Sounds to me like if you fill it all the way up you will get the run time you are looking for or am I missing something here?
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Jim - That’s a good question.
I have run it with several inches less charcoal than this, and gotten about the same run-time. So, I am wondering if the run time is more a function of time than the amount of charcoal in the reactor.
Clearly, having a “full tank” would tend to slow the diffusion of heat somewhat. But if a metal drum is 500 degrees at the bottom and 90 degrees at the top, I am thinking it is just a matter of time before the whole thing is hot.
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So what determines the end of your run time? Is it poor gas and the engine just won’t run or exit temps to hot melting hoses? I used mine mostly on a 11hp mower. Neither of them are as big as your but it seemed at just under or about an hour I noticed less power. It would just get lazier I suspected the gas was getting hotter and less dense. I cant say for sure that old mower was one I got in the scrap. Ran well while I used charcoal never any gasoline for one whole summer. The next spring I started using gasoline and it only ran about an hour and started sucking oil out of crankcase and running very weak as well. I just pushed it off in the woods. I have another just like it, maybe I will mow with char again this year.
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Exit temps.
I have a little more wiggle room than Gary’s original design, but I shut it down when the top of the barrel hits 150 F, before I start melting the sump pump hose.
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I would try filling it up. If that don’t help I kinda like Don’s little heaters for a simple cooler. Easy to convert and light weight.
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Hi Kyle
you say
I have run it with several inches less charcoal than this, and gotten about the same run-time. So, I am wondering if the run time is more a function of time than the amount of charcoal in the reactor.
I would be very curious to know the opinion of Koen or Gary Gilmore on this point
Thierry
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I tend to get similar things goeing on with my Seat. The litle gasifier only gets me about 40km of range and then there is just to much heat acumulated in that small and isolated gasifier that the gas gets to about 60*c, no matter the charcoal level.
I also want to mention one thing that l havent seen many people do. Since my nozzle alows me to experiment alot l tryed to close the exhaust injection valve and some one day and something interasting happend. The performance of the gasifier got a lot better! The range stayd the same, fuel consumption too, no problems with long idles and the thing has an amazing fast startup time. I literaly start the engine, fire the gasifier, sit behing the stearingwheal and after about 200m of driveing on gasoline shut down the fuelpump. I drive without any coolant everyday until then.
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Kristijan I think I remember you mentioning that you use a very large piece of steel with a 25 mm hole through it and at least a 100mm wall thickness is that correct ? I tried looking for the post but couldn’t remember where it was in .
Did you put up any pictures of your system / nozzle ?
Dave
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Its a bit less masive:) I will most likely open the generator today for a monthly ash cleaning and will take some pictures.
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Kristijan - I am having a little trouble understanding what you did that improved your performance. Are you saying that performance improves when you do not use any exhaust return to cool the reaction?
How did the performance improve?
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Hi Kyle and Kristijan
There is in this pdf “http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNAAV703.pdf” of comments to your questions (especially pages 70 to 75)
I guess understand. But do not speak English so difficult for me to explain
sorry ,good luck
Thierry
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Thats exactly what l do. No cooling media, just fresh spring air goeing to the gasifier.
Like l sayd before. The performance is much the same as when l used to inject exhaust exept for shorter starting time, longer idle(without loseing power) and l think some more horses tend to start kicking while useing no coolant. It allsow makes ash cleaning easyer as l just dump the charcoal out and pick out slag cakes from the nozzles once a month. Before i had to sift all the charcoal being mixed with ash.
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UPDATE ON THE GIANT CHAR KILN
Ok guys, hope you have a nice day and full health.
This an update on my GIANT CHAR KILN, hope to have it done this week and pumping charcoal next week up. Here are the pictures:
Upside down
Door Finished
Door Size detail (1 x 1 mts) it´s put just laying on the bottom
INSIDE VIEW
LEG SHOE
Wheel on leg (just solid steel and very loose to suport high temperture) It´s just for moveing during mantainance
Makeing wheels
Wheels ready
Hope you liked it
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Kristijan
Have you an idea of the temperature at the gate of your gasifier?
Supernova 
i think we are looking at over 2000c
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Hi Kristijan
How the grid and the nozzle, resist this temperature?
How long must - it renew the nozzle and the grid?
Thierry
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The nozzle has a lot of mass and the air is cooling it. I have about 3000 km on it and it still looks intact.
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New Retort
I was inspired by Abner’s giant retort to try and upsize our retort a little bit. I am following a design somewhat similar to his.
In a nutshell, I have a 55 gallon drum on its side, with a burner pipe coming out of the barrel and wrapping under it to heat the barrel with the wood gas.
This assembly will be placed inside my BBQ pit. The BBQ pit is 4 feet wide by 6 feet long by 2 feet high concrete block.
The pit will be filled with slab wood and set ablaze.
It will be covered with a “Quonset hut” style roof, with a chimney in the middle.
Here is the stand for the 55 gallon drum.
Here is a side view of the retort.
Here is a view from the end. As you can see, I have placed a valve on the burner pipe so that I can make the thing completely airtight when it is done.
The biggest unknown right now is how big and how many jets to place in the burner pipe. Right now, I have 17 3/16" holes drilled in the pipe. Here is a close-up view of that.
I am afraid that if I make the holes too big or too numerous, the gas won’t make it to the far end of the pipe. But if I make them too small or too infrequent, I risk over-pressuring the vessel.
Any thoughts on this?
Will post pictures of the outer assembly after I move it into the BBQ pit.
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Might want to use a few cinderblocks under the barrel to hold it up. Steel gets pretty wobbly/bendy even at campfire temperatures.
Also, if that is down in a pit with fire around it, would the woodgas coming out of your pipe holes have enough oxygen to burn?
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I call it a “pit.” But really, it is a 2 foot high cinder-block structure on top of the ground. Air enters from the ends (I regulate the amount of air with a piece of tin).
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