# DOW Driving Habits
**URL:** http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088
**Category:** General Discussion
**Created:** [March 6, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088 "2017-03-06T18:47:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 6
### Author:  [@Bobmac](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Bobmac)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2017, 4:25am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/101 "2017-09-06T04:25:57Z")
Hi Wayne, I have watched your videos over and over again.
One thing I have notice is how you have your air to fuel mix running in the red zone 97% of the time. As you know I have a Automixer that Chris S. built in the 92 Dodge Dakota . And the gage moves back and forth trying to find the point to maintain the 1 to 1 gas /air mix for my engine. It seems you are running leaner in woodgas compared to what mine is doing with the automixer. Is there some kind of advantage to this over the automixer function to get more miles to pound of wood going down the road?
It 's just a observation that I have made and was just wondering about it in your Driving Habits. Thanks for all the great videos.
Bob
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### Author:  [@Wayne](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Wayne)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/102 "2017-09-06T13:09:24Z")
Good morning Mr. Bob .
It seems the truck runs it’s best just very lightly on the lean side . I will make the air adjustment where the truck seems to run best and it will show on the gauge usually 3 bars on the lean side .
When I am starting the gasifier or whenever I need to bring the temp up on the gasifier I will run the truck a rich as it will run .
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### Author:  [@Bobmac](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Bobmac)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2017, 3:06pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/103 "2017-09-06T15:06:24Z")
Thanks Wayne for the reply back, good information to know.
I think I will reinstall my set up so I can run my truck rich by spoofing the automixer to run rich.
Little things like this infomation on the start ups and go down the road can really help us all. I am sure you probably make these adjustments with out hardly thinking about it anymore.
For you every day Driving On Wood habits come natural now. I am not there yet, but some day it will happen for me also. You and the many other every day gasifier users and drivers on wood is the goal I want to be at. It will happen for me also if I just keep the DOW going.
Bob
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### Author:  [@KristijanL](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/KristijanL)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/104 "2017-09-06T17:15:21Z")
Hi Bob!
When l drove the automixer like yours, l had a gas bypass hose on it to richen the mix (traffic light takeoff ability). Literaly a small hose of woodgas goeing pass the automixer. Myne was fixed volume, but you culd easyaly put a throtle velve on the bypass to adjust the woodgas manualy (in case auromixed isnt good enough). Same culd be done to lean the gas.
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### Author:  [@Bobmac](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Bobmac)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/105 "2017-09-06T17:49:56Z")
Yes Kristijan, I have my valve hooked now for the lean gas and now your Idea would work for the rich mixing, Then I would have full control of manual mixing or auto mixing my wood gas with the automixer still inservice. I like that better then the way I was spoofing the automixer before. Thanks.
Bob
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### Author:  [@Chris](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Chris)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/106 "2017-09-06T23:21:13Z")
Bob, unless you’ve changed it completely from what I had, you can lean out the automixer just by introducing a leak upstream, which is the purpose of that hybrid air valve. Crack that open, lean condition. Very simple. The automixer will keep it exactly proportional to that chosen lean setting.
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### Author:  [@taitgarry00](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/taitgarry00)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/107 "2017-09-06T23:50:55Z")
You could also bias it rich on the same principle? But it would be slightly more complicated, the syngas being drawn under vacuum, probably have to alter the balance of the automixer?
Just thinking out loud here, but by altering the balance of the automixer directly, adjustments could be made in both directions?
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### Author:  [@Chris](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Chris)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/108 "2017-09-06T23:53:21Z")
You could by restricting the incoming air, but in practice there’s no reason to bias it rich. It already is a 1 to 1 ratio, which is a little on the rich side for woodgas, but not by much… I believe the perfect mixture is 1.1 to 1. Don’t get caught up in a gauge reading, listen to the motor.
The only reason to richen it is to compensate for leaks, which it’s better to just fix.
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### Author:  [@taitgarry00](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/taitgarry00)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/109 "2017-09-06T23:55:41Z")
Was just considering what Wayne was describing of start up and operation.
Then if there was some other mechanical issue, you would be able to compensate on the fly, might be a valuable function, while still enjoying the automixer consistency.
