You wouldn’t need a power washer to clean it. Most maintenance you’ll need is to scrape the nozzles clean, which is why you should use an access hole to get a poker above the nozzles and scrape slag off.
I would just go ahead and extract gas from the side anywhere near the top. Could be the tank could be your lid.
If you decide to put it in the lid area try it like Gary Gilmore using a large disc to keep the big stuff out. Or put in between the bag filter body and the gasifier, a drop box.
A drop box is just an empty container for heavy soot and charcoal pieces to fall out of the gas. Definitely want a lid to clean it out.
Hi Gary are you on about power washing this before you start building ? i guess you could if its that bad inside other wise don’t bother about a little layer of rust on the inside it will come out with your clickers one way or another .
Also why cut the pot down it looks great just like that , weld the pot as is and then drill out your gas out hole about 1 inch from the bottom of the pot , don’t worry about gas hang up’s there is no such thing its far simpler a build that you imagine just weld close the top hole then the next hole down is where you can make a 3 or 4 inch hatch , just big enough to get your hand inside , then the bottom hole is where you can attach your flute nozzle and your done should take less than 4 hours and u be running .
Dave
I have been giving that some thought Matt i think the only way to go would be to start from scratch as you have done and make something welded up rather than what’s at hand like barrels ect then at least your working with the same outputs and conditions , i am getting things together will have to have a chat with you on a thought in my head and see if its workable .
Dave
I would use the fiberglass rope you see used in stove seals. It needs to be clamped down tight. You can check for air leaks by making up some soapy water in a spray bottle and shooting air into the tank and spraying the water around your welds and seals. If you see bubbles coming out then you have an air leak.
Also for that 3/4" hole you could just cut it out and weld in a 1" coupler.
If you can find a 3/4" pipe and 1" pipe that will nest into each other tightly, that would make for a very thick nozzle. Drill out about four or five 3/8" holes from the very center.
I welded my flute nozzle in directly and welded threaded tips on each end to cap them off. With your unit you may have to do the same, since it looks difficult to reach your arm all the way in to screw in a long pipe.
For flow it’s best to have the pipe open ended on each end and have it going all the way across the tank body.
Edit: Here’s how I had my updraft built. Ran like a scalded dog until I got hit by a minivan and flipped it.
Bear in mind mine was made for a 2 liter engine but the tall ammo cans are great, I just had a bag hose clamped to the pipe welded into the lid.
There are multiple grade and types of rope seals. I would agree never use fiber glass or any rope seal from a box store. We use ceramic flange seal and this is the only way to go, this is literally what it is designed to do, is seal a door in an extreme temp environment. This what is used on multi million dollar foundry furnaces.
I have no idea the brand name. Its just what we get from McMaster and I believe its the same as what Howmet Alcoa was using on the furnaces we were building when I worked there…
The stove rope i got came from a foundry its woven into a rope but will come apart as its only loosely twisted and it looks and feels a lot like Kwool its good because it will go to what ever shape is wanted .
The 3/4 hole will work for you if its threaded all the way through , just get a 3/4 pipe nipple and weld it onto a thick walled pipe to make your flute , if your just going to run that small generator of yours you don’t need 1 inch a 3/4 will work good .
On the hatch i would look for a 4 inch nipple and a threaded cap or even a 4 inch box section around 3 or 4 inches in length and weld that onto your tank and then you can use everyday stove rope around the lid to seal it as its far enough away from direct heat .
Dave
I had already planned to use stove rope on the lid. I should have enough left over to use on that access hatch.
I priced a 4" black pipe nipple and end cap. The cheapest i could find was about $75 + shipping.
I read somewhere that you should’nt use galvanized fittings. I assume this is due to toxic fumes?
With the flute all the way through the tank do you start it the same way (propane torch in the air opening) as the Simple Fire? As you stated there is no way I can reach in there and screw anything in. My original thought was to weld in a large nipple and drill an end cap for the flute but with the price of fittings another way might to a better choice.
Yes i also looked at the price of a 4 inch nipple and plug and nearly fell of my seat ! i wont bother unless i can find one in the scrap , cheaper to use a small section of 4 inch box and fab the lid for a air tight seal .
I don’t want to step on Cody’s idea of a straight through flute , but in my experience of running the flute in my 100lbs propane tank there is no advantage the stationary unit can get, i had my unit sat on a lean anyway due to me not having flat land here and when i used a water drip any excess just ran out and only a certain amount turned to steam and was sucked up , i also think with only one way in there is only 1 way out so if u do get a back fire you know for sure what way its gonna poop , but again both work so go with what ever works for you .
You always want to grind off the galv around the area you are going to weld anyway so you get a decent weld and help keep them nasty fumes lower .
Dave
Yeah you still want to make sure any excess water will slide out. I noticed with my flute it has a liedenfrost effect and glides across the hot steel.
I think the nozzle pointing directly up definitely has its benefits, you could do the same with a pipe and elbow, but you’d need to be able to get to the darn thing to remove a melted nozzle.
I think a single silicone carbide nozzle would be ideal, you’ve shown they last nigh on forever if you carefully clean the nozzle.
Eddy Ramos and Bruce Southerland made a really nice guide for an updraft gasifier.
Hi Cody. This booklet that you are posting is the first version. I have already edited versión #4. This last version #4 can be download for FREE in English at my web page. AUTOABASURA.COM
Well, I survived my camping trip and am back on the project.
I got the hole cut in the top to take the paint canister. Since I do not have a torch or plasma cutter I had to use a sawz-all, jig saw and a 4" grinder with a cutoff disc. The top of the water heater tank was not a smooth arc so I had to inlet the paint canister into the top.
I need to start thinking about how I am going to make some charcoal and what flute design I am going to use. I need to do some measurements to see how high off the bottom the second fitting is. How high should the flute be off the bottom?
Also if anyone has any suggestions on a flute please explain and show some pictures if possible. Someone said that a piece of pipe nestled inside another pipe would be better. What size pipes did you use?
By the way thanks for all the help you guys have given me.
