.
I celebrate today because I found another Thrift Store all metal vacuum that can be adapted over. My #5 now. Did not wait for the Old-Man half-off sale-day this time. My overall cost for all five has been $100. usd.
A few years ago, I changed over to the Mike LaRosa - Tom Collins - Kevin - BobMac all metals vacuums adapts to suck her quick, and hard, Up-to-HOT system approach:
These one 7 amps at 120vac = 840 watts for 3-5 minutes.
Versus previously 178 watt 12vdc for 15-20 minutes. Sometimes even taking 30 minutes.
For far less early tars and soots made. A Win-win.
Regards
Steve Unruh
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Hi Troy
Can you please share Amtek blowers part number and specification of the blower?
Hariprasad
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Another great post that has saved me time and a possible burned out fan.
I did wonder why everyone pulls and risks the heat and dirt in the fan.
In my waste oil burners that Ive made for years, https://youtu.be/A-KYIjcucrY you have to blow so Im a fan - lol. pun intended
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Well dont follow my advice here. Those pumps dont work, they proved to burn up fairly quickly. This is just where I was at in my journey through all this.
I now only use and will only use Ametek lamb blowers. You can run the gas through them and they can tollerate some tar. Or they are powerful enough you can create venturi type ejector with them. I run the gas straight thru them.
They run on either AC or DC but are wound for AC. So you need to use higher voltage if running DC. 48 volts is plenty. These blowers are extremely powerful and have an isolated motor / housing. So they aer very tough.
Brand is Ameteck Lamb and yes you can get the 220 volt counterpart or our 110 volt standard. Just look up Ametek Lamb on Amazon and choose what will work best for you. But dont waste you money on those smog pumps; they can not handle the corrosive gases of a gasifier.
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Ive got a small selection of bilge blowers and an all steel forge blower, plus I have a Kirby and a Telus vacuum cleaner that I can try.
What got me fired up is that you used positive pressure with success. Ive not seen anyone doing that. what are your current thoughts on push vs pull?
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Pusher blowers can work just fine, you could use a 3 way valve to redirect gasses before the filter when starting up so you can judge when the gas will ignite readily.
You should be able to ignite woodgas or charcoal gas with a flint striker like you’d use on an oxy torch.
You could also use a strong pusher blower like Matt says and turn it into an ejector, making a venturi to suck on the gasifier.
A simple fire/updraft charcoal unit might not like a pusher blower, but don’t quote me on that.
Ideally you could run a suction blower after your cooler, that would protect it from any heat.
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Never ever push always pull
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Welcome to the DOW StuieG.
I did read over your stoves site.
Good job on the mini-systems man. Good advices to users.
Therein is the difference, IMHO: between blowing for combustion and flow; versus sucking for gasification and flows.
In combustion for heat and as in blacksmithing or foundry work you want competed combustion. Over airing (oxygen and nitrogen supplying) actually deteriotes the equipment and even contaminates the desired processes.
In gasification conversion by sucking the system then over-airing can be controlled and not burning up internally the intended energized fuel gases. Other advantages too. The CO fuel gas is toxic. Sucking will pull leakages back in to be safer. Cumulative; or gross air-in leakages readily apparent in weak fuel gas quality.
Cody I am not saying many do not blow their gasifier systems. But the real world using Practical are only doing this to heat up from cold their systems. THEN using the IC engine fuel gas supplied reverting the system to sucking. The intent being to make fuel gasses for combustion engines to make shafts power.
Or course the Lab-Jonny’s blowing continuously for reformation usages of the produced gases are a whole different class of usages. Ha! Ha! A Lab kaboom is relatively minor. Large, scaled up, as in industrial output refiners after the-mistake; comes the big KABOOM!! Then days of fire. And toxic smokes.
Regards
Steve unruh
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another good point! thanks so much
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Why do you say that Matt?
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Advantages of pusher blower: you are able open the fuel bin lid, to push stean/moisture out that way “for a dryer start”.
You can have a valve before your filter, to let start-up gasses out that way, not wetting your filter, when gas is good and dry, close the valve, open secondary air, and push gas up to engine.
Due to pressurized system it can be used to find leaks.
Disadvantages: pressurized system, risk of leaks.
Harder to light the gasifier “through the nozzles”.
Possible excess air pushed into the system?
Advantages of suction blower: no pressure in the system.
Easy to light, just “suck some fire” into the nozzles (depends on gasifier construction).
Disadvantages: harder to by-pass a fabric/hot filter, if you want to get gas all the way up to engine, for easy start, /avoiding liquid fuel start totally, often 2 suction blowers are a solution, or just move your blower up front when gas is ready/ or use it to push gas up front.
Just some thinking from me, as im in to decide how i want the blower on my new build.
Very likely a suction blower. Maybe? 
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Let me just add to what Goran has sayd regarding pusher blowers.
Pushing air in will heat the gasifier much faster with the same performanxe blower because there is much less volume of air going in that gas going out.
Blower stays clean and cool.
No problems with sealing motors, sparks causing booms (l have had that happen… big boom im the midle of our caputal city)
In reality thugh, you realy need both. Some swich one blower (JO, me…) some integrate them in the design like Mr Wayne shows in his plans
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You dont want to presurize you hopper it will spew tar out the lid seals and make mess. You are also changing the dynamics you are compressing the air wtih a pusher verses stretching the gas. This has huge effects on the system processes. I never got it to work and made a big mess of a sold machine that took a month to fix.
Bilge blowers and what I use are not the same either; plus Wayne is still pulling not super charging the gasifier.
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