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This looks like a great project. I would like to do something simalar to it when time and cash are available.
I was wondering if there is a posibility of running two smaller size gasifiers instead of one massive gasifier. My thinking is the fuel capacity would be greater and if sized right you could achieve the fuel requirements of the large engine. Thats just me thinkin though.
I will be following this one closly.
Good Luck with your build
Wow Brent, that’s quite a truck. I would highly recommend Wayne’s system for that setup, it would be a great fit. He has put thousands of miles on his carb’d 460 Ford farm truck, and it will pull! With the fuel injection and high compression engine you are all set.
Don’t take this the wrong way… I’m really excited for you and want to see you succeed. You have a great opportunity here. I want to bring up a few issues, and hopefully save you some effort.
Have you looked at Wayne’s trucks? They are as clean and unobtrusive as they come. Plus they work better than most others… but that’s another issue, I’m just talking asthetics and practicality. While you do have other options, it will force you to do some needless rearranging and make some compromises. It’s up to you.
Here’s the obvious problems with what you’re proposing. A squat gasifier on the bumper the height of a tailgate will not make much gas, will have very little hopper capacity, and will be uglier than you want to admit. Filtration equipment will also be undersized. Gas connections will have to be flexible in order to pivot. It adds about 2-3 feet to the length of the truck, may interfere with the towing capacity and vehicle handling. Bumper mounts have certainly been done, but not usually on a pickup and certainly not that short. Once you have the gas you need to cool it. Bigger bumper mount or possibly run it to the front of the truck, reduced cooling capacity either way but can be made to work. Run condensate to a separate tank, probably under the truck. Then it’s back to the bumper for filtration and back to the front into the engine.
Now let’s say you put it in the bed against the cab, the usual way. It can sit through the bed directly on the frame, adding about 7" to the capacity. You can make it flush with the cab or taller if you like. Total gasifier height will be around 4-5 feet, hopper capacity good for 40-50 miles. This takes up 2 feet of bed length, leaving lots of room for supplies and fuel. Gasifier is bolted securely to the frame and connections do not move. The unit is camoflaged by a cooling rack extending full height for 2 feet and half-height for the rest of the way. This rack serves for gas cooling and carbon settlement as well as getting the gas to the back of the bed, and down underneath to the condensate tank. After that it goes under the truck back up into the hay filter, mounted in the bed on the left of the gasifier. From there to the engine.
One thing you might consider with all the custom work, is that TBIs and carburetors tend to get sooted up over time with the woodgas, and can be hard to clean. Can you arrange a separate entrance for the woodgas (underneath) or upgrade to MPFI? If so then you’ve got it made.
Another consideration is the plumbing underneath. You will have lots of room with that lift kit but also in rough terrain. The usually recommended PVC pipes may not stand up to abuses on the trail. Just watch where you put them, buy quality pipe and fittings, and maybe use steel pipe for the vulnerable areas.
Hope this helps and again, not criticizing just trying to save you grief in the long run. We want to see that baby burning wood!!
Hi Brent,
I understand your setup better now. Hadn’t realized it was a Bronco/roof over back area - and no cab wall. Yes you will need to keep it out of the bed in that case. Several more comments but the most important is that Wayne is running a much advanced system over the Imbert and you would be wise to explore the possibilities. His unit is made from drums and comes out to about 50" tall, which is around a barrel and a half. Hay filter is smaller diameter, 16" or so water heater tank. Could be shortened some. Let me know if you’re interested in the details, I can hook you up.
Gotta run, keep thinking and planning. Some sketches of your intended layout would be great.
Hello Brent,
WOW, What a nice truck!!
It looks like it is too nice a truck to build your first gasifier on. Even if you have a perfect gasifier mounted on the truck that is 25% of the equation. 75% is the operator knowledge, experience ect.
Operating a gasified vehicle for the first time is like learning to ride a bicycle, you will fall and skin your knees a couple of times.
The truck looks too good to be used to learn.
My advise would be save the bronco for your second build. Buy a one or two thousand dollar truck to do your first build on. I think if you ask some of the other old folks, Mike Larosa or Woody and Sean they would agree with me.
