I have built several systems on trailers. Robin Redmond up in Maine asked me to start a topic on this subject. One of my earlier trailers went many many miles behind several different vehicles. I changed many components over the years to get it right. There were no real websites or others to help. My current trailer has been behind 4 if I recall right. Just requires a trailer hitch, hose from front to back, mixing valve, and fuel pump switch and or injector switch.
There are issues with trailers of course and I recommend a solid frame to start with. I have built mine on the cheap chinese bolt together trailers and have had to plan for all the flexing but they are lightweight and easy to deal with and will be pulled by a car like a cavalier or neon. I have had to weld the main joints and add diagonal bracing to the gasifier and filter etc.
Wayne’s design would sit nice on a trailer made from the bed of a junked truck and could be pulled by most any substantial truck. A lot of plumbing hassles could be avoided. It could be moved from one vehicle to another as needed.
Keep the topic moving if there is interest. I store my wood in the bed of the pulling truck and the current one has a shell so it stays dry. I throw the next couple of sacks in the back of the trailer when traveling.
Regards, Mike LaRosa
Sounds great mike looking forward to some pics…
David
I like the topic on Gasifier on a Trailer from Mike.
I have a chevy caprice classic 1979 6L 250 cub with carburator.
A trailer would be the solution for me.
Thanks for the topic Mike.
cheers.
michel.
Mike, I think trailer gasifiers are very important. Not everyone wants to drive a truck. Using a trailer expands your vehicle possibilities quite a bit.
Thanks for being a pioneer and sticking with the trailers.
Thanks for starting this thread, Mike! My WK-inspired build is being trailer mounted. Gasifier on the front left corner, hay filter and hopper condensate tank behind it, and the heat exchanger/condensate tank laid down along the right side.
http://jamclasses.drbanjo.com/static/dimages/trailer.JPG
Billy, what are you using for a cooler?
I’m planning on building a trailer mounted unit myself. Just picked up the 89 Chevy Suburban I wanted to built a unit for, has the 454 big block and TBI setup. I thought I read that Wayne does not like the TBI
set up because of the Carbon build up or something. What are the major obstacles to the Thottle Body Injection set up again??
Good Morning Denny,
Below is a little reading on the above
subject.http://driveonwood.com/premium/why-i-chose-multi-port-fuel-injection
Thanks
Wayne
Chris,
The cooler and heat exchanger are one in the same. Woodgas passes through 202 half inch emt tubes, broken up into four passes. The calcs say the gas should be below condensing point without additional cooling. We’ll see shortly!
Billy Hello
That will cool the gas when it is clean. I have to ask, how are you going to clean to soot from the tubes?
Dave
Hi Billy, You da man ! I really enjoyed meeting you in Kansas and your equipment. That was already years ago. Your grid interface was something to behold. Too bad we blew a halogen bulb. I’m glad this topic took off. Hopefully Robin will pipe in. I see you are using a similar trailer that I used on my first trailer. The biggest problem I have had was the flex and then the gas connections either working loose or breaking. That flex aluminum used to work well but the newer stuff corrodes in a hurry. The stuff I bought in 2005 is still fine. When I left Argos back in May I had planned to drive the whole way back on wood. I got down the road around 15 or 20 miles and had to slow down for some dink town and went over some railroad tracks and then I heard BANG ! The truck continued to run fine on 100% woodgas and I was still blending in plenty of air. I got out the other side of the town and then another BANG ! As my current truck has a plastic intake manifold and I had over 300 miles to go I pulled over and disconnected the system and proceeded on liquid fuel. When I got home I looked things over and found the connection between my cyclone and cooler had pulled apart probably when I went over the tracks. There should be no air in the system until the mixing valve. I also had 2 joints blow apart, one under the hood and one near the rear hookup so I slipped them back together and added new duct tape. I just use one small piece of tape on the joint under the hood and have had to replace that a few times. Wayne puts a spring on his air cleaner lid to deal with this but one of the guys said he had to take the lid off and stomp on it to get back in shape. I forget who told me that but Wayne would know. I better click save now before I get bumped off … Phone lines are crap here and it’s an old dialup setup … Oh, the well driller across the road gave me some flex hi temp hi pressure piping that is around 3" in diameter. It has 2 layers of stainless re-inforcing in it and it took a whole sawsall blade to cut through it and I used a piece on my older truck but haven’t been able to fully test it … Mike
Rhonda Lemler took this picture as Ron and I took my truck on it’s maiden voyage with the trailer … Their visit was timed perfect with the conversion … Ron got to read the parameters from the diagnostic tool on part of the trip. I forgot to plug it in when we left as I was pretty excited.
