Alright, so I’ve been wanting to build a woodgasifier since I stumbled upon the concept on the backroads of the internet, and my collection of parts has been building up in the garage for a couple years, so it’s definitely time to start melting some metal and get this done. I’m very glad I found this site, not only because it’s so packed with useful info, but because it’s awesome to see so many people dedicating time to studying and employing renewable energy. My stepdad has a Ford body welded onto a chevy frame with a 350. He says it’s mine if I can get it running so I figured it would be an excellent cantidate for a woodgas build. I was planning on using a 12" air compressor tank for a hearth, maybe adding a small barrel to the top for extra hopper space. I think it’s around 18" long. I have the top cut off. I was planning on a 2 inch constriction with the top welded to it and a shaker grate on the bottom of that. My biggest questions at this point are A) Has anybody tried a compressed sodium silicate and perlite refractory lining for a gasifier with any success? People use it for gas forges. B) Should the air coming into my hearth swirl as in angled nozzles? C) Is 3 nozzles too few? D) Would it be a bad Idea to drill 1/8" holes in the sides of my 1/4 inch nozzles, and should I reduce the orifice on the end of my nozzle tube? E) How far should it be between the nozzles and the constriction? F) how can I seal my shaker grate linkage where it comes through the outer casing(barrel that used to contain form oil)? Thanks ahead for any input and I will definitely continue reading to try and find answers to these and any other questions I come across.
Planning to run wood chunk, nozzles are galvanized steel pipe
Justin,
Welcome to the site. 2" is way too small for a restriction on a 350 V8. You should be around 5-6" for an Imbert style, 6-7" for a Keith style. Imbert dimension table is here:
http://www.driveonwood.com/library/inverted-v-dimensions/
Refractory linings are very heavy and fragile for vehicle use. An inverted V hearth will backfill with its own ash which is equally good insulation and infinitely durable.
I am biased of course, but I think you’d do much better with a Keith gasifier. Most of the trucks you will see on this site have been built using this system. Complete plans are available here.
Good morning Justin.
Welcome to the DOW site .
There can be a lot to consider when choosing the right vehicle for gasification . Below are some thoughts you may want to look over .
Also I don’t know where you are located but we are having a woodgas event in a couple of weeks in Argos Indiana. You can see ,feel ,smell and ride in a woodgaser . I will show you 80+ mph ( if you pay the speeding ticket if we get stopped by the police ) 
It’s kinda a trip from northern Wyoming. Sounds pretty cool though
What about HHO in conjunction with woodgas? I built a 5 plate 1 gallon water hydrolysis reactor with lye as a catalyst, and then promptly blew it up trying to test my gas
HHO is basically a scam. The energy needed to electrolyze the water exceeds the gain from burning the hydrogen. Or put another way, water has no energy except what you put into it.
Woodgas is already 20% hydrogen, and the quantities produced are far larger than any vehicle sized HHO reactor can produce. Adding electrolysis would be a drop in the bucket, hardly noticeable.
I found HHO is only good for torch, brazeing, welding and cutting small metalic objects.
Oh, and banging 
fill a baloon the gas mix and ductape a fuse to it. Bangs like crazy.
i second that… and, at best rate you’l get 70% back from the energy entered… ( max value )
So, better inject that power for making HHO into an electric motor…
I agree 100% on that, Kristijan and what you said Chris. But I had a lot of fun playing with it. Then I got into Wood Gasification that has been working for engines for over 100 years and the fun just keeps on coming. DOW will travel.
Bob