Thanks
Wayne
Hi Brent,
That’s a nice truck you have there. I have to agree with Wayne here it’s just to nice for your first build. I would stay with a pickup for your first build and put some miles under your belt first. Come back to this one later on. I drive a 2003 f150 everyday on Woodgas however it was not my first truck. Dodge and Chevys do real well BBB Sean
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Hi Brent,
I would definatly think this one over for a minute. No one is saying it can’t be done this is a great truck for Woodgas. When learning Woodgas it takes some time to build skill to learn the do’s and don’ts. There are good people to help you along the way with every detail and choosing a truck is the first step. I learned on an old GMC sierra 350 v8 with an 8 ft. Bed awesome truck wish I still had it. I have a ford that I run daily on wood.
Wayne also runs Woodgas everyday sometimes hauling trailers for the farm or out to dinner in one of his little dakotas. I will put a pic. Of my ford up so you can see to help with your choice this truck has a 6ft. Bed v6 engine BBBSean
Sean
What year was your GM truck and why did you like it so much?
Did it have enough power or would it have been better with a 454 in it?
I’m looking at maybe buying a crew cab 93.
Hello Loyd, The gmc was a 1988 I liked everything about that truck not limited to anyone option. I never drove one with a 454 so I can’t say. That truck had tons of power I could haul anything anywhere with it. That 93 will work good anything up to 96 is fine. Sean
brent a 20mm ammo can is pretty god size and there not to bad on price.
im in the same boat as you one more final tomorrow and i get my diploma
then its fun time!
soon as i get some other materials together im going to start on my f150
Hello Brent,
I have read over your post four times now and each time I read it I still come up with the advice of don’t do it. Many times you state that you love the truck and will keep it forever and your Dad gave it to you. I would advise you to get a thousand dollar truck gasifiy it and drive it a year before going to the bronco.
In the premium section we have no designs for a bumper build but we have a lot of detailed information for building a gasifier behind the cab.
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ya Brent defiantly, biggest difference from my truck to yours is engine displacement and wheel base. my truck has the mazda 5 speed and a borg warner 1356 transfer case man that thing will crawl in 4 low for having 3.55 gears out back. huge amounts of room to route everything. need to check with Mr. kieth about using the same size gasifier as his 318 dakota considering my usual drive to work consists of 65-70mph highway driving. that and getting my cruze control working
The YouTube video shows what I think is a charcoal gasifier running a 1 to 5 hp engine? (I can’t read that language.) One other video shows water injection. A truck-sized unit would need a very large amount of charcoal. I wonder how a Wayne Keith unit would react to a hopper full of 100% charcoal? Might get really hot! The design in the video if used for a large engine would probably require a special nozzle out of ceramic…That video was a new one for me, and I subscribed to his channel. Good find, Thanks.
Hi BrettW
Truely man woodgas can only be learned by using it. Very tricky especially with YouTubes and Blogs to sort out the “Ran Once” from the “Use Daily” until you’ve had quite a bit of experience.
It is MUCH more than just a collection of barrels, cans and concepts.
Sigh. Your car radiator idea will fail in short order. It will clog with soot deposits. Not my opinion. At least five modern Internet searchable examples of “moderns” having to relearn what they learned back in the 30’s and 40’s. All woodgas Cooler piping and tubing must be big and accessible for swabbing and flushing out. Internet info put up you will see this as builders earlier works having a car radiator. Quietly later dropped and later work switched over to a vertical or horizontal large fabricated tube rack. And later yet, with BIG learned needed access ports. Experience teaches . . . or you quit and move on to something Corporate $ and Government spoon fed easy.
Really a shame to see you spending all of this time, money and energy on the wrong end of the woodgas power equation.
Won’t say good luck. I do wish you the perseverance to see this through to the end. Make a real man out of you if you can dig down and have the strength and stick-to-iveness to make woodgas work to make an engine run spinning a shaft for useable power.
Regards
Steve Unruh
PS: Re-search for 460 Fords used for statioary power generation. Has/Is being done in at least two different woodgas applications. They call these their “Big Lung Engines”.
AND Mr Wayne certainly IS still running a woodgas converted 460 pickup. Just put up 5-7 year Son and Dog aged pictures of his rig in the Premium? or Members Pictures section here.
