I’m just getting started and have reviewed a lot of info regarding Gasifiers, especially ones for vehicles, but I have a ton of questions. Here are some of the questions most outstanding on my mind.
Why do some plans use a tapered hearth design (Like two funnels, bottom one upside down), and others use a slight tubular design packing the outside of the tube with ash?
Does preheating the inlet air help with getting rid of the tar?
Do the nozzles want to be kept back out of the tubular area? Is this so they don’t get too hot?
Is it best for the chunks of wood to be the same size around 2 inch size? (I see many folks comment that uniform size, not mixing sizes works better?)
A good dense hardwood will go further (More stored BTU), but does hardwood limit the amount of gas produced in a given time, or should someone mix their wood so there is always some hardwood and softwood gasifing at the same time?
Anyone had trouble with the tubular cooling system on the side of the body cracking due to twisting of the truck bed, especially doing farm work, running the fields, etc where the ground is uneven?
I’m sure I will have a lot more questions as I go.
Hi Kenneth, welcome to the site! I’ll try to answer some of your questions.
Why do some plans use a tapered hearth design (Like two funnels, bottom one upside down), and others use a slight tubular design packing the outside of the tube with ash?
The ash filled design came after the dual-funnel, and it has the advantage of being impervious to the heat, and good insulation. However the two-funnel design is still in use, since it’s smoother. Maybe an Imbert expert can chime in here. It’s worth noting that the Keith gasifier uses neither of these.
Does preheating the inlet air help with getting rid of the tar?
Yes! This is part of why the Keith gasifier makes no tar.
Do the nozzles want to be kept back out of the tubular area? Is this so they don’t get too hot?
Again depends on the design, Imbert nozzles generally protrude from the sides. Not so for the Keith design.
Is it best for the chunks of wood to be the same size around 2 inch size? (I see many folks comment that uniform size, not mixing sizes works better?)
For Imberts this is true.
A good dense hardwood will go further (More stored BTU), but does hardwood limit the amount of gas produced in a given time, or should someone mix their wood so there is always some hardwood and softwood gasifing at the same time?
All wood gives the same energy pound for pound. A good gasifier should run the same on hardwoods and softwoods. Soft wood does burn faster and may have the edge for quick power.
Anyone had trouble with the tubular cooling system on the side of the body cracking due to twisting of the truck bed, especially doing farm work, running the fields, etc where the ground is uneven?
Hasn’t been an issue, after 10 years on Wayne’s farm I’d say it’s not gonna break.
Chris or Wayne…I have a video of a cold start up and drive into work I want to put on you tube. I video recorded inside the wood hopper showing the lighting of the fire and how much wood I had for start up in the hopper. My question is will that be showing to much for public viewing? (privacy issues for the build), or is that ok. What I want to do is just make it viewable for us members here on DOW. If I choose the private video choice on you tube can I just post the link here and you guys could view it that way and not the general public. I have never put anything on you tube other than the chunker video and not sure how the private deal works. Let me know.