hello steve, besides this thread i am thinking just on the next project- convert a diesel 360ccm monocylinder for chargas, it is a little garden traktor with trailer, somewhere i read you recommend spark ignition- for what i have just found a old unit- , and ignition advance…
how much should be the ignition advance?
can i keep the original compression?
a work i like to make over the winter, but its just in the head and goes round and round there…
thanks giorgio
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Hello Giorgio,
I do not have the direct I-did-it-results.
In the DOW Library are the “India Papers” The published up results of the India Institute of Science: Combustion Gasification Propulsion Laboratory results.
18.5/1 compression was done by them on producer gas . This is a three component H2/CO/CH4 fuel gas.
They needed then no unusual spark advancing.
DOW member Joni has spark engine compression boosted woodgas (three component) to 12/1 as I recall. He was able to greatly reduce his previous needed spark advance.
But you are a single component CO charcoal gas maker.
Ask this question of Koen Van Looken. He is a DOW member
He is a charcoal small engine powering man.
He probably has direct experiences.
Regards
Steve Unruh
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thank you steve for informations…i tried to ask to koen, but comes no reaction… i hope he is well?
i will make more research in the forum and as soon as possible go in practice…
best regards giorgio
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Giorgio: This is a Northern Self Reliance design by Stephen Abadessa. He is no longer building gasifiers for sale. I am sorry, My brain can’t recall the builder / displayer’s name at this time (Sorry!, Missouri plate on trailer.) Maybe someone else can fill in some more info.
There is still some information online (biomass) at:
and
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hello mike, thanks for the links, i will study them… it seems i have found a stainless steel pipe with 5 inch diameter and sufficient long, depends if it is possible the owner likes to send it to me , it is a bit far away…
best regards giorgio
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Jim Hart I think…
another advice or tip for charcoal making from my obsevations…i have one container where the lid closes very well, not hermetic, but the metall from the barrel touches everywhere the lid, so there is no air circulation. there the charcoal cools down very well without loss.
in opposite my other petrol drums. there the lid not closes so exact because all is a bit bended and so a bit air can enter…in this way the coal cools not so well, a fourth or a third part goes to ash!
so if someone not has good containers like me in the outback maybee a solution coud be:
make the coal with a shuffel flat in the oil drum, than give ash on it, maybee 3-4 inch high, so i would say the air cannot arrive more at the hot coal, and than give the lid on for protecting from rain…
the same with the bath tubs, also this needs a more air thigt lid as the upper bath tub is.
for one night is ok, but when it stays too long inside for cooling down can too much air enter and a part changes to ash. this my experience with good containers and less good containers. but how just said, i think a thight cover with ash can resolve the problem with more scrapy containers…
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Hello Giorgio,
This my simple system for making charcoal. It is a TLUD (Top Lit Up Draft). It is made from a broken water heater. It makes about 30 gallons of charcoal at a time. It starts with 50 gallons of wood. When I want to stop the burn I take off the chimney (3 coffee cans) and put 1 coffee can on top with a piece of cement (weight) on top. I also take out the bricks and put a little dirt around the base. This works very well. A TLUD must have dry wood. I hope you can see ideas here you can use.
Rindert
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hello rindert, have you cut out the inner pipe of the water heater?
how you fill it?
you use wood for it like the size behind on the foto? or twigs?
can you explain me a bit more how it works?
thank you giorgio
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hello rindert, thank you. can you explain the system more?
for what is the afterburner?
how do you recognize when it is ready and you must close?
have you a cruncher for making the woodchips?
thanks giorgio
in the moment i use only twigs, the bigger size of wood is for house heating…we need more than six month heating.
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Hello Giorgio,
This picture is from the first time I used this TLUD, so you can see that the burn has only gone 1/3 down. A TLUD is very clean because the afterburner burns the smoke. Really there are two fires.
First I begin to see a few burning pieces of wood come out of the grate. Then I see the color of the flame coming out of the afterburner change to yellow from red and purple. This takes experience.
I am making a chunker. This is the most difficult step.
I have learned to wrap this piece of metal around. This little bit of insulation makes it burn much faster. I am still learning.
I learned to make small TLUDs to make apple wood charcoal for the grill.
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thanks rindert for explanations…with the chunker it will be more quickly done, nice work, please show us when is finished and works!!
best wishes giorgio
PS instead of the hand-cut scissors, i got an idea in the moment, something what moves the cutter by foot- more power or more pieces cutting together instead of one…the leg pushes down the cutting tool, a spring lifts it up again… a chunker of course is more effective…
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I tried to find the video of Dan Mannes charcoal retort he made for making charcoal from brush. I couldn’t. Maybe someone better with this search function can. It would be very good for what you are doing Giorgio.
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I believe Don uses an old seed spreader with a chute on the bottom to collect char. Uses the flame cap method I think. Unless he has a different retort.
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I think you mean this one.
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I hope you will have new ideas after you have seen what I do.
I thought about that. It would be simple. But really I want something like Wayne’s. I think he estimated somewhere that his chunker could work with about 5 horse power. This is impossible for my legs to do. I think I can make a chunker that weighs about 120 pounds and uses a 6.5 horsepower engine.
Rindert
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thanks for additional pictures, now i understand better… you fill the container with wood chips, you light it on top -tlud- than the fire burns down in the center taking air in the beginning from top and later from the grate. the down-moving fire creates his own chimney where it burns the chips while the parts beside gets charred from the heat…i think it is partly understöchiometric burning so the pyrolysis gas, what is not burned in the center-fire goes up and burns at the afterburner. in this way is no smoke !! very clever so complicated neighbours can recognize nothing!!!
a system with a lot of advantages…also the needed wood , i will say if is cutted-chipped when is fresh requires less power to make it-- and than drying outside in summer…short pieces dry very quick…
who has invented this system?
ciao giorgio
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Giorgio,
I think it is ancient. There is someone out there who calls himself Dr. TLUD, Paul S. Anderson. My brother was a Boy Scout in 1970s. He told me about an upside down fire. it burns for a long time and makes little smoke.
Here are more clean ways to burn wood: Rocket stove, Dakota fire pit, Bengali pit stove.
Here is a clean candle: candle caper.
I think if you study this kind of thing a long time you begin to really understand combustion. This is valuable I think.
Rindert
I also made a candle capper. You will not smell anything.
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