I call that a good deal Wayne. I’ve always used a shovel and everyone it seem to say do’nt do that so I am going to take you alls advice. And yes I’ve had some tight/consipated char beds at times. lol
This will hopefuly be the end for the charbed getting to tight and having to rod down through to get it loosen up that times before light it up. Got about 25 bags with wood fines and chunks redo and bag.
Bob
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No tactor supply here in this area, closest one in Sela Washington $22.00 plus taxes. The closest thing I found was a 8 tonge hay fork for $50.00 it would work. But I desided to drill 1" holes in my old scoop shovel that will let the fines fall out. I will keep looking for one at a farm yard sale. Looked on the websites Amazon prime $65.00 up to $90.00 for the metal ones. Price of diesel going up so is the shipping costs.
Bob
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Speaking of wood, gasoline or hybrid @Bobmac
I did not mix rocket fuel tonight for the way home I just lit up and started driving. About 10 miles into the trip I had a very good idle quality (system coming up to temp) at about 20 miles I was seeing the cross over start ticking over 900f, so I backed off a bit and drove under the speed limit about 40-45mph. I could keep it about 900 on flat ground but the slightest incline and temps would rise quickly.
When I got close to 1000f I switch back to Dino to let things cool down, woodgas valves closed. Being that they are non sealing valves, they still draft Woodgas through with whatever vacuum the engine can suck through the closed valve. Temps did drop some, down to 700f. Same thing slight incline temps would rise quickly as the draft became stronger
Ok, so I’m running hybrid with a heavy bias to gasoline, some woodgas seaping through. Let’s switch this up. Opened up both woodgas lines wide open, one air valve wide open. Half and half? Temps remained below 900f for the most part, truck made great power and I did not see the gas gauge move far enough that I cared.
Cruised 50-55 the rest of the way home no problems. Hopper temps did not rise so not sure how much wood I burned. Find out when I check the hopper in the morning.
That being said, I think this can confirm I need to open up the restriction. Velocity pulled through the burn tube is to much and is pulling heat out, more open less velocity correct?
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Yes Marcus, a larger restriction open will help maybe try 7 1/2" and then 7 3/4". If you move the air to fast through the restriction it sucks the fire into the charcoal reserve area. If you could make your ratio a little higher like 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 this will help you keep your charcoal bed more efficent at making more gases, with more charcoal surface area oxygen gets used up and this will not let it over pull into your charcoal reserve area creating more heat. This is the balancing act that everyone has to learn on each of their gasifiers the other 75% of operations.
I just realized you are not running a exhaust system heat exchanger. It is not needed on your WK Gasifier system even though it is winter now and colder air temps driving down the road.
Come to think of it I not sure if @Wayne runs one on his 1995 V-10.
Bob
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I started this truck with an 8" restriction, Wayne has a 9" in his v10 and thats what the wilbur smith had as well
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I forgot you started at 8". Then try going with a 8 1/4" or 8 3/8" this is a lot of change when you are at this big on the opening. You might find you can go all the way to 9" and not make any tar on this WK Gasifier unit. Wayne idles around the farm with a 9" restriction opening so we know it is possible.
Bob
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Good morning Bob and Marcus .
A couple or three years back my heat X on the v-10 rusted out and I have not replaced it . Very tight for the working room for the motor exhaust heat X. The Dakotas have room and I am using the motor exhaust on it.
Marcus . You may be hybrid driving a little different than I. I will have the woodgas valve open full and also the air mix valve full open with the gasoline fuel pump on full. Hold the accelerator steady in a position and start very slowly closing the air mix valve to cause the motor to start pulling on the gasifier . The computer will sense a rich mixture and begin to wean off the gasoline on its own. Any rapid movement of the accelerator will cause the motor to shut down because the computer doesn’t react fast enough .
I think in this mode you can hybrid at about 25% gasoline but you have to operate the gasoline throttle very slowly.
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Thats exactly what I was doing Wayne’s, I regulated the air mix vakve to find where the gas temps in the cross over did not get to high and thats where I left it. I noticed if i needed to shift the motor would stumble big time when getting back on the throttle while running hybrid in this manner. Definitely had to be easy on the throttle
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Decided to go for the 9" restriction, all the way at the bottom. So no real "reduction " zone. Refill with clean out char and had a flair in less then 5 minutes
On the drive home I expected to use more wood since I pulled the char bed out during the restriction change which by the way all looks good in the burn tube and grate. 20 miles on the first hopper, and not so sure about the gas quality…truck was kind of lurching while steady on the throttle and could not get a air gas mix that ran consistently. It wanted more air at idle in traffic, and less air while cruising at 50mph and then an occasional burst of rich gas for some reason
But temps stayed down below 1000°f until about mile 40 and I had to start being a little lighter footed on the skinny pedal. Temps stabilized at 1080° unless I was pulling a hill. Little higher then I would like, but ill run some more wood through and put down more miles before I make up my mind
Well into the country roads I come upon a feller with a thumb out and gas can in hand walking quickly toward the fuel station. Its a brisk 30°f out tonight
You know I couldn’t pass that opportunity! I dont normally pick up hitch hikers a lot of tweekers around, but I could see the frustration on this guys face. He hops in and we buzz back to the fuel station a few miles back down the road and he wont take no for an answer to put 10$ in my tank.
