Check with Pepe - you can see some of his photos using pine straw about 8 posts above this one.
Thanks Gary, At the time it did not strike me as pine needles.Upon closer look i guess it is. Our needles here in central Florida look larger to me, probably look smaller do to the heat and moisture in the process.Thanks for pointing that out, I feel kinda foolish having someone else pointing out something i should have caught in a comment posted to me.I guess i’ll try it! Dan
Well Hi Guys, Im becoming a filter expert ive tried my little heart out to get a FEMA type to be tar free and im so close…lol I have a cyclone filter made from a 10lb tank. Next is a 30 gal drum, in the drum i have large charcoal in the bottom where my gas comes in first. Next layer I used hamster bedding and topped with fine sawdust. it comes out of there and goes threw a 15 gallon with couch cushion sponge foam cut to fit snug in drum. I cool the gas with a 25 ft 2" flex pipe for cars. In my mix tank i put a copper tube spiraled inside bc I heard tar clings to copper. Next thing to try is a water or oil bubbler sorta like a water bong lol. Idk but if 4 filters of every type cant do it. Im going to convert it like the guy from this video:
Any ideas on filters im open ears. This is my first build and my neighbors and cops gave me hell but thankfully I did the FEMA and had the blueprints handy and had the explain im not making moonshine or have a meth lab and no its not a bomb. Cops sure hated it and gave me fair warning if they get a call about loud bangs they will make me scrap it! They kept saying hydrogen bomb and what am I a terrorist, Made me quite mad but nothing they could really do.
Hey Nathan; Wayne Keith once said"the only way i know of getting rid of tar is not to make it in the first place"Since you have ypur cyclone and other filters,I think you should bite the bullet and just make a nice,new, Imbert reactor and hook it up to your exsisting hardware.In the long run it will be quicker and more satisfying to have a quality working gasifier.Just my opinion.Good luck. Dan Cox
Hi NathanC
Welcome here. Oh man do you sound so much like me about 4 years ago. Out in the my cold wet shop I have a simple three jet “Williams”, an even more simplified Fema clone, a GEK II weld up and a whole bunch of different filters, coolers, cyclones and settlement chambers. Most ALL of these downstream pieces now clogged, sooted up,and now rusted up from from the wrong gasifier (and operator inexpereince!) for my rainforest wet woods, and humid air conditions.
Then I have a Victory hearth (a much modified, very highly insulated, multi-jacketed Imbert clone type) that once up to operating temerature just does not produce the tars for me, and my woods, and my conditions.
Truth is wood tars are concentrated complex HC fuel componets than should be gasifier hearth reactor thermochemical converted for Ma’ Nature and neighbor respectful fuel effeciencies. Do this; and there are NO downstream tars to speak of to have to filter out, toxic wastes to dispose of, or be IC engine cloggging.
Do this; and for IC engine use you only really need one washable, reuseable, organic filter step.
So man you can keep plugging away and figure this all out in time. You are smart, and your pictures show you can can weld.
Or . . . cinch up your humilty pants, and sign up for a Keith book. And then slide in on the real world expereince of a fellow evolved to doing this the simplist most effective ways with over eight years, 10’s of thousands of hours, and hundreds of thoudsands of miles of operating experience (and only God and Mike LaRosa knows how many buildups) under his belt.
Do realize two other things:
Takes a bit’o humilty to be able to view anothers work with an open mind and SEE it has become simplified and elegant now without the unnessary over thought out “better idea” bells and whistles add-ons.
And, 90% of the info videos up on the Internet are pure crap and bull-hunky as related to actual real world useable wood gasification. Problem is is takes actual operating experinece to sort out the hucksters, shucksters, 3-9 minute Fame’ers, and “ship in the bottle” fabber/builders from the real meaningful serious efforts there.
Here’s a positive bone for you:
WayneK’s System is NOT an Imbert! It is based on a FEMA like you have build but much modified to be tar free and moist wood usable with now one of the widest turn down ratios and fuelwood flexibilties in real life IC vehicle useage.
Regards
Steve Unruh
Steve, you forgot to say Amen after that… and I do and totally agree. far too much crap out there by people that have no idea (even though they sound like they do) for average joe wanna be a gasifier guy to know what to do with.
I was down in the bed with the flu, felt like one step from the grave. I read Steve and Arvid post. I feel better already.
Thanks guys.
Fixed all my leakes,added some improvements and installed my new filter.Trying pine straw as filter material,made trial run and flare still not blue but good enough.Next step is to plumb to genny.Will not let me post videos from my phone,evidently wrong format. Anyone wishing to see vids, watch my last two postings on youtube(docdcox).Did napkin test over flare nozzle for 3 mins. after appx.3 hour run,two pics showing soot and same spot after blowing off with comppressed air.Merry Christmas to all!
saw your vid. flare looks good to me. i’d run an engine on it. or at least try to.
Hi Arvid, Merry Christmas. TRY is the operative word.Just as soon as i can get the plumbing done.
Merry Christmas to you too… have a good one.
Soot!!! Last night after my 3 hour run i killed the flame and did a napkin test for soot.Posted 2 pics of napkin.I let the unit cool down with no flame while slowing down the blower and choking off some intake air. Last night i noticed i had black soot spots all over my arms and face that washed off with soap and water.This morning i found soot spots all over the ground and object nearby.I had turned my flare nozzle up at an angle so as not to walk into flame and used my new large filter with pine straw as a filter material.I do not remember this much soot before i did this.I know i’ve been told soots not a problem,but this is large amounts.2 pics,zoom in and pan around to see.Thoughts on why so much more now,should be less?1st pic you can see nozzle sticking up and away from camera at an angle(spots below this) 2nd pic spots on ground and tarp covering plastic tub.
Danny; is the soot in the pipe to the burner or just in the burner? If just in the burner it may just burning rich.
Dave
Down the pipe too.Im thinking adding this large new filter has created too much of a draw, making the mixture too rich.Plus in the 40’s during run,lots of condensing.Also by turning my pipe upward maybe thats doing something to it.
Nothing wrong with soot. It’s actually a good engine fuel - it will be consumed during combustion. So long as you’re not getting tar, the gas is clean enough to run an engine.
Your machine looks top shelf Danny! Nice work!
I had similar “soot spots” everywhere after early runs. My problem was too much condensate getting all the way through the system. Is your local dew point really low? The Weather channel now has temp and dewpoint posted on the home page for your area.
Make sure your exit gas is below the posted temp ( I suppose?), that would be my starting point. I added a crude remedy to my system, a car radiator. That brought the temp down enough that it filled up with condensate quickly. And I produced much better gas.
Just my thought on where to go with troubleshooting, I bet it runs sweet when the temps are in the 50’s-70’s.
Marry Christmas,
Tim
Hi Tim;
Merry Christmas!
Your unit looks very nice also, is that a v twin engine and are you on youtube? It may have been the weather, but i was getting nothing in my condensate tank either.Usually get some during run, not even a drop till after the run then only 2ozs. I will probably have to improve on that.That radiator you mentioned,does it have a tank below it for collection?Let me know about youtube as i would like to see some video of yout gasser. Thanks for your imput.
Dan