I am coming back to post on my thread. For a little bit of back ground, before I get going, please go to “Chevrolet s10 4.3” and start at posting 286. I don’t want to intrude on Jan’s thread.
So, I have my 4.3l truck running again after some disasterous experiments in running on woodgas. I am working with a 4.3l engine and Jan is also so I have been hanging out over there sucking up what wisdom has been garnered to him.
One of the last posts he asked;
“How are you going to do Tom?”
Right now I’m weighing my options. Should I rebuild my earlier build which ran fine up to about 55 mph. I could drive it as a daily driver. Or should I continue on with one experimental build which showed a good speed increase? I am going to have to think on this. Suggestions would be appreciated. TomC
Well TomC which way you go depends on you, you know.
Mike LaRosa and others are satisfied with a system that can be a non-freeway speed daily driver. JohanL and his buds did an around Sweden tour with their go-good-enough trailer system.
Others, like WayneK, VesaM keep developing to get the highway/freeway speeds and distances. And In Waynes case and quite a few others a blend-in innocuous appearance.
Which will make you happy?
Regards
Steve Unruh
I’m curious Tom.
What was wrong with the car?
What does your experiment hopper look like?
Jan; I did so many things to the engine and all of a sudden, when I wasn’t expecting it, it cranked over and fired up. So I don’t really know what the problem was. I suspected I had gummed it up because the throttle was really stuck. But other than that, I couldn’t blame it on tar.
My hopper is nothing experimental. It is that I am never happy with it and keep changing it. It is basicly a 55 gal drum. At first it stuck up above the cab so much it was a problem in a head wind. I cut it down to about 7 in. above the cab. That was better. Then when I went to changible nozzles, and restrictions, I found I could not reach them without removing the hopper, so I cut it down more.
TomC
Hi Tom.
You write "
Or should I continue on with one experimental build which showed a good speed increase? "
What had you done then?
Greater restriction?
Jan; that was the one that resembled a WK with no nozzles in the holes and a large restriction 10 in. below my nozzle holes. Also no grate. Quite quickly I saw flaking around the nozzle holes. A problem the WK’s had. They cured it with “heat sinks” welded just below the nozzle holes.
I just cleaned my hopper out for an inspection. I had put this inverted cone, with nozzles, and grate in.
I couldn’t get it to generate gas. After setting for a couple of days is when I found the accelerator locked up. When I cleaned/inspected the hopper, I found the inverted cone had come off the pins that held it. It dropped down an inch or so and sat on the char in the ash pit.
It didn’t make gas, but it must have gotten hotter than hot— the metal on the grate and the cone flaking like de-lamination or something. Very little signs of white ash in among the black ash.
Have you made any changes yet? Like raise the grate up or even tried running charcoal in with the wood.? TomC
I have only inserted larger nozzles than, have not driven that much (hay salvage) maybe driven 30-40 km, it seems that it got better at idle with 12mm nozzles.
Thought to try to go a little further now that I’m done with the hay, but suspect that I either have a leak or that the wood is still wet, cooler pipes get hot on both sides, and they did not do that before.
It was weird that yours did not make gas, does it get too much oxygen so it burns up the gas?
Would be interesting to put in a little bigger restriction, think Kristijan is right there, but is afraid of tar when I drive so slowly when we look at animals.
Got a problem that is WAY off subject. My winter shop is only 16x30. I didn’t put in a chimney because after just getting over gutting my shop with a fire, I thought my insurance company might drop me. I planned on using a propane ‘‘torpedo’’ heater which requires no chimney. My problem is, my tools in my tool box are getting dripping wet. Some where I read that propane burns and
the products of combustion causes moisture on cold objects. Why is this happening and how can I correct it? When I lived in Ohio, I heated my shop with a kerosene torpedo heater and had no problem (when I went to bed, I had a petroleum taste in my throat.) Can I use diesel or something in place of kerosene? I don’t know where to buy it in other than one gallon cans. TomC
I burned diesel in a kerosene heater for years. I can’t remember the name but it was one of those with a wick like Kero-sun or something. The only Issue was that the wick got crusty after a while and when you cleaned it it deteriorated a little and had to be replaced a little sooner than with kerosene. The difference in price of fuel made that expense negligible. The heater I had would not have heated that much space though.
