Hello, I am Mark from Canada. I have been reading up on this whole process and it looks really interesting. I love the fact we can burn wood for fuel. Its a lot of wood for the distance, but wood is plentiful, renewable and cheap. I have not yet properly priced out a cord of wood in Southern Alberta, somehow I doubt its $50, my general online classifieds search lead me to $200 per cord but thats probably city folk pricing.
Questions…
I have been trying to find out what type of engine is best for gasification/wood gas.
From the video’s I have seen, the engine always has a air filter on top which suggests to me that a carburated engine is required. But the trucks themselves I believe them to be a type of fuel injected. So if that is the case, then work is involved in converting a truck from EFI to Carb.
I also wonder why Dodge trucks are preferred, I only got that info from this website. The V10 and the Dakota’s. Is it because there is very minimal conversion work to be done, converting from EFI to Carb or is there some other reason. I hope its just not a Ford/Dodge/ChevyGM competition thing.
How much would it cost to build a proper DIY setup?
The easiest and cheapest parts to get a hold of seem to be the barrels, the cooling pipes/condensor.
The pusher/puller fans would be easy to get. Insulating the burn barrel might be somewhat harder with the barrel inside a barrel and welding. Guess it all comes down to the filter, where can I buy a filter, or is hay what most everyone is using.
All these questions and more are answered on the premium side. I will first suggest you check into a membership there because you will get your moneys worth and more.
Now to answer some of your questions and not sound like a salesman. EFI seems to be the best.
OBD 1 at the present time is perfered but people are making inroads on OBDII. All different brands of vehicles are being or have been converted.
There is a thread here somewhere that I’m sure someone will post the link to.
Horsepower to weight ratio is the major consideration. Wind profile is also a issue. Dakotas fit this very well.
Depend ultimately on what you want the vehicle to do and what you have to work with.
Ford Chevy Dodge and even some I have never heard of are here.
Consider your wood supply in making your decision
Tomw
Welcome Mark, diffidently buy the book, and use the web site,it well save you many hours of aggravation. Many of us here have fooled with wood gas for years, but never got it as good as Wayne’s system. As far as fuel wood if you look around, and think outside the need to purchase it box there is lots of free wood every where. Al
Thanks for the quick replies on the engine type, I just could not find that info anywhere.
I will definately look into buying the book/membership option once I decide to go the woodgas route, which wont be for a few months anyhow.
I do plan to just copy the design.
You are right wood is everywhere, construction sites will be popular, crown land too.
I just hate spending money on gasoline. I thought a big crew cab truck, 4x4, long bed would be good, but with your comments on HP to weight ratio and wind profile I will look more into that.
Do you think a big block 454 or a 460 engine might work for a crewcab 4x4 long bed?
Maybe later I could go stroker engine. Especially with the lose of 25-35% of the power going woodgas.