I might be wrong on this. I thought that the North family went and bought Mike’s last unit from his widow. They might be able to provide measurements if they have some free time.
5 Likes
I remember him saying a few times he had to pull valve covers off and clean the valves. It wasn’t a big deal to him though. I know he went through several iterations, and he kept improving. He probably built/rebuilt it over 30 times with subtle changes. I couldn’t remember who else was working on them. Maybe you guys did get it working without tar issues and I forgot. 
Also, its worth mentioning the majority of tar cases on any sistem is operator error.
5 Likes
I want to say that gasifier was for his 2.2L S10. It looks a lot like the one from Chris’ Argos video. Jakob has been helpful with his pictures taken of it.
1 Like
Thanks Tom for the informative knowleage and work you have done on the LaRosa type designs from Mike LaRosa. Looking at it. It is limited because of the restiction opening to making enough gas for the bigger V-8 engines. But smaller engine yes it will work and you have proven this. The off the shelf or should say off the scrap pile parts and minium welding with copying the Imbert design is great. Lots of free parts to build one. Who knows some one on this site might be able to bring the LaRosa type design up to even a high efficiency then you have done. Thinking out of the box always seems to surprise us in the world of gasification some how.
Bob
5 Likes
Bob I think it just depends on the brake drum. I have some off a Dually that have a 6" opening in the center. 8 bolts to hold them together.
1 Like
Wow, TomC. Reading your writing is like watching a professional drawing/painting. Keep up posting.
We had snow again today. Dreaming of summer.
6 Likes
Like I was saying 6" opening, on my 5.2 L engine I am at 7 1/2 " with a WK Gasifier with super hot preheated air coming into the nozzles. This is very important when running a larger restriction opening. This is the fine tuning balancing act that we get into with types of Gasifiers to make sure tar does not make it through the reduction zone with out being converted to good gases.
Pre heating the air on a Ibert design will have positive results if you do not go to far with the heat and melt the protruding nozzles down.
Yup I can drive down the road with a 6" restriction opening in my WK Gasifier, but not at 70 mph.
Bob
3 Likes
Hey Guys; Yes JO, we got 2+" of snow today. Almost all the snow was gone, and the ground dried up until this. It is just at freezing today for a high so some of the snow is melting from ground heat. So we go through the mud stage again.
About my LaRosafier- I’d like to say that those weren’t just some parts that I came by thrown together. I spent much time “calculating” the dimensions. But; because of my lack of knowledge of metrics I never got through them. I ended up going to a table of Imbert dimensions for various size engines and I picked the junk parts I used in the build staying within those dimensions. After receiving the WK DVD, I thought a larger restriction was the hot tip. I cranked the welder to wide-open and using the largest rod I had, I was able to blow through the cast iron and make a larger hole. As with many of my ideas, it didn’t make the truck run any faster, so got a new brake to stay within the spec dimensions.
I don’t remember of ever making tar while working with the LaRosa, but as Kristijan said with another design I built, I did make LOTS of tar. Until Gary Gilmore came on with his “dark side” work, I would empty my gasifier to make a change and I would just throw raw wood back in to try the change. What enlightening information Gary started,
Any way; I just wanted it known that I felt my LaRosa worked reasonably well. It was not just scrap thrown together; it was built to proven Imbert standards. Over the years I did make many changes to it but I concluded that the Imbert design will never perform up to the WK design. TomC
10 Likes
I apologize I didn’t mean to say or imply it was just thrown together. It wasn’t.
it wasn’t that was part of the genius of the design. While it was scrap, there was a considerable amount of thought and effort on exactly -what- scrap was used. Then there was a lot of thought on how to assemble it using more basic tools. To me that was absolutely brilliant.
I didn’t realize you guys actually weren’t getting tar! I apologize, that is even more brilliant then I thought. It was also a lot of hard work to get there.
4 Likes
Hey Bob on new build for my 6.0 do you think I should go 7 inch opening ?
Or 7 1/2 are maybe 8 ? One more thing , what about the ring stack of three reducers from what I here about 3 inches apart . Have no idea what the purpose less to burn tar are more pure of gas. Teach me old wise ones !
That’s new to me. Can you link what you’re talking about?
Also do you have Have Wood Will Travel? If you’re building a WK then maybe 7 inches is a good starting point. But for 6 liters you’ll want a taller burn tube than what the 318 guys use. You should make your restriction removable, just sitting on a shelf or lip so you can change it out.
1 Like
Cody you and me are somewhat alike. You must have some form of adhd haha.
I think in the end you will be alot more happy sticking to one proven design and seeing it through then trying to combine different ideas and improve them right from the start. Then once a model is running go ahead and make improvements if you see fit.
Sometimes we take the short cut and it seems easier at first but is 10x harder and all that is left is a big pile of junk at the end. Or we have a big idea that is going to improve everything but fail to see others already tried that and failed.
Not trying to sound preachy just dont like seeing others make the same mistakes i have. I am not speaking from gasification experience just life in general. Good luck on your build maybe my advise is not suited to you as i dont know the whole story.
4 Likes
Most of the time these projects stay on the drawing board. My materials are scant so I have to weigh my options. I get where you’re coming from though.
2 Likes
Good morning Kip.
If I were building for a 6L truck I would duplicate the build for this V-10 . May need to tune with choke plates to match driving habits.
You may not be able to open it right now until Chris can get you straiten out on the premium side.
https://forum.driveonwood.com/t/wilbur-smith-96-v-10-ram/3926
4 Likes
What do say, 20 inches ? I know Wayne went 22 on his V-10 are should I go 22 ? I have heard through the grape vine the restricted plate at the bottom they do two more the same size and stack them around 2 to 3 inches apart. Suppose to be a tar killer, don’t know, I’m just an old fart seeking knowledge .
Thank you Wayne getting me on the right page. Is the such a thing as adding plates to the bottom ?
1 Like
Kip I’ve never heard of stacking choke plates like that with spaces. All I’ve seen is removable choke plates.
HI Wayne-k are you saying the v10 build comes with the premium now, and has the book changed any since i bought the first book wrote.THANKS