With the push blower on I wonder if that will help at idle. I know it makes no different at high speeds going down the road, because I have tried it. But at low idle 400 rpm. Or even at a higher idle It might help. I just have not played with it much with the pusher blower in service on Idle.
Marcus did you ever try using to push blower at idle rpms. Not sure if you have one on your build? I mainly just use my reverse blower and suction blower most of the time for lighting up the gasifier and cycling it on start ups.
Bob
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yes I have 2 pushers on the truck, and I haven’t per say tested it that way, but I do use the pushers to bring gas up to the engine but once it is running I shut them off. I could try that though, but I have a new to me holley 4 barrel I need to swap on this weekend before I give it a go
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One thing I noticed is when I turned on my pusher blower with the hopper lid closed and locked some smoke would come out, but with the engine running I would think it would be more neutral in the hopper then positive pressure. Anyways it is worth a try if you are still having problems with lower idling when running on woodgas.
Bob
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Ok, Uncle Tony is a engine builder. A well vetted and respected member of the hot rodding culture, and a very very knowledgeable guy and how a engine works and how to make it work BETTER. That being said, he battles with all the gimmick things like hydrogen packs, vaporizers, all the stuff we have all heard of for these grand poo on big oil company’s make your own supper efficient blah blah blah… I have been poking at him for a while to learn about woodgas, because I think he may have some very valuable input on what could be changed internally of an engine to make it produce more power on woodgas. He leads on in many videos the secrets of making power on gasoline, using turbos, jetting carbs, in depth ignition timing for off the line just down low grunt, just endless information if your a engine nut like me. In this video he brings up what I think is valuable information many of us have touched on, the real secret in WHY certain fuel make the power they do, using just the mechanics engineered into a standard internal combustion engine. Now how can this be applied to woodgas, in maybe choosing a engine that will make better power on wood. Now I’m not trying to dive down the making gasoline power on woodgas hole,but making better power by burning the woodgas more efficient in a cylinder, would that not equate to better per hopper milage? As Steve touched on before I think this is where connecting rod ratio would in theory make a big difference in one engine vs another running on woodgas. Not just forcing more woodgas into the engine we have, but choosing a engine that would utilize the slower flame speed of woodgas, to produce the longest most powerful pulse within the cylinder,not relying on the flywheel effect of a spinning rotating assembly to carry the motor on after the woodgas has been consumed in the engine? And to that end when a given engine is chosen with the most efficient mechanics to utilize the flame speed and cylinder fill of woodgas, to from there start either forcing more woodgas into the cylinder, raising compression ratio, tweaking into extreme timing, or would any of these actually be needed if the engine had the mechanics to properly utilize woodgas???Brainstorming here, all thoughts welcome
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He talked all about what happen when the ONE cylinder does up and down and about the fly wheel effect. Great but we are not talking about a one cylinder engine here we are talking about 8 cylinders all helping each other to go around in the engine. Here is the secret. More cylinders for wood gas like the V-10 or a V-12. Upping the compression a little bit so you have to run on premum fuel if not on wood gas.
We will soon see if a mild RV cam helps when you get the V-8 engine up and running on woodgas. The best to one to me is use a bigger engine you are doing that. I do not know what it would take to up the compression on the 350 cheaply? Flat top pistons and that’s it? I do not know. How about the short stroke vs. the long stroke engine.
To do wood gas driving it is best not to put a lot of monies into the engine. Leave them stock, use the biggest engines in makes and models. This is what I think is the secret for wood gas driving for the best monies. The right years 1991 thru 1990 's Cars and trucks with metal intakes that came with big engines stock. Also the mpfi engines OBD1 or early OBD2.
Bob
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Here is the part 2 of the last video
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Marcus, I found the best anti stall operation was to slightly richen the wood gas mixture as you approach a stop or coast downhill.
But even better is to have the fuel pump dialed back to about 1/4 and blip the power this gives at least 10 seconds of stall free when pulling into an intersection
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Yes. Yes.