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### Author:  [@Chris](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Chris)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/110 "2017-09-06T23:58:24Z")
The automixer startup and operation speaks for itself. Doesn’t get any simpler.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW9dEv690vI)
If you want details on the function, there’s a whole thread over here:
> [@Vacuum Automixer project](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/vacuum-automixer-project/1778):
>
> For many years now Max @gasman has been preaching to me (and others) about the benefits of the vacuum based automixer which he designed and Dutch John built. I’m finally freed up enough to give it a shot. The inspiration was this little water tank, made to go under a sink and accumulate drinking water for a reverse osmosis filter system. We had such a system until the bladder went bad, and so I salvaged a tank. [image] I cut off the top and bottom, and made a flange to go with them. This meta…
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### Author:  [@Bobmac](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Bobmac)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2017, 1:38am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/111 "2017-09-07T01:38:42Z")
Yes chris, the 2" valve is still there, and feeds directly into the wood gas line. Added a 3/4" line that feeds in just after the ford throttle body mixer. I can add more air now with out changing the gas before the automixer. The two 2" valve would whistle a high pitched sound when using it. The 3/4 gives me better control on leaning the gas out. I added 2 tennis ball popoff valves, one out top of the mixing unit you built and the other in the gas line before the ford throttle body. I’m still trying to fine tune the truck for more miles per pound of wood. That’s why I asked the question on how Wayne runs his trucks.
I still want to drive this truck back to Argos and alot of those miles on wood. It’s a big goal I know. Lots of high Mountain passes on I-90 interstate and to cross the great divide, hybred running for sure, and freeway driving, most of it is 80 mph. Not on just wood that’s for sure. But at 65 mph. I have a 35 plus mile range in the hopper. I would like to increase that closer to 50 miles.
The Automixer works great, especially at stop lights and slow driving around the 25 mph areas. I do not have to make any adjustments just drive. I STILL look down at the gas switch to made sure it’s off. Living the SWEM dream.
Bob
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### Author:  [@Bobmac](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Bobmac)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/112 "2017-09-07T17:05:47Z")
You are right on that one Chris, had a leak back at the passenger tail light where the cooling rack tree hooks up to the piping below, just a loose clap. But it was hard to find. Smoke was going up in side the fender and coming up by the gasifier area when the pusher blower would be running by it’s self. That leak gave me some lean gas all the time. Tighten the clap back up and it was back to normal. The bailing wire rusted off that was holding the pipe up tight to the frame. Fresh bailing wire wrap around the pipe and tied and it was ready to go.
Bob
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### Author:  [@bdstater](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/bdstater)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2017, 8:21am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/113 "2017-09-08T08:21:34Z")
Bob,
As for bailing wire, I worked with my Grandfather and my neighbor who were both big grain and cattle farmers until the age of 23 when I started my sawmill. Both carried an ample supply of bailing wire in their pick-up’s just in case something broke down. Both farms were held together by bailing wire and it was used on everything that broke. From tying up broken parts, fencing, and welding, it was used as a temporary solution that later became perminant, until the bailing wire itself failed, only to be replaced with a fresh “new” piece of rusty old bailing wire. They were both specialists in this simple and inexpensive technology and would have never thought twice about using anything else…
Bryan
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### Author:  [@KristijanL](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/KristijanL)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2017, 9:28am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/114 "2017-09-08T09:28:04Z")
We say wire is a farmers weld. There is a peace of it on every corner of our property, ready for a quick fix. Wire and bale string.
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### Author:  [@SteveUnruh](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/SteveUnruh)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/115 "2017-09-08T17:29:04Z")
Ha! Ha! After we were forced to stop cow-farming back in 2000 it did not take long for all of the baling twine and bale-wire to get used up.
My go-too now is a spool of tempered aluminum alloy electric fencing wire. Better all in all. Holds tight. Does not rust stain. Rust thin and later break. Some been lasting for over 15 PNW wet years now.
Stainless steel repair wrapping wire here too. Too spring-ing stiff for most use. Exhaust-systems, exhaust-systems. Some hot part of gasifier systems fix-'ems use.
Oh . . . pass on the cheaper very soft all-pure aluminum fencing wire. It twist work hardens and breaks.
tree-farmer Steve unruh
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### Author:  [@rustyold36](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/rustyold36)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/116 "2017-09-08T18:21:38Z")
I keep a couple rolls of tie wire for tying rebar around. It even comes coated to eliminate rust stains.
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### Author:  [@Handy\_Andy](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Handy_Andy)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2017, 12:04am UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/117 "2017-09-09T00:04:24Z")
While we are on the subject of baling wire repairs, I ran across this video, and after watching a few times made my own wire clamper. Works great too.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLY-2FVAgko)
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### Author:  [@Wayne](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Wayne)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2017, 1:03pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/118 "2017-10-01T13:03:09Z")
Hello all .
I have been real busy and haven’t done much posting but have been burning wood and putting down a lot of miles . 😀
BBB
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1v7CoT2dto)
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVCgCFng5DQ)
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### Author:  [@tazmanpap](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/tazmanpap)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/119 "2017-10-01T15:46:00Z")
I was just wondering why your jld temp gauge flashing off and on and where your temp thermal couple is located
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### Author:  [@Chris](http://forum.driveonwood.com/u/Chris)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/dow-driving-habits/3088/120 "2017-10-01T22:10:52Z")
It isn’t flashing, that’s a rolling shutter effect.
The thermocouples on that truck were mounted on the hopper and at the grate.
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