Koen,
Your first cent gave me an idea. I was just about to say l am not happy with the idea of puting the asembly to a car technical inspector (they will put me off the road for sure) but then l remembered we had a portable gas analizer in our school lab. Perhaps l culd pay them a visit and ask the ex teachers to lend it for a test.
As for ash, you mean l have litle charcoal in the ashpit?
About acidity… my ph meter is my tongue. If l taste the condensate it feels slightly alkaline. Ill take a sample to a ph meter tomorow.
And since we are at science, its interasting that sometimes my condensate smells like ammonia. This culd either be from proteins of the wood or (more likely) the ammonia forms from H2 and N in the gas.
I no longer have a second set of nozzles. The main reason l put them in was to eliminate all tars that might pass trugh the charbed. But since the gasifier makes absolutley no tar no matter what l do with it and what l burn with just one nozzle plane, l put the second one out. This way l gained height of the build (second sets of nozzles require higher reduction zone) and reduced gas drag of the charzone
Hi Don,
Very interesting. Ammonia is NH4. Nitrogen passes through the system supposedly unchanged and sometimes hydrogen is produced in the hearth. How and why they would combine, I’m not sure.
This has to do with a chemical reaction heat+ Carbon+water/hydrogen and the Nitrogen in the air
Do some research on the time period that the first ammonia factory’s where build, ammonia was a by product from making watergas… ( ending up making more money with the ammonia then with the hydrogen…)
Most of the time however, you will smell more “sulphur type” odors then ammonia… it depends of the woodtype used for your charcoal, the calcium and kalium contents… and so on…
We have all the ingridients for makeing ammonia, hydrogen, nitrogen, iron and heat. Luckly we dont have much pressure or we wuld make more ammonia.
Hey Koen, do you use nitrogen free syngas for reedstok in your Fischer-Tropsch? I just realized it uses the same catalyst (iron promoted with alkali metals) as Haber-Bosch so you shuld allso make some ammonia?
Touching the topic, l got about half a cup of water in my condense catcher yesterday. Without charcoal l wuld produce about 1.5l of it iver the same distance driven. So l find that good.
I had a few free hours today so l decided to dedicate them to DOW. Or shuld l say makeing DOW better.
Warmed up the engine, the gasifier and set the throttle to about 3500 rpm on wood in neutral. Then l performed some tests.
First, l connected the original throttle body back (just the electric part) and played with different throtle positions vs rpm ups and downs (this it just the imaginary throtle, since l did not remove the twinflap). The main point of interest was timeing advance. But, it does look like l get the best timeing advance with the original TB disconnected completely (showing 73% throtle). This way l got 35° advance at 3500 rpm, but with the TB connected, only up to 25°.
The -40°c was still there, and no, l wasnt able to find air inntake temp. sensor. When that was cleared, l went to injectors leaking gasoline, causeing my big petrol consumotion.
I pulled out the injector fuse and the engine started to stumble, and dyed. Keep in mind it ran strong and constant on woidgas for about half a houtr. So, l went the other route, disscinnected the fuel line (just click-click) and the engine didnt eaven notice. So, my missing petrol theory is under questiin.
I added a fan today, this way l can save some startup petrol, will see where this takes me.
I allso wanted to try egr valve disconnected, to see if power increases, but forgot.
And in the end, a short video l wuld like to share with you guys, one l dont think l ever seen before on Youtube, the operateing near emoty gasifier hearth and its butyfull downburning flames:
Ha! Good tryings.
Next add a small hand vacuum pump to the barometric/manifold absolute pressure sensor to simulate engine loading while checking your ignition timing. High made vacuum would simulate low engine loading, cruising for the higher allowed ignition timing. Low made vacuum, near atmospheric pressure, indicated heavy engine loading with minimum allowed ignition advance.
Regards
Steve Unruh
Steve,
This does happen. Have you got a idea how to take advantige of it?
Allso, my narrow band O2 sensor shows 0,1v when the gasifier is warmen and running well. I expected a reading of closer to 0.5v with the automixer so has anyone got a idea on it? 0.1v is a ratio of 15/1 so a bit lean. At what ratio does your sistems run well guys?
It is a lovely warm and sunny sunday afternon, it is Martinovo this weekend (saint Martins day), Martin is sayd he makes young wine from must. We celebtate all three days, tasteing neighbors wine and eating roasted geese, red cabage and mlinci, a kind of tortilia steamed with boiling soup. After there were only bones left on the table, l thod it wuld be nice to make a short DOW, but since i drank a few glasses l let my wife to taste the pleasure of wood power.
Wow Kristijan! That’s really impressive. Just think about it. We use to talk about one in a million. I bet your wife is one in billion in the female category (now living woodgas drivers). Was that a refueling stop at the end? I also saw you pushed a button when stopping. What was that about?
I was starting to wonder where you went. Now I know you’ve been partying all weekend
True JO!
She was wery afraid of it but saw there is no big deal driveing on wood, expecialy with the automixer. The only thing to do realy is hit the swich when needed.
We just turned around there and went home.
This is a hybrid swich so that the engine doesent stumble or dye on traffic lights and such.
Ha indeed. It isnt over yet thugh… still need to visit a friednd that turned 50 the other day
Thank you for the ride and introducing us to your family. Always nice to learn some personal things about our Woodgas Friends. I was impressed with the cleanliness of your town. TomC
That was fantastic Kristijan, I give your wife a A+ top score on DOW. She is differently One in a Billion, I saw The SWEM on her face in the video. This the first video of a women DOW that I have seen. She is making history all over again. She probably the only women in your country that is DOW. She is probably the first designaled DOW driver in history. Congratulations to you both. Enjoy the holidays to come.
Bob
Wife (her name is Karmen btw) says hallo and thanks for the thumbs up. She still has to learn how to light and refuel untill she gets her DOW licence thugh
I hope more of our girls start DOW, it seems it a “mans thing” but l dont understand why?
And if nothing else, DOW is a multitask job, and woman always say they are good at multitasking
Tom, a bird told me you like panoramic videos, and allso that you are a Trump voter, so next time l think lll make a video of your new first lady’s birthplace, Sevnica, a butyful place, situated just 20 miles from where l live.
6 Likes
ray_menke
(Ray Menke (Lytton Springs, Texas))
#577
Beautiful scenery! The house design reminds me very much of the years we spent in Germany. Regarding women DOW, there are some photos of my young wife (age 70) riding Martin’s charcoal powered Honda motorcycle. This photo was taken in Feb 2015.
Wow Kristijan. I didn’t know you were rubbing elbows with such celebrities as our new “first lady to be”. Part of the reason I voted for Trump was to have Malania in the whitehouse rather than “that other lady”. Would enjoy seeing her home town. TomC
Thanks for the picture of the bike and your lovely wife. I haven’t heard anything about that bike in a couple of years and often wonder what he is doing with it. It is one “classy” gasified vehicle. TomC
Nice ride Kristijan, makes me want to hurry with repairs. The “driving videos” more than anything show how practical and rewarding this hobby is. Wayne’s early vids convinced me to start 3 + years ago.
spent in Germany. Regarding women DOW, there are some photos of my young wife (age 70) riding Martin’s charcoal powered Honda motorcycle. This photo was taken in Feb 2015.