Tom Collins' Gasifier

Fixed. Looking good!

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Yup, it makes a difference. Sometimes I wish mine were shorter too. Headwinds can be brutal in a WG rig.

HI TOM C,That custom rework looks real nice,amazing how much that will help.i allready shortened by cooling rail too get less wind drag,i could tell a big difference even with out a gasifier finished yet.

Thanks Chris; I worked hours ( until 2;00 am) trying to make them smaller. This morning I E-mailed them to myself and down loaded them to iPhotos and then on to DOW. In all that, they got mixed and I couldn’t fix it. I have some more pictures I want to post of construction, but will hold off Thanks again-- I don’t like being a problem with these pictures but I just am not computer wizeTomC

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Even just sitting there, it looks better. I like the blue insulation that almost matches the truck, and the lower profile. I hope it works as good as it looks!

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Hi Tom,
Super looking truck. For the pictures try this. Start a practice post. Write a sentence or two, then post 2 pics. Note that the pics appear in a bracketed form, < whole bunch of text>. These are text forms representing the picture. Put the cursor before the <, then highlight that text message, brackets and all and choose the cut function. Then move your cursor to where you want the picture and click paste. To add spaces between pics put the cursor before the < and use the enter key to add space between the pics and or the message. To space out regular text message put the cursor at the beginning of the text and just hit the enter key. I’ve been using 4 spaces which seems to look OK.
If you minimize the 2 screens (your pics folder and the DOW screen) by clicking on the double squares box in the extreme upper right hand side of the screen you will be able to left click and hold and drag pics from the pics folder to this DOW message box. With practice you will be able to place the pics better, if not use the above method to cut and paste them where you want.
Hope this helps.
Pepe

Thanks Pepe but the problem is I can’t “post” the pictures in the “trial post” because the pictures are too big ( to many pixels per inch). I tried many many things and at one point I was able to down size them by changing to jpf or something but couldn’t move them from that page. The Lord knows I tried, programs that were suggested, going to the net for ideas. I knew that my computer downsizes pictures automatically when I e-mail them, so I e-mailed them to myself and was able to drag them to DOW. Can’t teach an old dog new tricksTomC

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Tom, I used Paint for a while for downsizing and it works ok, just a lot of steps and you have to know where Paint is sending the downsized pics. I can send you a small tutorial if you’d like. Then someone suggested changing the settings on my camera so I got out the manual eventually and was able to change the output size to meet DOW’s parameter. Perhaps you could do the same if your camera has that option. Yes, it took me 3 days to locate my manual, lol. Pepe

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My 20 $ digital camera i bought from wholesaler,had a bloch in the flont cristal screan but it has no efect on the pic,as stated ,i bought a couple more for around 10$ just in case,it seems too work good after loading it on my big computor,it then loads too dow with out any trouble.Never tryed paint for down sizeing.HAPPY TRAILING,SWEM

Hi Tom,
I went ahead and posted a how to on using Paint in the off-topic section. How to resize photos using Paint, Hope this helps, from one old dog to another.
Pepe

WELDING; This should go under “welding general” but I could not find that as a subject. After coming home from Argos I wanted to lower the height of my gasifier. I cut 6" out of the drums and all the heat exchanger pipes. When I put it back together the 55 gal drum leaked badly. I filled it with water and ground off where it was leaking and then I kept blowing through. I went back to basics and checked every thing on the welder== all was set correctly. I took a scrap piece of barrel and shined it up with the grinder and tried to weld it. I couldn’t get the arch to start with out spitting and sputtering. Finally the weld would start but no matter what I did, it would over heat and blow out. I tried every thing over the next couple of weeks. ( started by watching Mr. Wayne) Tried to borrow a welder from a friend, but he went to the hospital. I call a high school buddy who was at one time the vice president of a welding company. Today I found Hobart on the net and called their help line. After a discussion with a fine gentleman, he gave me some things to try.

