What a great, simple system!! Could a similar setup use pellets or chunks to accomplish the same task or does the fuel set the stage for the technology needed to generate the woodgas? I did not see any of the restriction type “inserts” or air feed tubes in the 4 gallon can setup. Seems simpler even than some of the FIMA/APOC unit’s I’ve seen specs for…
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Hi Mak, it’s the tradeoff you make when you use a charcoal gasifier. The gasifier is much simpler then on raw wood but the fuel is more complex. You burn down the wood to remove all the volatiles except the carbon that means very little chance of tars…
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you guys keep posting pics like that and you’re gonna make me have to build one… dang…
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Arvid, I WANT you to build one. In fact, I’m writing up some info on how to build it and hope to put together a video of it in the next month. This unit can be made from parts found in a hardware and automotive store. Only one component needs welded. With this said, you still need to adapt your small engine air intake and add a T to your exhaust. You also need to make some charcoal. BUT, with a very small investment in both time and material, you have a charcoal gasifier running your IC engine. Stay tuned.
Gary in PA
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i look forward to your instruction info.
for starting, i use a vacuum on our wood gasifier, could you not do the same on a char coal gasser as well?
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Morning All
Hey Chris Seanz could you transfer this topic now over to the new Charcoal gasifing section please?
This was started by Gary Gilmore and addresses well how much simpler a charcoal fueled system can be.
Hey Gary I had to ~50% prune our rare valuable Black walnut tree now grown over hanging the drive way before it and the birds kill the paint on another of my wife’s cars. I refuse to own another wood chipper so while the town/village behind me had their to burn down the town again celebrating last night I made some illegal open air charcoal. Illegal #1 due to our strict air pollution laws; #2 'cause I was disposing of some India fumigated engine crating wood, and #3 the general area burn ban slammed down as of the 21st of last month. This was a pre-scheduled date on the calendar. Bit silly since we’ve only had 8 days in the month of June without rain. And never more than two days back to back not liquid sun-shining, and never a full day of drying out sun since a short spell back in May. Haven’t seen an 80F/28C day here in the valley since last September. Only hay put in was by a few back then. Tool the stored crate wood And some rare valuable fir pitch wood to heat the wet pile up and get it burning as smokeless as possible. Then a 5:00 AM up early and wet hose soak down to kill off all of the remaining heat and smoke before the local EMS/fire chief drove by to work. He’s cool. But you can only ask an old friend to turn a blind eye so much.
Anyhow, life in the PNW temperate rain forest.
Ha! Ha! Picture of me with my hands on some very rare for here local made hardwood charcoal. 'Bout enough to run aloded small engine about 1-2 hours.
I’ll give this burn patch of ground the chicken eating test after the coyotes pass through and morning bed down.
2nd picture is a rockfaced hillside rotating 30 degrees to the north about 400-600 yards away of a 2nd growth logged off patch this last spring. Shows the now exposed rotting old growth tree snags from either the 1902, 1914 or 1923 September "East Wind " driven, drought season wildfires.
Good usable info you are putting up. Keep it up.
Regards
Steve Unruh
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OK here is a dumb question has there ever been a gasifier invented that can perform as both a wood gasifier and a charcoal gasifier at the same time?
Seems like you could have both in a single unit. downdraft gasifier on top and an updraft char gasser on the bottom burning the left overs from the top unit.
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Matt, the Brandt gasifier sort of works that way. I am experimenting with that design just for fun. They used it in Europe in the thirties. Here is a drawing of the design.
Don M
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Is this a dual fuel unit ? Burning charcoal and wood sticks ? It looks like everything mixes and burns at the bottom, and the gasses are drawn through the charcoal column as a filter and sortie out the top.
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http://jamclasses.drbanjo.com/static/dimages/Hydrogen_Generator_Gas_V.1%26_2_Wishart_Car_Type_Producer.gif
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I am just amazed at how many ways exists to skin a cat!
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Wood gasification to me is still a better way to go, making charcoal is a bit of work, especially for bigger engines. Though the fuel is nice and clean! Great start for the beginner.
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Matt, Finally got home after a week at the NC shore. HOTTTTTT. Here is the question you posted:
'OK here is a dumb question has there ever been a gasifier invented that can perform as both a wood gasifier and a charcoal gasifier at the same time?"
Not to be smart, belittling or otherwise condensending, but the answer is YES! In fact you are making one such unit. At the heart of every wood/charcoal gasiifier is a glowing bed of charcoal. Without it, the tars will not get reduced into gas. Take the charcoal away from your Vulcan, the GEK or Mike’s Rosafier, etc. and all you get is tar. As Chris pointed out, charcoal is a bit of work, especially for larger engines, but it eliminates a lot of complexity and operating problems when compared to wood fueled gasifier.
This quote is from the Swedish Gas experiment as translated by the Energy Solar Research Institute and found on page 94.
“The question of generator gas from charcoal or wood has been heatedly debated during the generator gas epoch (especially in its beginning), and experience has gradually brough forth the more correct position of charcoal and wood. Both kinds of fuel are justified in Sweden; rationally, they must really only be limited to the apropriate area of use for each, so that each may be done justice.”
I do not want to see us divided into camps of wood or charcoal, throwing “embers” back and forth. Each type of fuel has its place and I like to see guys like you developing a unit to use raw wood as fuel. On the other hand, I feel a need to share my experience with using charcoal as a fuel due to some advantages it has over a unit that can run on wood.
On page 95 of that same book is a picture that shows a cubic meter of wood. If run through a wood gasifier such as yours, it will give of the equivilent energy as 200 Liters of gasoline. The same amount of wood turned into charcoal will only give off an equivilent of 80 liters. BIG difference. BUT, I can make a charcoal gasifier in an afternoon and have it running my generator by evening on charcoal that was a pile of wood in the morning.
Here is the bottom line, There is lots of room in this world for both types of gasifiers and my hat is off to those of you who are working on developing all phases of this exciting technology. Whether you chunk it or char it, I like Wayne’s one ending of;
“Have wood, will travel.” Now aint that cool!?!?
Gary in PA
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I’m all for charcoal gasifiers in their place. One place is on a small vehicle that can’t carry a heavy wood gasifier and all the filtering stuff. I may try a charcoal unit on my little Geo Metro one of these days.
Remember that Wayne’s unit makes very nice charcoal fuel out of the ash dump. You will have ready to use fuel for a small application.
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while charcoal brings less btu’s to the engine than the equivalent amount of wood, there’s a lot of room to re-capture the “lost” btu’s during the creation of the charcoal, as Wayne Baker suggested to me. capturing the heat during charcoal creation by running through a water cooler, thus heating the water for domestic use, may also condense some other products of the pyrolysis process (making the charcoal), which can be further processed later on. ie: the sky is the limit on what the efficiency of a charcoal fuel-only system might actually be.
Wayne Keith has taught us all the extent to which pre-heating air from waste heat in his gasifier can go towards increasing performance and efficiency.
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