I gave him the run down on why I didnt need it in this truck and he was slack jawed. It was less then 5 miles from where I picked him up to the station and back to his truck on the side of the road, I wouldnt have asked for gas money anyway but he would not take no for an answer no matter how cool he thought the truck was. Hand shake thanks was enough for me and know I helped out someone that could use a hand
I got home and saw he left a 10$ bill on the seat
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That is a great story Marcus of a good deed done. DOW Driver helping someone out of gasoline.
Bob
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Needs more air on idle… i’ve found out sometimes it can be a loose charbed, where some pyrolyzis gasses slip and expand (due to heat), therefore gives some “pressure” on outgoing gas. (risk of tar) I don’t know how wk gasifiers behave in that case, just curious if others experienced something like that?
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Probably fluffed up the charbed when removing the restriction plate. Might just need to see with some time if it will straighten itself out with bumps in the road.
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Goran, you have logical thinking and real experience, I am of the same opinion, but if we look at the WK heating pipe, it is very massive and has a high thermal resistance, so I would assume that it holds the conversion of tar gases for a little longer, but it also needs more time to restart warming up. I try to solve this effect by supplying air to different areas of the crotch area, I have the feeling that I am close to optimal performance, especially the lower 5mm large nozzle works wonders, …
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This is correct Tone the WK Gasifiers have a lot of store heat in it’s mass or what is called turn down ratio in the firetube. This is why the WK Gasifier is so heavy. Getting it up to temp. is why we will run the vehicles on gasoline to pre heat the air in the muffler heatexchanger if it has one. Plus running the bigger start up blowers. This turn down ratio works wonders at idles with the engine. The gasifier will stay hot at operating temps. This is why a big V-10 or smaller V-8’s , 6 , and 4 cylinder engines can idle and drive around slowly for long periods of time. Keeping the nozzle air hot coming in and holding heat in the gasifier is the key and a good charcoal bed for not letting tar gases slip through pass the hot grate area. Just crack those nasty tars and turn them into good gases to burn in the engine. So I am sold on preheating the air when it comes to a wood gasifier that is being used in a vehicle or moving tractor. Stationary units it is not needed like in generation needs.
Bob
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Bobmac, even an Imbert benefits from a lot of preheat. If it was economical to do during wartime, Imbert had found just wrapping an air jacket around the entire gasifier let his units use an estimated 35% moisture content in the wood. This was with the fully hot jacketed hoppers no monorator. Probably too expensive in the steel department to do this during wartime so they made do with drying the wood as much as possible at stations.
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Yes holding in heat in the right spots is good too. Heat is the key and not letting the gasifier cool down with the changing engine operating parameters, like at idling the engine. Keeping it hot with out over heating the gasifier. The tricky balancing game of operation. I have even thought about putting in a air by pass valve so in the hot summer I can by pass my muffler heatexchanger when driving at high ways speeds. It is just not needed then.
Bob
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I still dont have the exhaust preheater built yet and it will probably be a while before I do, but currently I fire up as deep in the char as I can stick the torch, then a gallon of sifted clean out char, a bag and a half of dried down 9%mc doug fir and pine mix, then fill the rest of the hopper with doug fir/ western cedar that ranges 12-36%mc that I got from the sawmill and chunked last weekend. Getting about 2.5 gallons of hopper condensate every day
Didnt mean to grab the cedar and is probably only 10% cedar per bag, but being that it is slab wood it is very heavy with the doug fir bark probaly 40% bark per bag. For those that dont know doug fir when harvested in there prime have a very thick bark, up to 2" thick on the but log.
Could get several trailer loads of cedar slab and edge cuts easily around here for free but I dont know that it would be the best fuel. Fir market is in the tank and cedar is selling top dollar right now so all the local small town mill guys are only milling the cedar, and they got loads of slab wood laying around everywhere. Heading into winter it usually moves as well for fire kindling but I know 3 mills right now that have piles taller then me just sitting
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Have you seen the Finnish made Otso gasifier, triple “shell’s” outer air preheating, inner gas mantle, worked very well, but where abandoned due to restrictions in use of steel during later years of war.
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No I haven’t seen much in the way of Finnish gasifiers
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I have never tried cedar. I do know that cherry wood makes lots of tar for some reason, it might be the bark on it even though it is thin. But it does burn hot lots of BTU’s
About the thick bark it might be a good fuel source you will just have to try a little of it to find out. If it is you are going to have to make a deal for it for fuel from the mills. How about I just take it off your hands type of deal.
Bob
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