Excellent work JO…
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Congratulations ! Every one of you that prove small engines can run on woodgas as well as the larger engines just prove that how versatile the freedom fuel really is. It looks like there are some long distances to travel there without paying so much of petrol taxes.
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Thank you, guys.
After having slept on it I do realise it’s a bit early to cheer. I just couldn’t hold back. It’s been fun building the gasifier but driving it is really something else. Time will tell wether it will hold up or not.
Summer vacation coming up. Working night shifts for the weekend and then we’re going to Norway fishing next week. This is first year I’m not very eager. I would rather stay home making smoke. But when we do get home I’ll make some more videos.
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You’re never going to need a lot of fuel for that small truck. When you video, be sure to show your instrumentation. Pretend that you like fishing. Have fun.
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Good job JO glad to see you and your truck got a taste of the smoke. I would have to take it fishing with me to see if I could smoke fish in it.
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Yeee Haaaw!!! I don’t know what you and your wife were talking about but I rally didn’t care once I understood that this trip was on “wood”. You have done in weeks what took me years to do. CONGRATULATION. I for one could not be happier for you. I just love the idea of a “small” truck. I have been looking for a Tracker like Don Mannes or secondly a Chev S10 with a V6 I would not ever find a VW truck in this country. We had them but they have all rusted out. I would like to ask what CC the VW engine is and what is the weight of the truck? I understand what you are saying about your “fishing trip”. You have the truck running but many little items to finish and the excitement of the truck is making everything else seem secondary. The good part is, it runs now and those little things will come. Again Congratulations. TomC
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I do like it. Usually I don´t have to pretend, but this time I´ll do that for my family 
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You just gave me an idea. I think I´ll try put a trout on top of the wood in the hopper when I get home. I can´t see why that woluldn´t work.
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Thank you. Now I really know what you all are talking about 
1.8L and 1100 kg (+max 500 kg load)
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Been driving about 50 miles on wood today This time WITH hay in the barrel. I´m at work right now and have another 10 to DOW to get home in the morning
Observations:
Runs pretty good. WOT gives about 60 on flat ground but temp starts climbing. It seems to like 45-50 best and that suits our country roads. My gasifier housing seems to do a good job as a setteling area. Emptied my cyclone pot and it has only collected a few tablespoons of fine dust so far.
One of my vacuum guages is leaking. I changed places on them an they showed about 10:1 one way and 3:1 the other. Truth should be somewhere inbetween. A bit high maybe. I don´t really know what to expect from this little Imbert hybrid. After all, my reduction is only 6 in dia, 5 in high. 5 in from nozzles to the 3 in restriction in an 8 in firetube.
Inverted my lid on the filter barrel (plastic). I left it that way. Next time I got out of the truck the whole barrel had imploded (yes I know Chris did the same thing - I just thought mine was sturdier). It´s now brazed with a crisscross of wodden stickers inside the hay. Seems to work fine. If I can sneek off tomorrow while wife is packing I´ll show you.
Injectors on the Bosch K-jet don´t seem to like woodgas. Idle is already getting ruff on gasoline - hmm. I was a bit afraid this would happen. This is a constant fuel spray system, spring loaded valves but surrounded by airstream to improve spray pattern. I guess injectors have collected some soot already. Well - they will have to be cleaned sooner or later anyway.
By the way - do any of you ever find smoke backing out the preheat areas and out the air inlet after shutdown? I had to hook up a wire so I can shut down from inside the cab. I actually starve the engine that way before I swith off the ignition. If I don´t the bed will be filled with smoke in seconds.
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I shut down that way too JO. From inside I can close the inlet air valve, and the gasifier will continue to outgas and keep the motor running for a minute or two. Closing the wood gas valves to the motor will kill the motor. Anything that is not closed/plugged, may smoke a little, and that smoke will create creosote and stick things together. Enjoy your drives.