http://www.intergate.com/~mlarosa/images/woodgas/98-maiden-voyage.jpg
The rest of my pictures are here (I can’t upload pictures here)
http://www.intergate.com/~mlarosa/images/woodgas/?M=D
Mike
Hello Dave,
I’m planning on using a shotgun cleaning kit to get the soot out of the tubes.
Hey Mike,
Yes, the Kansas gathering was some time ago! Time flies when you’re having fun! Hope to meet up with you guys again.
Good Morning all
Hey BillyB. I too am puzzled by your gas cooler choice. Look like it would only carry away enough heat if liquid cooled with the tube spacing and density. As a stationary guy that makes good sence for CHP. But on a trailer?? Liquid pump? Then a liquid to air radiator? Is this the plan?
I wish I could put up picturers the VesaM gasifier trailer design. Copyright protected. He builds short, wide and LOW with offset axles to get the wieghts and wind resistance Down. Just think like a deep hull boat trailer only shortened up.
Finn Fredrik Ekin’s is sheet metal faired enclose and looks like a horse trailer with pontoons on the lower sides. Low also. Narrower and longer then VesaM’s.
One of the good younger Internet fellows with high speed could search out open published pictures of these and post them up here.
MikeL who is the DOW memeber here with the trailer mounted gasifier behind a Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth mini-van in his avatar picture? His name will not pop for me. You and he have exchanged.
Regards
Steve Unruh
Sorry Steve, You lost me on that one. My brain is full. Maybe somebody else will know. I haven’t personally (in person) seen another trailer that I recall and I forget names as soon as I hear them. I know there have been pictures posted here of trailers. Maybe try the search box for trailer ?? I think I’m going to head outside and set up my chair and watch the cars go by. I’m still recovering from the latest assaults on my body so am not doing a dang thing this labor day weekend but rest and heal. I have to work the rest of the week but in slow / careful mode while this new rupture heals up. I have guys in their mid 80’s pushing my buttons now. I will have to retire soon or develop an anti gravity belt :o) . Mike … OH, It was maybe Chris Seymour and / or his best friend Justin (that was killed in a car wreck last winter) ??? I think they did a Ford ???
Steve, I think the wind went out of Chris’ sails after his friend got killed but he is building gasifiers. You might have met him at Ben’s ??
http://www.superiorgasification.com/
Mike
Here’s the thread on Chris’ and Justin’s trailer van combo.
A search on trailer brought up too many things for me to look at and I need to go eat lunch.
Mike
Magne and Mike, thanks for the trailer links!
Steve,
No liquid, just air to gas heat exchange in 4 passes. Will be dumping excess air to get the gas below dew point, as there is more heat in the gas than we can get into the combustion air. Here’s a rough sketch: Air flow is blue, gas flow is red. Blower will always be on. Excess air will exit to atmosphere between 2nd and 3rd pass through an actuated valve. Clear as mud? LOL
This unit will be used for both stationary CHP and mobile use, hence this design choice. CHP Power will come from self-excited induction generator seen in my avatar.
This exchanger design should also allow combustion air to reach near gasifier exit temperatures, maximizing air preheat. Gasifier and exchanger will be littered with K thermocouples so we can monitor heat exchange efficiency and fouling.
If all else fails, I will have a 55gal drum full of 200 lbs worth of conduit!
http://jamclasses.drbanjo.com/static/dimages/exchanger.JPG
“MikeL who is the DOW memeber here with the trailer mounted gasifier behind a Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth mini-van in his avatar picture? His name will not pop for me. You and he have exchanged.”
That would be me. I didn’t have a suitable pickup so I mounted it on an old trailer.
Built per Mikes insructions with stacked wheel rims, this was before the La Rosifier.
Currently not operating due to air leaks below the grate.
It worked quite well with the 3.3 Plymouth OBD 1.
Project on hold now.
Leaving for Washington St( Steve, I’ll wave when I drive by)
Gordon