Chevrolet s10 4.3

And I who thought you could drive in circles around my car, but that’s where one of my big stupidities came out, I always think it’s greener on the other side of the fence.
Thinking about restriction, does it really matter where it sits in the fire pipe?
As I think it should be hotter the closer it is to the nozzles, (easier to burn tar) the reduction of co2 should cool the gas more the further down the gas goes into the fire tube?
The disadvantage of that is that there will be less charcoal bed?

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Jan you’re correct in your thinking on the restriction. I do think there’s such a thing as Too Close where the fuel may not be entirely converted yet.

I should buy a copy of Have Wood Will Travel for you to have and get a better look at how the WK works.

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It was kind of you to think so, but I’ve already declined help with a book, if i can’t pay by myself, I don’t want anything, and I think the help I get from you is enough.

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Please purdy please (spoken with a USA southern accent) Don’t let your pride get in front of your progress :thinking::thinking:

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@Woodrunner
Göran, do you have any good advice for me?
I tested my foam rubber filter this morning, I had 1.6 inches of water column over the filter, yesterday I had 0.6 inches over the fiberglass filter on the ferret.(2000 rpm)
The filtration is almost as good (I think), I rarely need to adjust the idle, and the intake is quite clean.
I have made a fiberglass filter for the Chevan, but I hesitate to redo the piping, the advantage of this filter is that I avoid the soot in the radiator pipes, how would you do?

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Hi Jan, that is a hard question, much depends on how much of a “experimenter” you are? If you have a well functioning filter already it’s hard to justify modifications.
Both filters have their pro’s and con’s, as i see it, nothing beats a hot fabric filter when it comes to clean gas, but i needs to get to temp, atleast 120°c every use of the equipment, to keep it dry, but, in contrary to what some says, a fabric filter is’nt ruined if it got wet, just very high pressure drop until it dries out. As for risk of burning the fabric i haven’t had any trouble but this requires that no leaks let oxygen in, and good construction of filter, so entering gas is’nt directed directly at the fabric, some kind of built-in drop-box or cyclone construction.
So… do you often drive short trips on wood? Less than 20-30 min at one fire-up? Do you use a cyclone? Then insulate it, and keep it before hot-filter.

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Ok, thanks for the answer Göran, 90% of my driving is under 30 minutes, mostly out to the farm.
Will have to think more about this, will test how long the foam stops before cleaning.
I was thinking of preheating the air at the same time as I installed the new filter, so I could get the car going a bit better, but it also takes heat from the filter.

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Ofcourse, a smaller hot-filter should heat up well enough on shorter time, a lot depending how hot gas leaves the gasifier, long piping, insulation, in the Smp book they mention they insulate the filterbox with asbestos-plates.
I don’t want to discourage you to test, after all, some insulation are easy to fix, if you look at pics of my truck, my enormous filter housing is only wrapped in a single fire-blanket (brandfilt) which made +30°c outgoing gas.

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Idea just hit me, what about air pre-heating made that way you can “activate” it, when filter is up to temp? A simple butterfly valve, controlled from cabin which closes an air inlet, forcing the air to take the longer route in pre-heater, could also be good when shut down, to let smoky after-gasses out, instead of clogging pre-heater, making it less efficient.
One of them famous tennisball valves should work well for this?

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Yes, that’s a good idea, I saw in the last book that they used something similar.
I would like to heat the incoming air a little, so I would probably use a slightly larger restriction, as the friends in the USA do.

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Winter again.

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Jan, you have more luck with dead standing spruce than I do. I find it extreemly bulky, prone to bridging and creating a crappy fragile char.

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Yes, the charcoal bed feels very loose, but has not had any hangs yet.
Is very different though, I get a lot more in the cyclone and almost nothing in the soot hatch ounder the unit.

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Very nice video JanA.
You are moving along under very difficult conditions. Slick wet cold not truly cold enough to be sticky-cold.

This still moving achievement; and yours and J.O. exchange about the real difficult characteristic of most conifer soft woods, says much if a person has base-using hours of woodgasing experiences.

I say this clearly. Most woodgas systems were final features evolved to use best a selected wood species. The very best of what is available. This is done for optimal power. Least operator problems.
You Nordic fellows with your strongly preferred Birtch woods. Others with a local availably of both confer woods and true deciduous trees woods, then shunning the conifers.

