Here’s the new restriction. I’ve shown pictures of it before but it measures 4.5" ID and has a natural shelf. I’m hoping I can slip it past the nozzles and just drop it in.
Edit: I always revel in the small victories, they can lead to a major success.
Just a test fit
Going to salvage the double flute experiment and make that into my bottom barrel.
To fix the hearth to the lid of the bottom barrel I’m thinking of laying down one bead, then rolling a ring and then lay down two more beads, attaching the ring to the lid and the heart to the ring. Help distribute some of the weight a bit better. If I had a big sheet of plate steel I’d use that instead and weld the plate to the hearth and the plate to the lid.
I think I would double over the edge, staple it to make a hem, then overlap the 2 hems in a small roll with silicone in between and then cheap stainless hog rings to hold the hemms together. Pipe may be more stout, but just a thought to join the edges
Going back to Goran’s drawing on the filter, if you made a top and bottom plate and tacked pieces of EMT so that there was in inner row and an outer row and staggered the tubes so that the inner row fell between the outer then you could weave your fabric in and out to make the accordian folds and where the seam came together cap the seam with a larger dia half section of Emt and screw it into the frame pipe. Easy to replace or remove for cleaning.
I’m not good at putting words into pictures, I’d have to see a rough draft of that.
I’d thought about using two layers of rabbit wire and making it like an air cleaner element. Use a pair of steel pans and some sort of heat resistant epoxy to seal the ends to the pans.
Rabbit wire is to create a stiffening layer for the fiberglass. This could probably be done easier with stainless cloth.
It needs to be stuff enough to withstand -50 vacuum with hard pulls from the engine so it will not collapse the filter cage. I would at least rolled double wrapped with rabbit wire. I made a cylinder roll cage with a towel rolled around it and a vacuum cleaner bag over it attached it to my air cleaner intake. This was to filter out the ash when St. Helen’s erupted in 1980. Only thing that saved my 350 cu. in. engine from the ash fall in Moses Lake.
One other thing is that the rabbit wire will corrode I had some in my hayfilter, it started to rust so I pull it out.
Bob
Yeah probably, even with stainless cloth I would use a layer inside and out made of a cage material to hold it. It’s just a random idea I had for the more resourceful people wanting to make a filter element for quick cleaning.
I would definitely go with stainless steel that has larger opening and double it up or if it made heavier gage to be stiff and still could be rolled or bent in a metal break to form what I need.
Bob
Okay so I’m not going to modify this particular gasifier any further. I will build a bigger brother to this one that will go in the Sierra, with more time taken on certain aspects in the firetube. I may build the Sierra hearth before I finish the Mazda’s gasifier. A semi easy idea for the air jacket that I’ll show.
Assuming you use the Wilbur Smith style hopper build, all you need to make the air jacket is a flat donut of sheet steel and a band of sheet steel to enclose it. The lid of the bottom barrel forms the upper half of the seal for the air jacket, and the firetubes walls also are integral to it.
I think the added benefit of this way is it gives the firetube another anchoring point to the lid and keeps from stress sagging. You could easily make the flat donut from a barrel bottom that you cut out, and the sheet band from a barrel wall. Or use thicker material and run it through a sheet roller. Since I use longer nozzles like Joni I don’t see much heat transfer merit since ash forms around the entire wall behind the nozzle tip, look at his 9.0 breakdown pictures to show and his fresh new 8.0 before it got used for start contrast.
Not claiming to have come up with this, just pointing out the avenues I can approach with a finer touch now that I have a more sensitive welder and a plasma cutter.
This video inspired me on this method for an air jacket.
Also random to this specific build but I’ve been thinking out a scrap stainless build for a car or truck. Using two Half Kegs and a 5 gallon milk can as the main portion. Maybe something I’ll build to replace the Mazda unit when it eventually rusts out. Wouldn’t have much in the way of capacity being the hopper would only hold 16 gallons but at least it wouldn’t rust in the rain.
The main idea is just in the milk can. Cut the cone top off where it meets the cylindrical portion and weld it back in, inverted. There you have an ash cone and a platform for a restriction.
I’m really glad to know somebody smarter than me has already thought of this.
I just had to book mark that idea again. Thanks Don, and Cody for showing it again.
Bob
Went to my pile of propane tanks to prep for the Sierra’s firetube. The ones I pulled from the work dumpster were particularly hard to get the valves off. Filled with water and now it’s resting upside down to let any leftover propane fall out. I’m going to try to keep as much length of this tank so I will not cut the bottom like I had to do for the Mazda. I know the bigger restriction will fit past my nozzles so all I need to do is cut a hole for it to rest in. I’ll cut a sheet metal donut and make my air jacket tomorrow God willing if the rain doesn’t hinder me too much.
I’ve drilled out 7 holes for my nozzles. Battery on the drill died so I dug out my ancient air drill and wow it didn’t snag for even a second. On the electric drills they snag and buck right out of your hand but I guess because the air drill spins so much faster it overcomes it with inertia.
I need to build a new air dryer, dad grabbed his for a painting project. It’s a pretty simple setup really just an expansion chamber. Has one nipple welded in sideways and his dry air up top.
Nozzles pointed upwards as he says it helps to fight against bridging.
Where are you getting all these wrist pins from?
The scrap metal at work. We are one of the few full brand GM dealerships in North Carolina and we have a pretty big shop, we have Fleet contracts. When I worked in detail I also picked up the scrap metals. Shop manager said as long as I wasn’t nabbing catalytic converters or alternators I could grab some of the doodads.
Got the hole for the restriction cut out, she’ll drop right in and seal up with ash.
No idea what this was used for, my best guess is something to do with rear ends. They threw out tons of old tools for 30 years ago vehicles.
Edit: just looked it up it’s an old clutch pack shimming surface tool.
All I know is it’s massive and will make for a good heat flywheel.
