Tom Collins' Gasifier

Projects
#822

Haha, you’ve been busy guys :smile:

What Kristijan said.
I might add that that ash and excess char both end up in the cyclone ash bin. I screen the mix and save the char. For now :smile:

Well, I didn’t really. I knew 7 nozzles worked for the Rabbit gasifier and I happened to have 15 more ss nipples of the same size. Following the 60 degree ash slope spacing seemed ok with 5 lower and 10 upper nozzles. In fact I can’t tell any difference running 5 nozzles or all 15, as long as I don’t do any heavy acceleration and stay below 50 mph.

3 Likes
#823

The day I have been waiting for since March. Got the wg truck in the new shop and ready to go to work. Just need some tools now.

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TomC

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#824

Very nice Tom. Can’t wait.
Makes me think of a sceen in a series of movies that were very popular here - well - a long time ago :smile: :smile: :smile:

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#825

Ya!!! Dat vus me pullinga der block hout in dat scene!! TomC

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#826

Good afternoon Tom C, i bet your glad too have the shop up before winter, now you probley want too drywall and insulate a good size area too work in. Good luck on your latest modification changes, allways a few pros and cons from gasifier model changes.?

4 Likes
#827

I am happy to say that the '94 Chevy ran again on wood gas today. It wasn’t an easy project or a fast start but I did get about 5 miles on wood gas. First I had to get it to run on petro— the fuel filter had rusted through. The fuel lines were also rusted and I was afraid I was going to twist them off. Despite my fear of fire, I wrapped the filter in a tin can and left a slot where I could get the torch in to heat the flare nuts. It worked-- with some heat the rusty threads let go and the nuts unscrewed.
Then on to the wood gas. I had a little wood in the hopper from back before the March fire. The entire inside of the hopper/lid were dripping with water and rusty. I decided fire and heat were the best way to dry things out. I prodded the wood in the hopper and stuck the torch into the prodded area. Got the fire going and turned on the Kirby — it pulled 10/5 inches of water. I ran for a long time and never got enough smoke to flare. When opening the lid, the hopper was full of dark brown dungy smoke. If I left the lid up, the smoke would clear away, and I could see the smoke coming up the sides of the hopper and curling around and heading back to the bottom. I tried several times to get the engine running on wood gas, but with no luck. It seemed the engine would not pull over about 5/2 inches of water. I opened the hopper and prodded several more time. I took the ash door off and prodded the grate from underneath but because it is mounted sold, it did little good. As I was waiting for something (?) to happen the cooling rails I was sitting on started to get to hot to sit on. That is something that never happens. Finally as I sat there the hopper gave out a “burp”. THAT has to mean something. I shut off the Kirby and adjusted all the valves, and got into the truck. After a several times of starting on petro and reving up the engine then switching off the pretro it took hold on wood gas. I stuck it in gear and after a few stumbles, I was off on the road. The performance was not too good, but I am hoping a lot of that was due to maybe wet wood from sitting since March. The engine started pulling vacuums up to 20/10 in. H2O. It would only go up to 2000 rpm in the three lower gears. Who cares??? It was moving on its own again. TomC

12 Likes
#828

Tom
Do you have a rheostat on the fuel pump?
I always use the blowers to get bypass smoke nearly clear and rail temp to over 250 degrees, then start on 100% Dino open woodgas valve, shut off air valve to about 50%, then when engine starts to chug and O2 meter shows rich (2 minutes)
Turn down fuel pump to about 1/3 and drive away. 1/4 mile out, shut off Dino.
SWEM!

5 Likes
#829

Hi, Tom!
11.9.2018

It is hard to hold down the frustration, that this description generates!

A dripping wet silo AND wood needs UPBLOWING initially for a long time before ANY starting attempts!

Fanning downwards at start up of the gasifier will ONLY wet the char into a hopeless mud!

And that you serve from, to the motor!!! The motor is not designed to drink wet gas.

Upblowing until the the heavy steaming stops, and gets lightable with a spark from an empty gas lighter!

The described “down bendable” rectangular grate, supported
in 2 L-iron rails with 4 taps would have helped you to conveniently empty the whole hearth into the ashpit.
It was described just for the present type of occasion!

I have to stop, before I get reprimanded!

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#830

Thank you Michael for the reminder, I do have a electric trailer brake system in my fuel line. I was having a hard time remembering what all I had to do to get it started, that I forgot about the “trick” with the gas controller. I will remember next time now that you have mentioned it. TomC

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#831

No reprimands from me; I have way to much respect for you words. Your are absolutely correct about everything you posted. I “knew” I should be back blowing to dry things out, but when I tried it I didn’t get a rush of smoke coming out of the lid and I was concerned that I wasn’t moving enough air. Pulling down on the draft did give me that roaring sound down in the belly, so I though more was happening. I will not do that again, because I didn’t run any petro through the engine before shut down and I am very fearful of what is going to happen to my accelerator pedal today. I have rebuilt two V6’s for broken push rods in my early woodgas attempts.
And yes you are correct about mounting the grate. I do have it mounted so that I can reach up and turn it a quarter turn and it will drop down. I did NOT make an ash pit opening large enough to take the grate out.
A word to WG’ers— Max has many very good ideas, that if followed will improve your gasifier. On the other hand he can be short on explanations and he does not like to repeat himself so you have to really study what he says and accept that in the end there IS a reason for his recommendations.
Thank you Max for helping me on my rebuild and I apologize for not following exactly to the letter of Max. If I didn’t screw up my engine yesterday, I will hope to get some new wood in the hopper and get another drive to see if I can prove the recent suggestions that I built into this modification.TomC
PS. I may have to wait for a day or so to get some wood cut up and dried. I have had to go back to using the table saw which is slower and messier than the old chunker was.