A completely different approach is to design and use is to instead evolve for the poorest available fuel wood you will have available locally. Then when available, the better wood use will be easy.

When Jacob North made his across American touring trip loop I read where he kept having difficulties once he was using local enthusiasts, locally supplied woods. A real testimonial achievement to the WK base design and especially to Jacob’s system operating capability that he was able to do this.

Knowing he would be driving past through my area I intentionally DID NOT supply him with my Douglas Fir (a spruce) wood as chunks. His WK system uses a chain hanging grate. These to move must swing upwards. Fine for fracturing hard woodchars for new active exposed surfaces. Terrible for crushing to blowing carry through char-soot and then clogging fragile spruce woods chars. Instead, I gave him purchased bags of commercial grade hardwood charcoal that came from half a continent away, from his home region.

A gentle sifting grate is what has been evolved for fragile wood chars. Along with a lowered gas pull-through velocity. Using a bigger volume active section to reduce the velocity yet still make the quantity of needed gasses.
Video courtesy of Paul Holverson:

So . . .
Max Gasman was angry with me that I would never consider his non-moving V-bar grating system. Other made these up here on the DOW with success too. On their woods!
I look at Tone’s wonderful heat recovery exchanging hollow tubing grate. I say nothing. It has no command active action possible. I say nothing. To not offend him. But not for me and my predominate very fragile chars fuelwood either.

Maybe I offend you both now too? You have evolved must-have internal velocity systems to clear your Birtch woods higher ash %. J.O’s grateless - must blow thru to clear. Your’s; Jan with a must have velocity to internal spin in that cyclone.

I only say this to offer up the different problem approach outlook. Finn VesaM says he design his systems to be able to use his regionally available commercial peat-sod fuels. Why his rotating wing grating system. The peat-sod’s char melt at lower temperatures then forming
clogging slags on top of his all-must-flow-through grate plate. He found that he must crush theses made slag chunks.
When using real woods like Birtch, it is said his system need no grate activation at all.
Evolve and design . . . learn to operate, under your worst conditions. Then all other conditions will be easy.

That is you now Jan in this video.
Much respect.
Steve Unruh

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Thanks Steve for your perspective on on different people’s usage on materials they have to make life better for them. May not be for me but BUT opens my mind to explore what I have at hand and what I can educate others nearby to look at what is available and use it better. Eastern Red Cedar high ash also known as the Nebraska weed tree now looking at it differently.
I always read your posts here because it forces me to think. May not agree but I usually get educated on something. My bucket list is to someday shake your hand. Thanks

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TomW., I just ain’t that special.
What I’ve learned about woods for gasifiers was mostly at Ben Petersons Vancouver WA shop in customers sent-in fuel trials.
The purpose being to design evolve and proof-use systems to support a mantra of ALL WOOD is GOOD. Gasification useable.

Hey shake these Sweed guys hands instead. Putting on the miles with wood come Ice and Snows. Traveling on.
Ha! I just do not get enough days of that here to proof out systems for that.
I have to read, listen and learn too.
S.U.

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Hi Jan, i thought i post this here, i guess it was the s10 you needed to replace differential cover?
First of all, modify sockets this way, especially important with low head bolts (as often the case on differential covers) this gives a lot better torque, (just calculate how many % of grip you loose on this chamfered part)


Next: if it’s already to late

Available at Biltema for example, i use them and they grips a rounded bolthead/nut in atleast 85% of the cases.
Drawbacks: the somewhat destroys the bolt-heads, but they can be grinded back to shape on the workbench.
These sockets tend to get “blunt” after 10-20 uses, and are often sold in kit’s (would be nice to replace only 13, 15mm for example)
Good to know, important to hammer these sockets straight in, hard, to bottom, or close to.

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Ok, do you use one like this?
Is it to clean or to try to loosen the screws?

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Both :+1: it cleans them up nicely, removes all flake rust, the “hits” and vibrations also helps break the rust in the threads.
After some “massage” the bolts often come loose the normal way.

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Thanks Göran, I’ve never tried that, would be very good if I don’t have to drill out the screws.

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