These two videos combined do explain much of WHY I long titled this topic as I did.
We make a composite fuel gas blend for a purpose. To make shaft rotational power for our purposes.
The current easiest, quickest, most direct way to convert the stored solar energy in woods to shaft power is to use existing piston internal combustion engines.
So, really, really get to understanding those existing engines!!!
Turning real wood into rela useable shaft power is the whole game.
Chasing fuel BTU’s/Calories/Joules fairies is a gross distraction from direct real.
Myopically focusing on just a single factor of combustion speed does not supply enough of the rapidly changing within the rapidly changing combustion volume answers either.
Treating those piston internal combustion engines as just simple air pumps in reverse will also be too narrow rabbit holing your effective results too.
I have tried using the bicycle pedaling example as illustrating this. Try it. It works.
From a standing start in too high a gear with the pedals and crank arms straight up and down IT HURTS TO GET GOING. Bad angles!
Back rotate to 45 degrees past TDC give the one leg the best power angle. To; and thru; from 45 degrees, just past 90 degrees is the best. Then you are losing effectiveness. And that is before the other leg and pedal crank arm have angled over and can begin to apply downward force.
On a bicycle we hopefully have before having stopped; down shifted so starting back up you can get quicker spinning carryover power impulses blending.
Think. Think. Motorcycles, cars, trucks you do this downshifting same too.
Observe that true good air compressors use un-loader valves at starting up. GOOD electrical IC engines generators demand that you do electrical unloading getting up to proper running RPM too.
Dynamics are the rules. Can’t change that outside of sterile one, two factors following Lab-ratting conditions. Narrowed conditions leads to narrowed useable results when out in the real world using.
It is the Best real world effective results that are the rewards.
Learn much from women. The imperfect, the messy, sometimes icky-gooey very frustrating dynamics is the only way we are going forwards.
Or remain the dumb-dumb, simple wind-up clock works monkeys, beating the same little drums. Making the same noises, going nowhere.
Steve unruh
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Your response very much illustrates my point of ONLY an good Operator can really ever get the best results using woodgas MichealG.
Best Regards
Steve Unruh
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If I am anywhere over 3/1 vacuum I will richen the mixture just a touch and that keeps the truck from stalling, but I only need to do that if I was on the throttle and have to let off quickly. If I am just cruising and casually let off to come to a stop I don’t need to richen the mixture, I get a momentary stumble but it will stay running. Let me dig up another video from uncle tony that illustrates how in the early days a vacuum gauge was used to see when the carb was in the enrichment circuit, using excessive fuel.
The term he uses is driving like there is an egg between your foot and the pedal. If I am driving in that manor, no enrichment is needed. I think to some extent, this has a effect on woodgas just because of air velocity will suddenly stall if your on the throttle hard then instantly lift. The gas momentarily stops moving, causing the engine to stall. This is exacerbated tenfold in my truck with low vacuum of a big camshaft. But staying in that ideal engine vacuum range, the gas is already moving slowly, so letting off the throttle it does not take such an effect
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Exactly. “Feather-footing” the GO-faster pedal works for EFI vehicles too.
Gentle hands, and gentle feet is the real Operators techniques. With of course, when, how-much and how much when not too.
Ham-handed and lead-footed assholes wastes fuels, break; and wear out machinery. Put them on the ends of steel handled shovels, pick-axes and splitting mauls to cure them.
S.U.
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When people ask me how it feels to drive on woodgas I tell them it’s basically like driving with a carburetor that forgot to have an accelerator pump hooked up. Can’t just jam into the woodgas and BOOM have it on tap, ease into it or you’ll be punished.
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He said 15 inches of mercury and I think he means Water inches. 15" of WC is 1.1 " mercury.
I have one of those gauges over at my sister house, in the garage in dad’s tune up box. I should go over a pick it up I know she will never use it.