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Sounds like you are getting along with the 75% learning curve. WOT— are you talking MPH?? That is hauling A–. What and where is the temperature you think is running high. I have a TC protruding into the ash section just a couple of inches from the grate— I don’t like to start driving until that gets to 900 F and on the road it can go to 1200 F I lighten up the foot at about 1200. For the vacuum gages— I ran for a time with a board sticking up from the floor to the rearview mirror. At the bottom I had a jar of water with a hole in the lid for air and two holes for two manometer tubes. One hooked to each location where you want your vacuum gauges. I knew it was correct. Since I repaired the leak in my fire tube, I can pull 30/15 in. H2O, but under normally driving it is usually 12/5 in. I remember studying about the Bosch injector system but seeing VW was the only one over here using them, I have forgotten everything in the 30 years since. I am bothered with my IAC getting sooty. And the smoke after shut down, absolutely. I use to have a shut off, but with my heat exchanger the smoke has to back up through about 12 feet of pipe to come out. It stops after a minute or so.
Good luck fishing. TomC
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Yes that is MPH. Power varies a little but 60 seems to be the limit on flat ground. If I shift down and WOT above 3000 rpm I pull more than 40 in. Climbing temps but no more power. I guess I pull oxygene all the way down past the grate deluting my gas (If that is possible on a small nozzle Imbert).
My temps are messured simular to Wayne’s. Highest so far is 250C 15 in after the cyclone where gas enters the condesation tank.
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That is pretty close to my Geo Tracker which is 1.6L and 1043 kg only you have more room to haul stuff. On mine I can only give my a _ _ a ride. I had it up to 65 mph a few times but it likes 55 mph much better.
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Looked at my papers for the exact numbers. It’s even closer to yours: 1050 kg (over here that number always includes a skinny driver, 70 kg). Max load: 570 kg.
Observations:
I’ve collected a couple of gallons from the hopper so far. Condensation tank - not a drop (last part of the cooler is always cool). A good sign I guess.
Truck seems to have the most power first miles after lightup. Burning out the fines lighting low, poking down and adding fresh wood seems to generate rich gas wich will also require more air in the mix. Lower vacuum and temps, less throttle and yet more power. I’ve heard others talking about the opposite - running best when running low on wood. I’m starting to belive maybe Arvid was right after all (all though hard to admit) that I have an unnessesary tall reduction that gets too restrictive over time. But on the other hand gas temps are always the highest when starting to run sluggish and vacuum is climbing with the same throttle and rpm. Ideeas anyone?
Flatened my filter barrel again today. I’ll open up in the morning to see what happened to my crisscross stickers.
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Hy JO.
l have a question that has beed bothering me for sone time. Since we are both in the EU we most likely have simiilar law regulations. Do you have any info on how culd one legalyse convertion to wood? Is that eaven possible?
For now l have a small hiden gasifier in my Seat but if a cop pulls me over and asks what is in, maybee looks down and sees the hose, l can just hope he is human enough not to write me a bill. l wuld realy like to go road leagal.
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Hi, JO!
9. 0f July.2016
The sensitivity to poking and new wood entering the nozzle circle puts me thinking of “overblasting”.
If you have built the hearth with frequent changes in mind, you are hopefully lucky; at least you can change threaded nozzles fast to a different “family” of nozzles with a different length and/or different tip diameters.
At this point, don’t change their length, just a family with a common blowing area (not diameter!) with 10% more flow-through area in the tips.
The example of increasing power with the silo (fresh) wood comming to an end describes the opposite situation; the operating temperature inside the nozzle-tip-circle is too low to handle both the pyrolysing upwards and the process heat developement downward to handle the reduction at “end of free oxygen” .
The root of 10 = 3.1622776… That wood be the percentage in diameter increase for the new nozzle tips family.
…
This can be a negative measure, if you are now driving on kiln dried wood, and later want to drive on more humid wood; save these current nozzles as they are, and make a new “family” for each smaller or bigger size tips!
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Hi, Kristijan!
9. of July 2016
Finland has easier domestic rules on woodgas as a trafic fuel, than Sweden.
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So what wuld that mean? What is the proceduru like?
Thank you.