Restoration complete.
Hi Jo, don’t be angry if I ask another question: Does Volvo have a wood storage tank also made, I mean an umbrella and a double wall? Ok, the excess steam cools on the cover and outer cylinder and condenses along the wall and goes down towards the hot zone, but beware, all gases, including the rest of the steam, enter the reduction zone chilled, which in my opinion is not good, … What is the temperature in the lower part of the storage tank?
Haha, why should I be angry?
Yes, they now have exaxtly the same setup. Both now have separate funnel, inner wall and umbrella.
You are right so far.
No. The condensation from the hopper is drained into a can. It doesn’t enter the hot zone.
You are partially right that drying the wood consumes some heat when cooling the walls to form condensation. However, that loss of energy should be a lot less than running a hot hopper, pull all the moisture through the hot zone, super heat all the steam up to 1,000°C and then cool it off later on to catch condensation.
From the hopper I catch about 1-2 liters of condensation for every 20 kg of “dry” wood. That’s 1-2 liters I don’t have to super heat up to 1,000°C by cooling the hot zone.
My thermometer sits at the top of the hopper. It shows 60-70°C during normal operation. The lower part of the hopper wall stays cooler.
Yes, I know that you discharge water in the lower part, we have already discussed this, but the other pyrolysis gases and the non-condensed steam enter the reduction zone cold, that is what I was trying to say.
You put a lot of effort into preheating the air with exhaust gases, I mean the heat exchanger, but in this part I see a shortcoming, just an opinion, no offense.
Tone, what do you suggest?
If there’s a non-complex way, suitable for automotive use, to condence hopper steam without wasting a little heat I’m interested.
It is. Joni’s way, throw it out the tailpipe. But there are two problems with that. First, lm not too happy with smoking the streets. I preffer to stay inkognito. Second, along with steam, we also throw out some burnable hopper gases. And, im sure drawing on the hopper also sucks in some more air. More wood burns. All this kinda defeats the purpose
Kristijan, we wouldn’t like the herd of young women, constantly following woodgas drivers, have their legs covered in tar spit, would we?
Excellent. Excellent. Explainations J.O.
Tone you still must think in terms of whole usage system integrations.
An Imperfect + another Imperfect can = a best-case Optimization.
Most here want to Drive-On-Wood fuel.
That realistically means an Internal Combustion engine. Modern IC’s ARE high 30’s % efficient. Still a lot of throw-a-way reject heat energy.
Only smart, farmer-wise to put that rejected out heat to some any and all types of gasifier system benefits. Heat energy in the engine exhaust. Heat energy in the cylinder head coolant; and piston (oil) cooling.
Stupid to drag a system down using gasifier core heat-energy when you can use “free” down-stream unutilized energy instead.
Regards
Steve Unruh
Christijan, steam and condensate discharge must work in both directions: steam discharge; absorption of CO2, reducing the amount of ballast nitrogen.
My opinion is, Jo, that the gases leaving the reduction zone below the grille have much more energy than fresh air can absorb, so you have extra cooling pipes at Mazda or Volvo. I agree that it is necessary to remove excess steam from the storage tank in a condensing manner, but in my opinion this is enough if only the upper part of the storage tank, which is supposed to be umbrella-shaped, is cooled, the walls of the cylinder with partially cooled pyrolysis gases and water vapor mist, is supposed to be heated from the outside with gas leaving the gasifier, thus obtaining a double effect, on the one hand cold gas, on the other hand hot pyrolysis gases and superheated steam to enter the reduction zone. The grille, which is exposed to the highest temperature, is at the same time cooled by fresh air, which is certainly sufficiently preheated, so it acts as a heat exchanger.
Tone on your own system you are going to do one of the learned no-no’s; never-never do-this many of us have learned by too many multiple bad experiences.
#1 (which you are not doing) Never-ever filter out; or liquid wash out pyrolysis gases tars.
You just kicked-the-can problem down the road-later in polluted filter media and toxic contaminated liquids. You just threw-away a lot of H’s and C’s energy fuel.
#2 Never-ever pipe transfer made pyrolysis gasses tars.
I comment here not on your own topic so as to not appear critical.
I and other are taking a wait and see on your attempt.
Maybe work on a fully heated-up; kept heated, flowing system. How will you cold system by-pass to not on cold starting up, layer by layer build up nad clog? How do you by-pass when into system shutdown and then heating decline? Any left raw fuel, or uncooked brands, will spew sticky smoke.
Wait and see for us is a wise policy.
