brand New Stu. new member

The nozzles are 25mm below the top edge of the pot. the pot is 180mm deep

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Okay so it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. Sounds good! Yeah I’d work on the fuel before changing anything else in the system for sure. Definitely invest in some drums you can seal up. Maybe if all you’ve got is solid plastic drums, chop the tops and use tarp or garbage bags to cover it up from the rain.

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Top Tip!- If you cut those lids off in just the right place ( about 40mm down) then remove about 15mm of the lip left behind- they socket into the barrel and make weather proof lid

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Cody l had the same thod. Picture tricked us both.

Stu, once you run the bugs out moisture will not be a problem anymore, but an advantige. Water is “fuel” for the downdraft (!) Gasifier as it reacts with glowing charcoal and gets reduced to Hydrogen. Google water gas. I actualy moisten the char on purpose with about 20% water, no dust and the reaction stays below reactor melting temps while giving hydrogen rich gas.

Had to move my char powered BCS home from a friends place today so l thod l make a video to boost your enthusiasm Stu :wink:
I swear l wasnt drunk :smile: its just the damn traveling trolly steers couterintuitive and l only drove it once before. Need to rewire the brain. Almost ended in a trench twice today :smile:
.

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Hi Stuie
IMHO best way to go for charcoal gasifiers: i use 12 V version
and run them on low power with a cheap controller.
You don’t need a big mass flow, Only about 40 gallon/minute for a decent flame .

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stuie,
Been thinking. You used a lot of refractory. I know about that stuff from building foundry furnaces. It takes a while to dry. I have used a slow propane flame burning for ~6 hours to dry out an 80 pound furnace. After it is dry it acts better as insulation and the steam won’t be dousing the fire anymore.
Lately I’ve developed the theory that insulation is key. I’m thinking that aircrete with a thin skin of furnace cement toward the heat might be a low cost, low weight, good insulation.
Rindert

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I build a lot of stuff out of this stuff. Called Siporex here, a type of aircrete. How is this called elsewere?

Wery insulative, easy to carve and it withstands wery high temps. Also dirt cheap. And light

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Haha- very MadMax. anything with rear steer is mad at high speeds. especially worn out agricultural stuff I appreciate your humor and your video. And the aircrete- yes not available where I live , but in the city I have found leftovers of a product called ‘Xcallibre’ Its a 100mm thick building block that I used to make my forge from and also a wood fired pizza/bread oven. Its amazing. This stuff- https://youtu.be/Q_DABzqTCkc
There was 750ml of water in my refractory mix- I only gave it two days to dry so there would have been some moisture still there. It will be a few days till my big 10 amp blower arrives so Ill experiment with compressor and shop vac.

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yes there was 750ml of water in my mix- that has to go somewhere. things will be better with the next burn. Ive used this recipe for years. when cured it is lightweight and efficient. Im sure that next fireup will be better with added air and less moisture

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fascinating your bcs on charcoal!!

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It realy is my best ever performing woodgas vehicle. You will see Giorgio, this machine is made for woodgas!

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I didn’t know you could buy aircrete, Siporex. That would be handy. I don’t think they sell it in blocks here in the US.
But there are a lot of youtubes about it. It seems that the best soap to make bubbles for it is Suave shampoo.
Rindert

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Hi Stuie,
“Pryrologist” is a very precise label denoting study, and precision in practice and application.
Just as Proctologist is a specialist for very special needs.

I’d say we here, all fall more into the category of being Pyromaniacs.
Loving to play around with the power of fire and combustions. Any day playing with fire is better than any day without fire in it. Harnessed. Bottled up. Contained. Enslaved.
An IC engine-man me; just saying.
Forge-man.
Furnace-man.
Rocket man.
Woodstover, etc.
Only fun and challenging is there is the possibility of a run-a-way reaction. You are artfully, controlling, and usage directing.
Why most girls so much do love horses. Guys - motorcycles.
Regards
Steve unruh

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I can’t see aircrete I’ve made, holding up to any real heat. I’ve built quite a bit of stuff with it but it has limitations. I poured pavers outside my greenhouse with it including steps and it’s far less durable than regular concrete. I have mixed it with fuel sized char and that didn’t work out but may have used too much char. Kind of crumbled in a retaining wall. I’ll probably try the saw dust like in the video to see how that works. I see no point in filling in between stud framing with it. As far as the foaming agent goes, Drexel is the best but costs a lot more. Suave shampoo or Dawn dish soap both work about the same and are fine for the stuff I’ve done.

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Siporex is l belive aerated aluminium silicate based thing so similar to cheramic wool chemicly. Far from regular aircreete. I belive its made in an autoclave.

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I believe Siporex was invented here in Sweden in the 1930s some.
In the small town where i work they made blue “siporex”, nothing you want today, because of radon.
In one of my first Imbert style gasifiers i used crushed siporex instead of the “outer charbed” that was used on imberts, this was from an idea in an old woodgas publication. It held up very well.
(Outer charbed doesn’t participate in any reactions, only work as a coarse filter, distributes the gas path some, and insulate the “cone”)

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I became obsessed with fire because Mum wouldn’t let me have explosions in the house

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This l can relate to :smile:

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It would be great if something like that were castable, so it could be used to line a firebox, or a fire tube.
Rindert

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In Australia those autoclaved blocks are called Hebal they make panels and blocks from them they are rated for about 30 mins at temps around 600deg C for 30 mins i think , its what building codes insist on in fire prone area’s of Victoria , But they are near useless for what we do i spent from around 2012 till 2018 messing with all types of refractory mixes and the only one that would stand up to the daily use of a system was one with a 70% aluminum and cost me $70 a bag well worth it as it casts real well and stands up to a daily run of 4 hours for about 150 hours in a updraft charcoal system . since 2018 Hexoly has been my only nozzle .
Dave

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