Does it matter much to the cooling if I put the pipes as in option 2, instead of option 1?
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Wow, it’s starting to look like a woodgas truck 
I think with 8 pipes you will get good enough cooling ability either way.
Will you be using a rear condensation tank? What direction will you pipe the gas? During winter it can be favorable to have the gas piped into the condensation tank prior to the cooler to melt the ice. Even in summertime condensation will then steam off over and over again and help cleaning the pipes and even help with cooling. I vote for no 2
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I was only thinking of having 4 x 2 meters, have bad space on the other side. The gas comes from the front and goes back, to a tank, and then plastic to the engine I thought.
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If you have pipes only on one side, I vote for number 1 for two reasons:
- The pipes are “catching” more air flow higher up for better cooling.
- Sloped pipes get progressively shorter so you have less cooling surface.
The downside of number 1 is they collect soot quicker.
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@don_mannes has a couple good points there. The surface area is on the low side. You will probably see quite a lot of condensation in the plastic up front.
I use about 50% more piping. I still consider the Mazda being a little low on cooling area. I use 2 pipes under the truck going to the rear tank + those 4 rails climbing to the hayfilter. I still collect 5 times more water in the hayfilter compared to the rear tank. In a few weeks of driving I drain 10-15 liter. I would hate seeing that amount piped to the motor.
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Hmm, may try to find something on the other side too.
I have an oil barrel as a cleaner, is it included as a cooler as well? It is almost 1.9m2.
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Of course, any surface area counts. I didn’t realise you had the full size barrel. It will certainly help with cooling.
I would maybe try it as is. Just look out for moist soot with white spots in the throttle body. The throttle plate on my VW corroded and broke after one year of driving. Probably because of moisture.
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I would go with option #1 I have done all mine that way and it works well Just be sure to put easy clean out ports in. My favorite method is rubber caps one on each rail to stick a water hose through to clean the soot. Depending on how you are routing your gas I would probably go with rails on both sides if you can. I have a Dakota with rails only going down one side it is not enough cooling.
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Thank you for the advice.
@don_mannes Don, I’ve made the tubes the same length, both in options 1 and 2. Didn’t you have a s10 too? Have you just turned off the gas pump on it before running with gas?
@JocundJake Jakob, very good suggestion to put rubber caps on the pipes, I’ll try to find one here.How do you attach things to the platform?
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Yes, I use an old headlight switch with rheostat like Wayne uses. It is mainly on or off so I do not burn out the rheostat.
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I made the bottom of the stand pipes larger with a flange so i could bolt them on for the front. the back I did the same as Wayne and stuck a pipe down into the taillight housing and used a bolt and a hose clamp to hold it on.
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I looked at how to go with the tube under the car to the engine, I will get a low point in the middle of the cab.
How will it work with condensation, do I have to have a drain there?
@don_mannes, where did you cut the electricity to the pump?
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I have a low spot in the plastic too. Drilled a small hole and put a screw in as Wayne suggested. I forget to drain, but no problem. If you create too much of a bubbler you may have a hard time keeping an idle, that’s all.
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Jan, On my 1996 model year it is a grey wire which I found under the hood near where the steering column goes through the firewall. It was wrapped with a hand full of other wires. Even though I was pretty sure I had the right one, it still made me nervous to cut it. 
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Thanks Don and JO, I found a gray under the car that I think it is, looks like this in the book, gets to try and snap it.
@JO_Olsson , why is a tennis ball needed in the engine compartment and why is the tap you have between the chairs needed?
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The Dakota guys use tennis balls as safety valves on their air breathers just in case of an intake puff. I’ve stopped using it. Over the years I’ve had one small puff, which made a plastic elbow slip-fit come apart. And that was while cranking up.
I operate the air inlet to the gasifier with one of the levers. You can do that from the outside if you want to. The second lever is for the woodgas valve going to the motor. Convinient if you for some reason want to shut down the gasifier and switch to gasoline while driving.
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Good morning JO .
I have not had a intake back fire in the dakota in 2-3 years . However the V-10 ram is a different story. If I am running at very slow rpms ( over drive 1100 -1200 rpm ) and go to open throttle suddenly I may get a intake back fire . It does not do this if I give the truck time to drop a gear or throttle up more gentle .
The cause of this back fire may be because the computer does not have time to adjust timing and on this truck the spark plugs fire every stroke , even on the exhaust stroke.
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Thanks JO, is it not enough to close the air intake with the tennis ball?
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Thanks Wayne, then I think I put a tennis ball there too.
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Thank you for your input, @Wayne . I hope you’re all well in the quarantine. Now, imagine another 6 months and spending all that time indoors. Then you know what winter is like 
Even with 100% tight system and the airmixing valve (choke) 100% open, you will put a slight vacuum on the entire system (incl the hopper) that will make it breath back and forth according to your throttle position. A sudden change in throttle position will make air/woodgas by-pass your MAF sensor and off-set your air/fuel mix. You might be able to live with that, but the slightest leak in the hopper lid or air intake will keep a slow fire going and you risk making tary gas.
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