Good morning all
once hot, at idle speed, my pickup engine stalls. I believed this was caused by “IAC” (oil is washed away with the gas and forms a thick paste right into the intake). So I disassembled and cleaned the controlled air which seemed clean. The problem must come from elsewhere because the engine is still choking
can be, clean, the EGR valve?- 
Can someone advise me to repair my truck? 
Thierry in Québec
Hello Theirry,
I read back up and you are still running on gasoline, yes?
If so . . . your has a cold-start separate injector. Cold extra running gasoline. Once timed out and engine warms this injector shuts off.
Then the engine is only fuels by the main intake a manifold injectors.
On your system a common problem is an air leak between the R.H. front corner mounted vane air flow box and the engine.
Low or no past the air flow meter and the main fuel injection will not pulse the injectors open.
Feel around and check that air connector tube.
If O.K. then with a propane torch flow in some propane into the before vane sensor air flow. Tries to run then you probably do not have the main injection system operating. Fuse. Other possibilities.
With propane enrichment it actually runs then you may be compensating for false air leaks.
PCV valve. Spray clean until it can be rattled. No rattle. Replace.
Yes could be a stuck open EGR valve. Remove and block off the port to prove this.
Once you can gent it warm running even if uneven running check for intake manifold to cylinder head air leakage. Spray bottle water spray. Safest. If a leak should have a change. No leak no change.
Or rubber hose bled in Propane can be used. Reasonably safe.
Very, Very UNSAFE to use liquid combustibles to test for this. One spark, exhaust hot spot then a fire. Starting fluid ether is a liquid - no, no.
Because it starts and runs cold then you have ignition. Ignition timing will change some cold to warm. But not enough to effect for your idle problem on your type of system.
Persistence pays in success.
Regards
Steve Unruh
thank you Steve for the research leads. It’s very interesting . I would return the truck to the garage as soon as possible to check, PCV, EGR, air leak … Lots of research and reading for an uninitiated like me to try to figure out 
Thierry in Qc.
I have wet charcoal (I live in a very humid climate) which generates a lot of water vapor in the gas.
I would like to test an ejector (venturi) on the air line that feeds the nozzle of my gasifier. I hope to capture some of the water vapor that is released in the hopper before it leaves the gasifier and dilutes the gas. do you think this design could work
your comments would be appreciated. I have little time to devote to my gasification projects, I would like not to waste time experimenting on a bad theory . (is this physically possible …?)
Thierry
Hi Thierry, if you could make the venturi work, circulating the gases into the condensation pot. There is still one big problem, you will suck up H2O vapor true, but you will also be sucking up wood gas vapor with it and reintroducing it into the venturi and mixing it with fresh air through the venturi, now you a very explosive mix. It goes back into the hot charcoal zone. KA-BOOM is what I thing will happen, or if not you will have a furnace affect in the venturi.
Bob
now that you explain it, it seems obvious to me … how neither did I not think of it alone!
Thanks Bob for the smart response
I have been pondering on it for a while. On a up draft gasifer anything in it is moving up. In a down draft gasifer the gases are moving down when they are being converted into usable gases. What does not convert is mainly H2O, and Tar gases if it is a wood gasifer or H2O if it is a charcoal gasifer. This is why the oxidation and reduction zones are so important. You can even have this on a cross or diagonal flow gasifer. But a up draft you can’t. It is the nature of the beast. I tried to make it work with my cross draft it did not work. I have converted it to a Diagonal flow with a oxidizing and reduction zone. Hopefully it will work, I have not tested it yet, check out “The Gasifier That Wanted To Be” thread
Bob
Flow to cyclone had been blocked , cleared that . Back flush with garden hose . What i did not know was flow out of cyclone was blocked by donuts of tar . gasifier was still operating but as an updraft rather then a downdraft because nothing is sealed and path of least resistance .
Hi Thierry.
What Bob sayd.
The way l look at this you are a great candidate
to convert your gasifier in to a downdraft. Probably not much more time investing thain with making the venturi. All you need to do is swich the gas outlet and air inlet.
Making it downdraft, you will benefit a lot with your damp charcoal and might even purposly wet it!
If you are interested lll help you out. Havent got any time for woodgas till our new house is finished but l can help build one over a distance 
Hi Kristijan
thank you for your help . I have considered an updraft to solve the humidity in my coal. But I have not yet tested the simple fire that is on my truck in good conditions due to lack of time
I like the Gilmore style for its simplicity and for its efficiency. I want to be sure that an updraft is incompatible with my weather conditions before changing the design
thank you again for your help Kristijan. I would not fail to use it as needed 
Thierry
Hi Kristijan , would you be able to spare a moment to go over a few thoughts i am having , i have toyed with the idea of trying a downdraft charcoal systems for ages now .
Our fire season is about to start and so i thought now might be a good time to start looking into it , what do you think the minimum distance would have to be between the inlet nozzle to gas outlet pipe and also would you use a restriction at all or just as you have said turn a updraft into a downdraft by turning it upside down ?
Cheers Dave
HI Kristijan
IN YOUR GAsifier DOWNDRAFT, YOU USE WET COAL. THE WATER STORED IN THE COAL DOES NOT CAUSE AN EXCESS STEAM? AS IN WOOD GAsifier (WHEN GAsifier
IS VERY HOT AND THE GAS DEMAND IS QUICKLY REDUCED, idling after a period of intensive work)?