I have used wall mounted furnaces in my shops since 1978 without any problems, insurance or otherwise. The vent through the wall. The type that I use suck in outside air from one of the concentric tubes that makes up the venting system.
You are absolutely correct. Water is a real byproduct of combustion. I think that’s why some guys feed one of the reasons that they feed a portion of their exhaust gas back into the intake of their charcoal gasifiers.
Of course if you have a dirt floor, you might still have some problems, up around the 45th parallel, at least. I even dehumidify my shops in the summer to avoid EVER getting a condensing atmosphere. I know it’s an expense, but so is having your tools die from rust.
Pete Stanaitis
A few years ago purchased 3 torpedo heaters from Tractor Supply that had adjustment on fuel pressure. You set it for the fuel you will be using. Priced kerosene yesterday $8 a gal in 5 gallon can. 
I’d buy one that would use diesel
Tom,
I would call the insurance agent, and ask for a list of approved vented shop heaters, and installation companies. I would pick one, have it installed, and enjoy what time I have to spend in my shop, in extreme comfort. I would not screw around breathing carbon monoxide fumes.
Ha! Surprice!
I know what I would do - I would put an old cast iron wood stove in (and go through the gable in your case), without asking. No one would ever know.
However, having all the authorities and insurance companies checking up on you, you may not be able.
The easiest and safest way would be to go electric. I know it hurts a woodgasser to use electricity for heat, but an hour of 10 kW or so with a fan would warm things up pretty good. How much power does your domestic low voltage allow?
If you have propane, they make high efficiency apartment size furnaces. They would only require two holes in the side which like 2" pvc pipe for inlet/exhaust air. They produce condensate that that is slightly acidic, and needs to be pumped off as well. Adding a furnace filter would clean up the air a little. They might be out of the “what you are willing to spend” range too. I haven’t priced out anything in the 25-30k btu range.
Thanks Sean, I have seen the pipes coming out of the side of houses. I’ll look into one of those.
I was there for almost 30 yrs. Then the step daughter burned the house to the ground in 2011 got divorced 40 days later.
Life was easier with a full time job.
But, I still wake up between 430 and 530
Had chickens for awhile had to go let the girls out. Feed and water clean the coop .check the plastic snow fence. Go in have some Bf, and coffee. Back outside screen saw dust mow grass set crawdad traps for the chickens.
Now I get to start all over again here in Mo.
Life is so exciting!! Forest always said: life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get!!!
Jesse
Hello Tom.
If you seriously go shopping for one of these direct vent furnaces, you might try craigslist for a used one.
One other thought: I suggest getting one with electronic ignition vs. a pilot light if you can find/afford it. Not a game changer either way, though.
I have to admit to a bit of sticker shock when I looked around just now.
Yes, sticker shock for sure! Our town outlawed mobile homes after a certain age, so there are some places near by, that recycle old trailers. Could possibly contact one of them for a mobile home heater. Would be questionable how good pne of these would be, coming from an old or older mh.
I suppose a used mobile home heater could work. Back in about 1978, I bought a well used wall mounted propane direct vent furnace that served me well until 1992, when we replaced it along with a major shop building upgrade and it was still going properly. But I think most mobile home units require roof exhaust and don’t suck in fresh air from the outside. Currently I have a Williams 35Kbtu wall furnace with roof exhaust in the utility room/machine shop that’s been going fine since 1992, which doesn’t get fresh air from the outside and that’s working properly too. And I haven’t died from it.
The wood shop does have the “direct vent” system and it has worked fine, too since about 2006.
Thanks Pete, I was reading about hi-efficiency furnaces, and they had MH furnaces separate. Made me think all MH’s were vent-less. I should have known better, I lived inone for awhile. Do you run all furnaces on thermostats, or do you just light them up when needed? I just want to turn mine on when needed. TomC