Mercedes-Benz E230 vol. 2, charcoal powered

Congrats on the success Kristijan.
Although my main reason for reading most of this stuff is in hopes at some point in the game I might figure out what y’all are talking about, I think it’s always a great day to see others succeed.
Fair warning…a day will come that I’ll be asking all kinds of crazy questions!

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Aaah, my usual bad luck. I’m away on double shifts and you’re having a party.
Congratulations Kristijan! It was great fun wathing the video. Haha, I could definitely hear the exitement in your voice :smile: What a nice feeling that must be!
What’s the plug above the nozzle pipe plug?
How did you finally solve the exhaust feeding?

Now we’re looking forward to a road performance video :wink:

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The enthusiasm is hard to hide when you hear the hearth beat of your diy fueled motor for the first time. You know the drill :smile:

The plug is a lighing port and the big plug above was the nozzle port before (crossdraft) and will now be a indpection port now.

The EGR you can see in the video. It comes trugh a 15mm copper pipe in to a T. Not sure yet where the water will come.

Ha, l wanted to make a lightup/drive video, unfortunaly it got dark too fast, but l promissed my family we will drive for pizza when its all done so maybee a nother night video :smile:

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I like sausage and mushrooms on mine. TomC

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Hi Kristijan,

enjoy your pizza, it’s well earned :wink:
I video of light up and drive would be great, even if it’s dark.

Since your nozzle is glowing, yo just have to bring the water somewhere in there. The heat will then evaporate it, nice side effect is cooling the nozzle. Like in Don’s chrcoal-tracker.
I’ve seen you welded the T on the air inlet on the gasifier, right? Hm, that makes it different to just turn it around and let it drip into it.
Other possibility: Insert the water from the lighting port. You have a thread there for the plug. Just add a T, one side still for lighting, other for the water drip. At least you could try the effect of the water drip easliy and make a better design later.

Wish you many happy miles on char!

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Thank you Til!

The T is turned down becouse l will add a non return flap (see the skizz) later.

Hmm driveing the water trugh a lighting port us easy but that way there is air rushing in from one side and steam from a nother. Might cause oroblems with “flooding” the first nozzles with pure steam. Or will water flow down the pipe and boil eavenly? I guess only one way to know for sure…

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I thought about the same problem. Well, the amount of air is much higher, so the steam my be diluted. I made a sketch based on yours from post #64
And you could insert a small metal pipe into your nozzle, so the water is not inserted at the lighting port end (red in the sketch). If you have hard water, the pipe could get blocked by clinker. Or drill a small hole in your air inlet T where you can fit a thin water pipe for the drip in (green in the sketcht). I like the green one a bit more, but you have to drill a hole. But this are all kind of quick-and-dirty suggestions and I’ not really happy with this. Maybe worth a try, if it’s easy.

Best would be to mix primary air with water/steam already when it enters the nozzle.
If I remember right, Bruce used a kind of water pump that creates a fine mist or spray. This mist could be just added to you air inlet, but then you need this kind of water mister. Or maybe a water carburetor at the inlet. Or create steam in a small boiler at a hot part of the gasifier, or exhaust pipe and mix it with the air.
You see, many ideas, but all with some weak points.

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Kristijan, On the the non return flap, just put a tee coupling in front of it. The drip will fall straight through the tee unless air is being sucked in. This way you will never flood your char bed out if you forget to shut down your drip, like a quick stop at the store, or going out for pizza yum.
Bob

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Well done Kristijan we all knew you would get back to the dark side with a impressive build
Dave

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Hi Kristijan, watched your video a few times, it so cool what you have done here. Question, will your cyclone still run if it is turned slightly to you at the bottom or the other direction. If so it looks like you could attach a tube container to the bottom for ash. Put a cap on the end of the tube for easy clean out. That’s how mine is built with a tube dispenser to hold the ash.
Bob

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Hi Bruce, just rereading what you are saying above, (This conversation about EGR…) and it just clicked in my brain, it felt real good by the way.
The other day on my short gasifier run it was cold outside and the humidity was high. Lots of moisture coming out the engine tail pipe, like dripping. So the exhaust had a lot of moisture in it, and that went into my gasifier intake. No need for water drip here.
So if I would just drip water into my exhaust pipe in the summer or when the humidity was low, I could add moisture into my exhaust and into my gasifier intake. It would be regulated by the engine’s power, more at full throttle and less at idle. The excess water would just go out the end of the exhaust pipe. Set the water drip according to humidity and for the season for the gasifier. Just a wild thought that click into my mind. What ever it’s worth.
Bob

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Bob, you are on to something here! I if l inject water it he copper exhaust pipe, the pulsating nature of the exhaust shuld broke the water in to tiny droplets.
Only one negative thing… cant run without EGR then…

Lots of ideas lots of thinking…

As for the cyclone, l have to look. Maybee there is some space between the wheel and gasifier.

Til, hard water is not a problem. I can brush the residue out from the lightpirt.

Anyone got a idea how to install a sightglass on the inspection port? Just use normal glass?

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Kristijan, the glass on self cleaning oven doors is high temper glass, regular glass would crack under that kind of heat. Not sure but I think I saw where someone used two pieces put together. Are you thinking put it just above your lighting port?
Bob

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Kristijan, you could still have a drip at the intake and shut the drip at the exhaust pipe, pick and choose whats best for the conditions. Winter time it will be hard to use a drip any ways with out treating the water.
Bob

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At one time I had saved a glass from one of those halogen work lights. was thinking of sight glass.

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I drilled a hole in a pipe cap and secured a clear glass marble with furnace cement.

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I can see the charco glowing, now i want a small book for beginers. I have not got the best perspective of how the hearths are made and dos and dont.BBB SWEM Hcwt.

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Yes Bob, on the 1" port above the nozzle. Its not nessesery, since its already there…

l like the marble idea Don! I guess this shows the colour of the char but not individual peaces of char?

As for water drip in winter times, has anyone ever used old antifreeze? Shuld be great as it contains about 25% etil glicol, wich is its self a fuel and shuld add some boost to the gas. Plus disposeing poisonous waste.

Kevin, l think the reason there is no step by step guide book or toutorial (exept Garys simple fire) for charcoal gasifier is the fact they are so simple. You literaly just punch a hole in a bucket, fill with fine char, light and run a engine. Everything else we discuss here is just fine tuneing.

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Yesterday when we drove home l got stuck on a multilane crossroad. Lost all throtle, both chargas or petrol. Pushed the car on the side and looked under the hood. The throtle cable was broken off a plastic connector. A bit of wire and pliers temporairy saved the day but when l atended a permanent fix today and l allso decided to clean the sooty k jetronic mechanism and look how it all looks like inside. Sooty! Lookat my hands :smile: I dont like it. Those mechanisms are delicate.
Well long story short, the video shows current situation and what l plan to do.

Basicly, l plan to add a nother tb under the original one. So, original one for pure air, second one for woodgas/air mix right underneeth the original one.




I cast the new tb houseing, made the shaft and flap, the rest tomorow.

I had sayd it before, but this car amazes me. It is as if everything was planed in advance for a woodgas conversion originaly, its all just covered by a light ridleing camouflage. I mean com on. Look at the casting onder the main tb. It says “woodgas throtle” all over it!

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Hm, makes me wonder what my afm looks like inside. I do have longer distance between woodgas and afm but it still gets a bit sooty from positive pressure at shutdown.

To anyone: How about air filters? Do any of you blow them clean or change them out more often than running gasoline. I haven’t even checked what mine looks like.

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