Don’t mix wood chips into an updraft, it doesn’t crack the tar like a downdraft does.
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Here you can see the size of my charcoal. I quenched it with water so it was damp. But now I do not quench with water, just stop the air flow. My pipe is 4.75 inches inside diameter. It should be at least 6 inches inside diameter. @k_vanlooken told me this. But it works. My pipe gets very hot on the outside, 850°F.
Here is all of the information about my project. Charcoal Gasifier for Generator - #486 by r_wesseling
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hello rindert, your small diameter gasifier has one nozzle, right?
with one nozzle i have had though fuel hang ups and therefore interruption of flow of good gas…
i think, when - for example -a one cylinder engine runs with the gasifier,(connected only with a rubber hose) because of pulsating negative pressure created from the motor, the fuel falls easier down , also when the motor is not connected by frames or so to the gasifier (vibrations of the motor help against fuel hang up)…
a still-standing gasifier how mine for cooking for example is from my sight more exposed to fuel hang ups, so at least the solution with 4 nozzles (like stephen abadessa´s) works reliable.
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Hi Giorgio,
Yes, it has one nozzle. I used @k_vanlooken recommended size hole. Koen also recommended the charcoal path must be at least 600mm. I think this 600mm is very good information because the engine would stop when the fuel was used and fell below this dimension. I used info from Koen’s thread Some school in Thailand.
Rindert
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@giorgio my gasifier is 6 ". For demo my goal is create electricity.
my chacoal is almost dry. Today I have done test again I need to blow air inside long enought to make temp inside high enought then it can generate gas to ignite. So you observation that my gasifier is not hot enought is reasonable. but it is still not constant.
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CK , sometimes for no reason it can be a pain to get a flare due to air leaks or too large a fuel or maybe even charcoal being too wet .
Don’t put anymore wood chips into your gasifier just small sized dry charcoal for now , where the gas comes out i want you to put a tin can with a hole in the middle for the gas pipe and all around the bottom edge of the can drill or punch as many air holes as you can , this should help mix air in with the gas coming out of the gas pipe .
If you start by sucking and get the charcoal alight then place the can on the output pipe and blow into the nozzle with your fan with a steel pipe so as not to melt the fan , that WILL get the charcoal glowing hot .
Dave
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maybee when the gas goes off, easily can be the reason that the fuel not flows down, so you get hollow burn…in this case, for searching the reason, take a wood-branch and give some strike to the gasifier to make the fuel coming down…when you get than a flare again , so probably fuel hang ups can be the reason…
or too less insulation…
you have no vibrations or suction pulses on the system, because there is no motor yet…so this kind of gasifier can easy create problems…mine was the most difficult from the 5 gasifiers i have built…
when you will produce electricity it will be more reasonable to use a bigger diameter, for example a propane tank…keeps more heat inside, and combined with the vibrations of a engine the fuel flow is normally no problem…
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Comparing a gas mixer and a gasifier, I could summarize certain similarities, vacuum and physics will do the rest
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If the gasifier is 6" in diameter, a 1/2" opening would be suitable for air intake, and you can pull the top with a powerful fan, and good gas should come out.
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I have one simple fire with a 6 inch diameter which is inside a 5 gallon pail and the space between them filled with refractory cement. It uses a side fed pipe like Tone shows with a Bryan White type pipe cap nozzle on an elbow. It Disperses the air like Tone shows and this seems to prevent any bridging caused by a smaller hot zone. Very Simple. Makes good gas.
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Thank you everyone.
I have plan to build new gasifier for solve insulation and diameter and nozzle problems.
Is it possible to use old LPG gas tank ?
or old refrigerant tank?
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this is my first gasifier … with propane tank… look a bit more down, there are explained modifications…i mad it higher so a 200ccm engine runs for 6 hours…
electricity generator in the same size needs more coal because the rpm is higher -determined from factory…
English-Manual-V3-PDF.pdf (2.1 MB)
look also here, from eddy ramos, simple and effective gasifier…not only for driving, also for stationary use…
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Be safe. Fill the tank with water before you cut it. This so you will not make a fire or explosion.
Rindert
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Please be safe, here is how to safely dismantle a propane tank. After removing the valve, fill it entirely with water. I fill it up and empty it twice before cutting.
Also be careful with refrigerant tanks, most refrigerant is flammable. A Helium tank would be safer because helium is inert.
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Hi CK can i make a suggestion , i am unsure of the size of generator/ engine you would like to try out on your first build ,but can i just maybe try and save you some time , please ignore me if you think i am being too over powering with my view , but don’t start making a new gasifier out of those propane bottles or the old refrigerant tank unless your engine is real small and you don’t intend to run it for more than maybe 40 mins at a time as a updraft gasifier as it will run very hot after 30 mins , the 6 inch tube gasifier you already have will work for you , fix that first before moving on to something else .
As others have mentioned , start off with small charcoal from 3 mm up too say 20mm max also make sure you sieve out all the dust , that is very important , once you have that flaring off and you have a filter attached try running your engine it really is that easy , as long as there are no air leaks and fuel is to size you should be making gas no matter how little or large your air flow fan is .
Dave
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Thank you guys for remind me the risk of propane tank I will do with very careful.
@d100f actually these is demo gasifier for meassurement before move up to bigger size gasifiier to run with engine. before I build big I want to make it work with my hand first.
I want to measure tar content ,cold gas effiency, etc thats why I am building small one first.
I will keep in mind about charsize. charsize is the thing that I am not focus enought.
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Read this:
Understand now very experienced gasifierman with both raw wood and charcoal, Kristijan is saying he can really only ever know by loaded gas fueling each of his different characteristics IC engines.
And unlike me an American able to have far too many engines he must be somewhat careful not to ruin one of his rare engines. The same with all of the daily using guys here on the DOW: Koen Van Looken; Dave in Australia; Matt Ryder; Georgio Pastore; Eddie Ramos; ToneS. They proof their made fuel gas with their engines, using/testing. Gary Gillmore set the examples of this.
The commercial fuels manufacture use test engines to proof their fuels intended to be engine fuels. Not flares. Not lab-rat numbers.
You should too.
Steve Unruh
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CK , your message back to me is totally understandable everyone that ever built there first gasifier was a demo to themselves as to how it would work , but let me stop you a second , if this is a charcoal gasifier and you want to measure tar content then i suggest look into how many people on here make there engine grade charcoal , because they will all tell you the same , done correctly there will be no volatiles in your engine grade charcoal and so no tar .
Everything we have suggested to you to help make that flare are all important steps no matter what you want to do with the gasifier , skip just 1 step allow air or make your charcoal too big or don’t sieve out the dust and they will stop you achieving your goal of a flare .
Dave
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Hi CK999
Charcoal size anything between 1/8 and 3/4 inch ( 3 to 15mm) Sieve out all dust and fines
Nozzle size 1/2 inch
Airspeed blower : as low as possible, airspeed at nozzle between 3 and 25 m/s
Plug all tubing , only nozzle inlet and gas outlet open.
Your nozzle should be protruding the outer wall about 1/2 to 1 inch
Don’t overpull with to high blower speed.
Only charcoal, dry and smokeless…
Suuces
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He and Wayne sure did…
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