I believe if I were JO I would do the very same as he and put a little grease on his ball and keep driving. May never do it again and if it did he knows how to deal with it now.
However if I were building from new I think I would put the relief or pop off valve between the air mix valve and the motor . Usually when I am driving my air mix valve is open only 1/4 to 1/2 . I would have better pop-off effects from this restricted pipe vs the wood gas pipe that is wide open. Also if an air leak happens at my relief valve it is no big deal because I have to add in a measured amount of air anyway.
Below are a couple pics of my v-10 with a couple light duty cheap plastic one way flapper valves installed between the air mix dampers and the mixing bowl.
I guess engine suction keeps them closed until you get a puff? Pretty snazzy I might get some of these for the Sierra and Mazda. Those for a sump pump?
I’m sure that out of all the miles you have logged JO that this was an isolated incident but I wanted to mention that any plastic that could some how catch fire could be wrapped with header wrap and it would stay contained and not be able to reach open air.
In propane cars, these relief flaps are used, which are closed by the pressure of the return fire, and the pressure is released through a rubber clamp. They are installed in the flow of a mixture of gas and air.
Last week I started to feel a slight vibration from what felt like front right wheel. I jacked the car up and found the brakes where somewhat attached and the rotor not properly true. I dismanteled things, lubed and excersized. Good to go I thought.
DOWing 350 miles during three days this week, things turned worse. The steeringwheel got more and more wobbly even at slow speeds. I had no choice but checking left side as well. Good thing I did, because I found out I’ve been running a Flintstone tire for a while
I think we should have Chris post a warning on the drive on wood site that DOW will cause excessive tire wear on the gasified vehicle and the lemonds will cause damage to tooth enamel of the operator
I’ve always liked the idea of Motivational or Morale slap stickers. Maybe it’s from being in the world of firearms ownership but when you order from a certain business they toss in some free stickers to put on your Gunsafe, hard case, etc. Some people put them on their vehicles but I think that’s free advertising for thieves. “Hey look I might have a gun in my car free for the taking!”
I’ve been thinking about this for a while, what do you think is the difference between your unit and mine, since you can drive 3 times as far on the same amount of wood, @JO_Olsson ?
A hopper is enough for about 30- 35km for me, and I read that your hopper is about 80-90km.
I don’t know, Jan. Maybe your right foot is heavier Driving style makes a difference. Also, that big V6 may be a little hungrier.
But remember I squeeze the hopper really full to reach 80km. It takes two really full paper grocery bags of chunks. 2×8kg. Maybe your funnel takes up more space.
Maybe you slip more char. In 500-1000km I produce not even a full 10 liter bucket of ash and char combined.
Those are all the differences I can come up with.
Edit: Also, remember these numbers are long distance driving. If I go into town, run around make a few shutdowns and back home, I can sometimes do away with the same amount of wood in half the distance.
Just like on gasoline, the faster you’re moving at cruising rpm the more fuel efficient you’re being. Start and stop town driving will have the worst efficiency.
I think if my goal is the best performance I may sacrifist some efficacy. On the other hand if the goal is efficacy I must sacrifice some performance . This depends mostly on the amount of char being slipped . The slipped char can be used for many things.
Mr. Wayne, you probably realized a long time ago that we have a congenital defect on this side of the pond, namely, we try to extract something from every atom of energy, no matter how much it costs, many times it is a mistake, and sometimes it works. I admire your work and ingenuity.
I’m sorry, but I don’t quite follow ??? So far very little reason to hybrid.
I’ve stored bags and bags of char, almost the amount @TomC used to store. A few years back I had to stop. I dump it in the garden now. Potatoes and peas love it, but so does weed .
True. Most of the time not needed, but whenever more power is needed a couple pulls in the grate shaker cable and open up the air mix will do the trick. Not enough - add a few drops of gasoline.
On another note. Day before yesterday - a Volvo mile stone. Passed 10,000 km on wood (6,000 miles). Exactly 11 months since first lightup.
Solar power plant, … Volvo on wood? Hmmm.,. I provoke a little. 10000 km is a nice number, I am quite behind, 40 operating hours on a tractor, how much would that mean in kilometers driven, maybe 4000? Well, at these miles the gasifier has just warmed up well, now it’s time for a full load.
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