Hi Koen,
Would you consider bamboo a hardwood or a softwood charcoal, and why do you say “most perfect fuel”?
Hi Don,
i couldn’t tell the difference between hardwood and softwood, since most is hardwood here.
The bamboo has a very porous structure and is easy to make into the high grade carbon content.
I think it comes more close to softwood charcoal i guess.
The most perfect i ever used, coz its always the most easy and clean fuel i made and had made.
And now with the little twigs and stick to make charcoal with even more easy to use.
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Extra nice… Is it OK to run the water pump dry?
Bamboo is a grass, One of the fastest growing plants on the planet but it is not a hard or soft wood, Its density is around 20 pounds per cubic foot, Ash (a hardwood) is about 40 pounds per cubic foot while white pine (a soft wood) is around 25 pounds per cubic foot, You use what is available and while bamboo does not have the density of our temperate hardwoods, it is what Koen has available. And probably in mega amounts! I have a feeling that the bamboo charcoal is hard enough to resist being crushed into dust with handling which would be a nice attribute when filling the gasifier hopper, Koen, is that your experience with bamboo char?
Gary in PA where I’m fearful of planting bamboo since it so invasive in this area!
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If it makes good motor fuel, it can be as invasive as it wants in my yard. When it migrates to the neighbors, I’ll generously let them throw it on my burn pile.
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Hi Gary,
The charcoal is utmost hard and brittle when its cooked well, almost none or no dust.
Cracking away in your fingers with the glass brittle sound… i love it…
The ashes are more fibrous instead of dusty, if not taken care well then it will block the way down.
The ash melting temperature is low, 1300°C compared with some hard wood 1450°C, so the ashes vitrify more early, its a good indicator however to adjust your core temperature with exhaust return, water drip or a bigger nozzle …
Never mind being it invasive, its a huge benefit for the environment… it eats a mega amount of carbon dioxide out of the poluted air and gives you fuel and oxygen to breath in return.
The project here is all about living with what mother nature offers us, including food and many other by products from bamboo…
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Hi Jeff,
No the pumps require water to protect the water seal between engine and pump, i lubricated them with teflon grease
Everyone has been telling me that they are so invasive, but I can’t find any around here. Finally, I ordered some Black Bamboo plants, and Martin P. brought me four live Golden Bamboo plants, and they are doing well with lots of TLC. A Black Bamboo Rhizome from New Orleans failed to grow, so I ordered a 3 foot high plant from Alabama. I put these in my fenced garden in raised beds, because my cows would certainly eat them., and previous cotton farmers lost most of my topsoil (Thus, the raised beds). Apparently, Bamboo will be killed if it floods, and they die under drought conditions, and cows eat them. I can always depend on Mesquite and Huisache for making charcoal because they have a tap root that resembles an oil drilling rig. I’ve tried to kill them with straight fertilizer, but that didn’t work either. There seems to be a really good market for young edible bamboo shoots. http://agsyst.wsu.edu/bambroc.pdf
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Bamboo, invasive… I’m eating my heart out over here… Gary lives in the sunny south. I’m up north of him in the cold, rain and snow. A boy will die of old age before something grows 20 miles south of lake Erie… 
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Making new sets to run soon…
Also the trike is getting his parts… new engine on board… Lifan 125 cc
New Honda GX200, carburator stripped away and replaced with ball valves…
Uploading…
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Nice toy Koen, you see some of those here not many though. They are Japanese imports with the steering wheel oposite to what we are used to and always at least 20 years old due to import restrictions. Pain in the neck to insure too. A friend had one lots of fun, 4 wheel drive and very fuel efficient. They would be great for the roads around here but the side by side at is now legal on roads and probably the way I will go. Mechanically almost identical but no enclosed cab or bed…
Have fun with it, David Baillie
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Looks good Koen. Where is the nozzle on this gassifier, on the side?
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hi Don, The nozzle is inserted thru the lid of the cleaning port at the bottom side, but points upwards.
Hi Koen Van L when you pulled on the pump motor,it reminded me when i put an HHO gas hose too a 5 horse briggs off a wallmart bag of HHO ,when i pulled the rope the bag went off,thought i was going deaf fore a while, I could hear the drywall screaching in the shop, it eventualy stoped ringing my ears after about few mounths, torn ear drum indeed.That was kind of stupid when i was supposed too have the gas in a ballon too help prevent flashback.
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Hi Koen
What nozzle size did you choose?
How do you account impede the charcoal from falling into the nozzle?
I understand you 'have more access to plug the nozzle with an iron rod!
Hi Thierry,
I am working / designing a “double” nozzle ( 2 in one ) where as the center nozzle is for idlle and or low rpm and the outer reacts on the vacuum of the engine. Many things are possible if only the imagination is the limit… 
Thinking out of the box is fun as always…
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Koen I´m amazed of your job, it´s more or less the conditions to work in my environment in the Andes zone here in Venezuela. I read the hole chat in 3 days (other things to do), i picked up some ideas from your work. My hat of for you and your boys. Good job. 
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Hi Koen
I am excited to see some pictures of this new nozzle.
I am inspired by a tuiere “Gohin poulenc-idle” to contruir a gasifier for my future
Thierry
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