Thierry
Dave, sorry l got to replying so late. sometimes l read a thread, plan to reply later when l have more time to write good, but then forget 
anyway, you made a gasifier in the meantime
However, my thods are there is no need for any restriction but the gasifier must be designed so that at no point can hopper gasses bypass the glow zone.
Thierry, no, l never had those problems. Couple of reasons l can think of. First, charcoal is much much better at insulating the exteme heat. Being black it absorbs all radiation heat, and being of mixed particle size it prevents heat to raise upward as it can with large wood chunks.
Second, the dampness is much less thain the theoretical maximum of water/char reducing ability. In theory, 1 kg of charcoal can “crack” 1kg of water. I only use charcoal dampened to around 15-20%, so there is a lot of reserve.
No Problem Kristijan its always hard when real life gets in the way of playtime and i know that for sure , as they say better late than never 
Yes i did build one in the mean time and tried it a few times as well , but with very weak gas it would not get the generator to near the power output of the updraft unit i normally use .
I have got to get a hold of another same size drum so i can join the 2 together and increase the distance the gas has to travel through the charcoal, as i think there should be at least 12/14 inches between inlet and outlet pipes with enough charcoal between them to allow for the gas to convert and cool down , just the same as in a updraft is how my mind is looking at it and if it works one way why not the other .
By the way i have no restriction on this attempt at a downdraft ,
I am not sure how you mean by the " gasses bypassing the glow zone " you see in my head i can see the hot Lobe of the charcoal being caused by the suction from below and so i cannot see in my head how once gasses are produced if they are on the edge of the Lobe why they will not be drawn straight down and into the filters ect , in the same way as a updraft works .
See how my simple mind works ? lol cheers
Dave
Hi Dave
I think you have experienced the difference in efficiency between a donwdraft gasifier and an updraft!
it is natural for a hot gas to rise (I visualize a vertical and smooth draft)
a donwdraf gasifier is unnatural (I visualize the hot gas extending horizontally before descending towards the exit
Do you think that this difference in gas behavior can explain the difference in power of your two generators?
Thierry
Dave, give me a day or two and l will try to put things on paper.
Thierry, l can not say the power was drasticaly improved. But its the overall performance that is much better with a downdraft. In adition a downdraft is simply safer. If you plan to drive on char dayly you will burn tons of fuel. Sooner or later a foragin object like a peace of wood or whatever WILL get in your engine grade charcoal. With a updraft, just one litle peace of wood or a batch that isnt 100: cooked can produce enaugh tar for damage to occur. With a downdraft l was actualy able to mix up to 50% raw wood with charcoal.
But perhaps the bigest advantige is with a downdraft there is no more mess with water injection/drip. Moistened charcoal has no problems in winter and it is self metering! More char burnt, more steam released.
What I have noticed Kristijan is this, charcoal is like small pieces of sponges when coming in contact with moisture, ithey soak up the moisture. Just adding it in with wood it will draw the moisture out of the wood. It also locks the moisture into the charcoal. When the outside of a piece of charcoal is white hot, there is still moisture deep inside of the charcoal because of it insulationing valve of charcoal, it structure is simply amazing when you look at it under a microscope. This moisture is ready to be released and converted into Hydrogen gas inside the hot lobe as the charbon is burned away.
Pulling a additional vaccum on it in the downward direction into the hotter charcoal lobe bed is very important too, this helps the water vapor from escaping upwards into the hopper and out like in a up draft gasifer. It forces into the hot lobe. This also helps keeping the heat under control.
Also what you have said of using a small opening above the hot lobe so the fresh charcoal enters and this helps in blocking the excessive heat try to move upwards into the hopper. I have tested this in my bigger charcoal unit and it works great.
I now understand the wisdom in your insight and thinking in your design and why your smaller gasifers put out so much char gas for their size. It is just thinking out side the box that other designer’s have put us into.
It’s time to build smaller more compact for more char gas output. I will build it a round WK firetube design that is proven, that can handle the heat and cooling affects and can run on wood or charcoal or both. It will be a duel fuel gasifer meaning by what is loaded into to hopper. Because in the end at the nozzles it is all charcoal anyways. I know this will work because you have already have done it.
Bob
I collect parts to build a 12 volt generator from an alternator and a small motor powered by the chargas
I have 2 beautiful alternators. The one on the left in the photo was on a 1971 F-350 diesel 7.3 l (I believe this alternator has no regulator). The one on the right seems to be a leece-neville with a “transpo L77373HD” regulator.
Could one of these alternators be a good candidate for my project?
Thanks for your help.
ask me questions if it is not clear
Thierry
Hello Thierry
The Motocraft one has no voltage regulator and would use external regulation.
It IS very much an internally grounded alternator for negative grounded systems only.
The field terminal is fed positive current. The other contact brush is internally grounded negative to the case. The brushes accessible only by splitting the cases and inboard of the rear needle sleeve bearing.
The Leece Neville is an insulated alternator. Can be ran negative or positive grounded system.
It has a piggy back voltage regulator on it now. Fed power by a field diode trio
Easy to remove the regulator and convert to externally regulated with a two isolated terminal plate and two jumper leads.
Brushes externally accessible to the out board of the rear ball bearing.
A truck/marine and industrial alternator. Parts might be more than the Motocraft.
More important is drive shaft sizing and pulley availability.
The Mototcraft is a true 17mm shaft.
The Lecce Neville should be a true larger 7/8 inch shaft. Those pulleys cost.
S.U.
