I have built a stratified, downdraft gasifier from FEMA, but I am not producing enough SYN gas to even ignite. If anyone could help me trouble shoot this problem I would be very greatful.
First what is your fuel and its moisture content?
I am using commercial produced wood pellets I am not sure of the moisture content
did you start with char in the bottom? and how big of a burn tube and restriction are you using?
Yes I am starting with a char in the bottom my burn tube is 2 in. diameter. What do you mean my restrictions
with a 2" tube you won’t need a restriction… what are you drawing on the system with?
If you are sure that you don’t have air leaks, then it may just need a little time to get burned in good. Keep trying.
Tell us about your start up procedure.
We bought a Chinese gasifier several years ago and our first run was a disaster.
There are many similarities between ours and a FEMA. Except that we have more effective filtering.
You can see all the things we did wrong at:
Maybe you can get some ideas from that video, or at least be able to tell us more about your process.
Pete Stanaitis
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Put a water manometer on it to measure your suction:
You want about 4-12 inches of water column difference. A standard squirrel cage fan will give you less than 1" and won’t work well.
Stephen