Best big car i had was a 2003 grand am–34 mpg highway and i could not believe i was getting that kind of mpg–tranny went out and i junked it.I should have fixed it. Then like you say driving around town hear and there mpg dropped down around 22 mpg range. I had at leiste 2 geo metros-one got 50 mpg and i was amazed they got them mpg- my older geo barley got 35 mpg. Havent see any in years-since the rust eats up there thin unibodies fast around here from the road salt.
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THANKS steve i could not agree MORE.-and since my memmery had been getting worse- i remember now he told me a while back he averaged 2 miles per pound on the highway.
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@Tone, I’m done 
I had some alu roof tin laying around and decided to try it out. Doing it this way I wonder if it will cool the hopper or insulate it. All I need to do is some driving and I will find out
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Only one way to find out, just remember to have your phone charged before you go 
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All in the name of science 
. Please keep us informed.
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I think I saw that in a Delorean. Keep under 88 MPH or you will end up in 1955.
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Hopper heating might push more heat into some hopper steam cooler tubes, looks like you got room on both sides of the hopper on top of the deck lid- But then it wont look like extra storage bin.?
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Tom, to tell you the thruth I don’t think I would mind - for reasons I don’t think need explaining.
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Kevin, I actually added the extra hight on the filler lid flange with tubes in mind - but it never happened.
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I was 3 years old in 1955 and not a care in the world. Life was good , not so complicated.
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I was eight years old Bob. I had to take accordion lessons. My mother and father were big fans of Lawrence Welk.
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JO, what is the temperature on the surface of your fuel tank when the car is running at low load?
There is another “easy” solution for improvement, if you replace the flat assembly lid with a slanted one, where the water drops flow into the gutter (if you ever cook and have a container covered with a glass lid, this phenomenon is very nice to observe)
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It varies with hight. The lid I don’t want to touch for very long, the upper half of the wall is hot but I can keep holding my hand on it and the lower part of the wall is close to ambient. My tc sits in the void between the lid and the umbrella and shows 65-70 C during normal driving and climbs maybe 5-10 degrees idling or driving very slowly.
True, but a lot trickier to make compared to using a stock barrel lid - especially with only a stick welder. This is why I use an umbrella instead - not to allow condensation to drip back down onto the fuel. My guess is the umbrella doesn’t allow much liquid to drip into the gutter, instead probably hot enough to re-evaporate most of it, to be condensed over again on the hopper wall. Keep in mind my hopper is shallow, but holds enough fuel to last for about an hour in open road conditions.
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To @Jan, @Tone and @Pelletpower who were involved in the condensation discussion the other day - and to anyone else interested.
The distance Jan covered during his test was 50 km. I made a small detour to get as close as possible and ended up at 52 km. Close enough.
The only difference is I drove open road speeds at 80-90 km/h. One 10 min stop for an errand included also.
As far as I can tell, the alu roof tin I wrapped around the hopper has made no difference to the amount of juice collected. Maybe stationary or driving very slowly would cause some chimney effect inside the ribs, but that will require a separate test.
I made a video of draining condensation, but for some reason it was devided into two. Maybe I accidentally touched the screen of the phone or something, but fortunately I didn’t loose anything.
The result was the following:
Front trap : rear tank : hopper tank
1dl : 1.5dl : 2l
Converted to imperial that would be somthing like
1/2cup : 3/4cup : 1/2gallon
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Jonas Hedenberg called and we talked about the condensation, he doesn’t have condensation in the hopper, because he drives on wood chips, he noticed quite a big difference in his car now when it’s wet outside, compared to when it was dry.
But I wonder if my car wouldn’t condense out less in the hopper if I drive country roads, about 50-60mph, that it follows more through restriction when the engine is allowed to work?
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That is why I included the post cooler condensation in my test, because I’ve noticed longer open road trips makes for less hopper condensation per mile. I’ve suspected the same as you - pulling more steam down the charbed and also the hopper having less time for condensation, with power demanding driving. But this test showed very little condensation downstream and I wonder if maybe running the gasifier hotter makes for better hydrogen production, which would explain where all the water went. There was even a light rain and the road was wet today.
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Yes, you’re right, the water should end up in the rear tank.
But I have almost stopped looking in the rear tank, there is no water there.
Can have a little water under the filter sometimes though.
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What about before you rebuilt your hopper?
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Back then I always had water in the rear tank, I thought my radiators were full of soot to begin with, so no water condensed out.
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Thanks JO, Tone made it clear he did the fins for stationary. As you are driving with a serious speed cooling is already enough. And a lot, the same as after the gasifier. My condensation pot is still standing on the bench in the shop and looks the same as a few weeks ago. It doesnt look like there is any tar in it. That would separate, wouldnt it? Thanks, now I get an idea how much condensation takes place.
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