When Stephen Abbadessa proposed two rows of 30 degree and 60degree downward angled air jets . . . wait and see later proven a good workable mini system for chipped and pelletized fuels stocks.
Regards
Steve Unruh
Tone, I get it. You’re suggesting to heat the wood chunks with outgoing gas, like the early Imberts and the plank-gasifier. And yes, it’s true. Incoming air can only carry 37% of the heat energy if remember right - in theory. Also true I’m wasting heat from both the hopper and to the outgoing woodgas.
I was under the impression heating the wood too fast would create more steam than the hopper condensation can handle. All the access steam would then have to be pulled down through the hot zone to be super heated, which would again consume a lot of heat.
What happens towards the end, when the fuel level is getting low? Moisture? Heat?
It seems to me the upwards radiation from the nozzle area, which we can’t avoid, is enough to slowly dry the wood without flooding the charbed with steam.
These are all theories. In real life I have limited welding skills, limited junk supply, limited amounts of time and money and limited possibilities to add weight and complexity. I may sacrifice some heat and performance, but my wood is free and I’m able to drive on wood every day at minimal cost and effort.
This is the one I tried to emulate, I think it seems good.
http://www.ekoautoilijat.fi/tekstit/monorator/monorator-eng.html
Hello JanA,
Yes this was an important publication. It was perfectly translated into English.
It shows as much what not to do as had been brainiac conceived.
And shows what had been accidently discovered, was later recognized as working much better for in-system removing fuel wood moisture. And that wide Monorator system thoughtfully engineering improved then with cone grid separation, and below that moisture collection gutter.
Now look at the internal circulatory patterns on Figure #5 in that article.
A doughnut shape. An inflated inner tube or water ring shape. Inward upwards heat driven. Across the top, outwards, beginning to cool. Outer wall downward flowing having been cooled much.
The WK evolved hopper system put the cooling downwards flows, external in multiple large tubes. Greatly increasing the cooling effect. He adds an upper collection gutter in addition to the lower, that the tops of the tubes flow feed from. He even much later added surface area fins to his extremal cooling tube to see for improvement. It did.
So he has now evolved to the most effective in-system wood fuel moisture reducing system currently proven working. This is applicable to the majority of the central latitude users on the planet.
Beware. Artic conditions are not his working conditions.
Steve Unruh
Happy New Year!
First arrend this year and SWEM. Diesel is close to $9 a gallon. Gasoline only a little less
Ha! I was just at the gas station, the dedicated wheelers I talked about before are out in extreme force today. Local fuel station had 30+ diesel trucks, all pulling car trailers with wheelers or enclosed trailers with side by side heading for the hills to break in the new year and see how far they can make it up the hills. Tow rig at one pump getting fuel, trailer at the next pump behind with wheeler getting fuel. I watched for a few minutes reminiscing on many fun times spent with this crew freezing fingers and toes with warm beers and a hot fire in the middle of no where. I glanced at the pumps, one guys had just spent over 300$ in fuel. Now I would love to be out there having a good old time, but not at that insane cost. Can’t wait to get the dodge underway, then next will be some smaller 4wd for out playing in the woods, then a truer SWEM will have never before been seen when I pass by these crews spending there years savings to go have a little fun in the snow
Is there a special thread for mishaps? Maybe this is the one.
I’ve noticed surging and bubbeling lately when draining hopper juice. Strange, because I resently cleaned out gutter and drain when I opened up to replace the funnel.
Taking advantage of today’s warm breeze to investigate. I disconnected the hopper drain from the juice tank. Started to poke up into the hopper drain only to find it almost completly plugged ??? After working the pliers for a while a couple of wet tary rags came out. I wonder who put them there? Almost as if someone didn’t want debrie to fall down during a gutter cleanout
Just Blame the the dog. Then Blame your self for watching the dog doing new trick the wife was showing you that the dog could do. Caution do not Blame the wife. Go back and just Blame the dog ect… Or better yet … Blame the rags for plugging things up that you forgot to remove. Yup wood gasing is full of interesting things we can experience. DOW.
Bob
Strange indeed… Seems the hot Alabama sun did more thain just surface damage 2 years back
Seriously thugh. What was the consiquence performance wise?
I mean, what kind of mechanic are you if you have never sucked a rag through somewhere it’s not supposed to go??? Watched a buddy send a blue Scott’s towel from the intake manifold through the valve in the bore through the exhaust valve through the exhaust manifold into the turbo and out the tailpipe of a 24v Cummins that’s one way to make char cloth!