Yup the light foot does work for wood gas driving you have to drive differently with the foot. It works good for good fuel mileage on any vehicle. Good stiff. Thanks for the videos Marcus. Got more?
Bob
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Here is my ancient relic from a time gone by
I need to take it home to set up the new to me Holley carb, think I might hook it up in the truck and watch the engine manifold vacuum on my daily drives, so I have a comparison with the new cam and see if my stumble problem is directly vacuum in the engine related as I think it is
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With the right wood gas set up Cody you can be a little heavy footed with wood gas. But your miles per wood hopper will go down just like in miles per gallon of dino fuel. When I am driving the gasoline Dodge Ram I have been using a very light foot lately on the gas pedel. Driving like a old man, Lol, that is because I am. My fuel mileage is at 18 miles to a gallon on the dodge 4.7 L instead of 13 miles to a gallon with the heavier foot. Driving 5 to 10 miles under the speed limit helps too. My thinking is this, pass me if you want to drive faster, I am saving monies per mile. Have noticed a lot of other people doing the same thing. This is like when they drop the speed limit down 10 miles a hour back in the 70’s on highways across the nation to save fuel durning the gas shortages. It works and we might be doing it again in the future. This will be a thumbs up for DOW driving conditions on the highways. life goes by to fast in ones life to have to drive balls out all the time. Hey I am talking like my dad now. He did a good job of setting good examples.
Bob
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My thoughts exactly Bob. And I am always ready with hand cocked and loaded to fire a middle finger if you want to pull along side and give me the hairy eyeball. Only one guy ever showed me his superior in every way pistol.
But to stick my two cents in, Wood gas is only a good optional fuel because it allows for self sufficiency. If you need some extra oomph then pump in some methanol rather than gasoline because methanol can also be self made and allows for fuel self sufficiency.
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I watched the UTG videos. My take away was the horror filled Moment when the piston is trying to return from BDC and meets a still strong pressure pulse… Back up just a few degrees and look for that exhaust valve to be opening…why hasn’t it relieved the cylinder pressure? Back pressure is holding up the show.
So one thing we as external engine component tinkerers can do, is tune the exhaust and cause a vacuum wave to be present at the engine exhaust ports. Two stroke guys have been doing it for years, Cadillac and Chevy did it for their AIR emmision control.
This vacuum would allow faster pressure release and allow higher pressures further down the degree wheel.
The crazy thought for CO only fuel, is build biasing towards detonation. Actually, try for a wood gas detonation pressure wave. Make it bark!
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The first and basic point is to produce good gas. Another very important point is the mixing of gas and air, the mixture must be homogeneous before entering the intake manifold, the mixing should be carried out according to the system small flow - small inlet opening, large flow - large opening, older cars used carburettors with double openings. The third point is to compress the mixture in a ratio of 1:14, so it gets very hot almost to the point of auto-ignition, and when the ignition is triggered, the pressure and temperature increase, so that the mixture actually burns with detonation down to the last molecule. The combustion chamber should have as small an area as possible and should be made of materials that conduct heat less well, so the energy goes into pushing the piston. The exhaust pipe of each cylinder is supposed to take advantage of the exhaust shocks - creating a vacuum during the time when the piston travels upwards, this action is supposed to be most intense in the middle revolutions of the engine, where we drive the most.
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My mixing chamber is about 10" before it goes down into the throttle body. Also I have vains to spin the two gases as they mix.
14:1 not going to happen on a stock engine but is a good point if you are building a gasifier engine. Having your wood gas as cool as possible would be good too. The larger gas inlet is very important. My was 1 7/8" wood gas opening inlet and struggle to get to 70 mph. Added a 3/4" extra inlet opening for wood gas after the auto mixer, what a big difference no problems getting the truck up to 70 mph and higher speeds.
Bob
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One of the things I’ve learned by watching hours and hours of dyno tests is that A/F is not the same in all cylinders. Running at fourteen to one could mean that one or two cylinders could go fifteen to one or a little higher. You are then in piston melting range.
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