5 Likes
#832

Hi, Tom!
11.9.2018

I hope there is very little wood above the nozzles now.
In any case, do not add more than to a level ~4" above the nozzles, so you can “half-char” that amount with up-blow first.

When this little amount is well chared by up-blow, you have a chance to “hot-blast” the lower wet char all the way to the grate.

Not until this results in a “quick-starting” motor without gasoline,
can you fill the hopper!

When the up-blow gases will ignite with only a spark, you are near to have prepared the “upper” char.

Be carefull, not to burn your face when igniting the up-blowing gases! Face below the hopper opening (outside) when sparking!
Use No flame!

5 Likes
#833

Yes. Yes. TomC,
It was MaxG who taught me first about striker-spark testing only. Exactly how the IC gasoline engine will. NOT flame-ignition testing. “Flame” ignition systems went out in the 1870’s.
And it was MaxG taught me to use wooden poker rods to save delicate internals. The world is full of green-limb-sticks.
Regards
tree-farmer Steve unruh

5 Likes
#834

I watched Vesa Mikonens (or however you spell his name) startup video some time back and I remember he had some kind of oil wick flame under his flare on his trailer gasifier so it seems like some still use flame. I have found out though that if a spark will light the gas - then you have good gas.

3 Likes
#835

:grin: Steve, Aren’t you thinking of ‘hot bulb’ ignition systems? Hot-bulb engine - Wikipedia But I would dearly love to hear about this new, to me at least, ‘flame’ ignition system. Sounds really cool. Just don’t tell me some guy stood there lighting matches by the coord. LOL

Darn, I just did another search. There was such a thing. https://www.gasenginemagazine.com/gas-engines/flame-ignition-zmgz14onzkel Thanks Steve

Rindert

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#836

Ok Max; I paid to much attention to the up blowing process and not enough what to do after that. It took a long time but I just kept the up draft going and going. First very little smoke, then more and more. Then the smoke stopped. I thought possibly the flame had broken through the top of the wood in the hopper and was burning the smoke. I carefully looked inside and yes, there was a small flame coming out of the center of the wood chunks. I took a paddle I had and scrapped the wood that was built up along the wall of the hopper down in to a mound in the center covering the flame. The smoke came back gray at first but very quickly turned to that grungy brown. I was about to try a spark test, when the entire filler opening erupted into flames. I closed the lid to stop the fire but it was blowing out from under the lid until I shut the Kirby off.
After coming in the house and reading your instruction again, I realize you said to turn the air around and pull some flames down to the grate. It was some time before I re-read your instructions and I had locked the lid down and close all the valves so the hopper would not continue to burn. Tomorrow, I will heap the wood up again in the center ( if there is enough remaining) and start the fire again with a little up draft until I get the brown smoke again, then pull a little down to the grate, and then feed some new chunks into it. Hopefully another ride.
Anything you would suggest I do differently? TomC

3 Likes
#837

Yes, and a very cool engine ignition system at that, seems to work quite well for low rpms.

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#838

Hi, Rindert!
12.9.2018

… Additionally it is a “Flug-Kolben Maschine” =

Flying piston machine = the power is generated by vacuum!

At flame-ignition through a momentarily open (two-stage) port

the gas-air mix “flies” the piston up, then the atmospheric

pressure performes “the work” on the engaged downstroke.

The reload is a bit complicated; I don’t remember exact how,
so referring to litterature.

Works with slides and pressure-injected gas, injecting

combustion air aswell…

OTTO & LANGEN

3 Likes
#839

Hi, Tom!
12.9.2018

Oh, my dear!

When you go to a Restaurant to eat and drink,

you get a MENU, from which to PICK the dishes you like…

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

If an INSTRUCTION is to bring any PLEASURE,

it has to be carried out from A to O .

Half ways = no ways, sometimes worse.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I am a “flimsy” type myself, so experience is speaking.

…

“Back to business”:

The “upper process” is to be carried out untill no brown or warm-
-coloured gases are blowing up. Not by suffocating the upward flames,
but let them burn until the flames are clean (tarfree).

Then first you can be reasonably
confident, that you have a clean fuel reserv

abowe the nozzles to carry out the

main task = cleaning ALL the lower charcoal from unwanted
condensed distillation products.
BY CLEAN GLOW HEAT.

Then, the motor should start without ANY gasoline merrily and happily.

Not before that any new bunkering.

( You may have to redo it! )

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

By the way, You have not ( in this round ) told us,
if the upblowing happens via the nozzles, or from below the grate!

???

4 Likes
#840

Max, the up blowing is entering the ash pit and goes up through the grate. I put a piece of tape over the inlet that feeds the nozzles to force the air all the way up through the uncharred wood. TomC

2 Likes
#841

Hi, Tom!
12.9.2018

That is not a very happy circumstance.

It takes a longer time to prepare the fuel above the nozzles,
and consumes char below the nozzles.

On the other hand it is cleaning the “end process” char.

No chance to blow the nozzles independently?

3 Likes