Quick Question on cold weather

General Discussion
#1

I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada so sometimes we get cold winters 0 degree’s Fahrenheit (-32C) with lots of snow. Basically the same as northern Montana.

I posted a comment of this gasification biomass in an offroading forum and of course they laughed.
But an interesting question or comment came out of it.

If I do a conversion then will the cold weather hinder the performance? There is a startup routine, I do realize that. But I was thinking maybe piping the gas to the engine then there might be some issues with it cooling down.

So if you guys say the best trucks are the 1995 and previous for the ODB sensor. And you guys say the best power to weight ratio thats why the V8 Dakota’s and V10 (488 C.I.) Rams are the choice vehicles. The V10’s I found only come in extended cab. I was thinking a 454 crew cab 4x4 truck. Then maybe later on if I need extra power I rebuild the 454 it to a stroke which would be 496. Or a Ford 7.5L (460 ci) to a 514, 521, 532, 545, 557.

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#2

There are some operating woodgas vehicles in very cold climates. I know of a couple threads here focusing specifically on that. Use the search feature to find them.
The truck and engine you choose is depending on how you want to use it. The bigger and heavier truck will of course burn more wood just as it burns more gas.

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#3

Andy, run stock vehicles. OBD2 computers are great if you ask me. You can interface and keep track of near all parameters. Starting in cold weather id drag, period. A few drops of go juice will get a woodgas car started in a hurry. I usually use a few drops and then coast down the hill and pop the clutch … This is of course after running the blower for a while and stoking up the gasifier … Regards, Mike

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