My problem was TOO LONG AN EXTENSION CORD OUT OF TOO SMALL GAGE WIRE. I am so embarrassed because I have been on here telling new people how to make good welds. I now have to go back and practice to learn how to weld with a properly working welder.TomC

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Good information Tom!

I moved 17 posts to a new topic: Shop wiring and welders

Old age is getting to my mind. As you know, I had welding problems that I thought I corrected by checking the voltage at a wall recepticle and I use that for everything. I move anything that needs welding near to that recepticle. I was welding on a drum. To check the welds, I turned off the shop lights, and with my head inside the drum, went around the outside with a drop light. After finding several pin holes ( of course) I laid the light on my table and hooked up the welder. When I struck an arc, the drop light went out. WHAT? I know the recepticle is ok under no load. I struck an arc again and the light went out again. Hmmmmm!!! What now, the drop light cord is to long??? I shut the welder down and took off my helmet. TADA!!! Dummy!!! The automatic helmet was darkening ALL the light in the room, including the drop light. That is what you get when you get paranoid.TomC

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Good luck welding new projects,i have mine fixed for now, it needed beter brakers in garodge any way and the one on the pole was looseing contact from oxidation,i moved that braker over one notch i had left over,and it tighten the conection for now, the trailer braker conection is fine out too the pole. IT sure made the little welder nearly stop poping,only thing i may try next is hanging some dc caps acrost the bridge, some are saying that helped stop the poping.

My plasma cutter dims the florescent lights when I cut.

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HY tom C. am looking at your heat duck plumming on the back of your blue truck,is that actualy part of your heat exchanger/cooling area before the cooling rack.it seems it would burst open with a puff back if it was.?Thanks

Yes Kevin, that is a counter flow heat exchanger. The hot gases come out of the gasifier and goes into a 3 in. exhaust pipe material that makes several trips up and down before it enters the cyclone filter and then dumps into the 4 in. cooling pipes around the bed of the truck. The 3 in. exhaust pipe then has a 4 in. furnace type tubing around it. The air comes into the furnace piping just before the cyclone. It follows the hot gas piping back until just before the point where the piping picks up the hot gas. There is a T there that allows the heated air to then go to the manifold to feed the nozzles I have a thermocouple measuring the temperature of the air going to the manifold, and another that measures the temperature of the gas AFTER the cyclone. I find the air going into the manifold is about 50 deg. cooler than the gas coming out of the cyclone.

I believe your concern is that I am using furnace tubing. Where the hot air goes is solid exhaust pipe. The opening to between the nozzle manifold and the hot air supply line is only 2 1/2 in dia. The pressure coming through that hole is very low compared to the force of the pressure on the spring loaded hopper lid. I suppose there is some puff back, but it has never blown the furnace pipe apart in anyway. Always the lid.TomC

HI TOM C,i had no problem with the way you built it, i was just trying too see what i was looking at, I see what your saying,you do have a preheat area, Thanks for the verification,Neat design.

Technicians / woodgasers; I have a "94 Silverado with a 4.3 TBI engine on wood gas. This week I had to take the TBI apart and clean it. When I get it back together, including the air cleaner, I run the engine and put my had over the horn of the air cleaner to see if it is leaking air. Normally when the engine slows to just about dieing, then I remove my hand and assume it is air tight. Today I thought I would go all the way and see if I could kill the engine. To my surprise, just before stalling it picked up speed and stumbled around until it had a good idle again, with my hand on the horn. I could hear a whistling sound. I assumed the IAC had kicked in. I took my hand off the horn and the engine died-- assuming to lean of a mixture because of the IAC setting.

If the above is correct, my question is---- when running on wood gas should I disconnect the IAC because it is by passing the effects of my “air control” valve on my “mixer”??? I normally run with the “air control” completely closed. I would like to have control of the air by using my “air control” rather than the computer, although the computer seems to be doing a good job.TomC