I have a picture saved somewhere, I’ll need to hunt it down.
Edit:
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I ordered my carburator kit for my Chain saw yesterday and it is here today from Amazon. That was fast, hoping my chain brake comes in that fast.
Bob
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I also found that someone thank God had saved Mike LaRosa’s website or at least snippets on the Wayback Machine.
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Yeah!! CodyT.
And thank Mike LeRosa too for pasting up the pencil sketch plan as enlargeable. Click twice over it for maximum full screen enlargement:
@Tone and @Bobmac enlarge and look really closely at the side detailing explanations and do realize this was a full length three-shell design. 1/4" 4.5mm gapped between them.
Amazing all factors considered in this raw wood fueler design. I do believe even he was vertical wood sticks packing in, refueling. Then rod poker breaking them up as they to char evolved.
Like all really good raw wood fuel designs takes a dedicated real craftsman to construct.
And a serious intent fellow to operate properly.
S.U.
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Looks like the gas jacket surrounds the gasifier like an old style Imbert, and Kurt put his air preheating jacket around that portion.
I bet it was piping hot.
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This gasifier would never work for me. It uses straight wood sticks. I have no straight cherry wood sticks. I would have to use only poplar wood. Lol . I saw this back when I first was looking up gasifiers before I found DOW site. I remember the colorful drawing I had not a clue back then what I was looking at. Lol. It is still a hard drawing to understand. I wonder how heavy this gasifier was?
Bob
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Just because he drawing shows wood sticks doesn’t mean it could not more readily use wood chunked up even better, BobMac.
CodyT think through the combination of his water vapor drawing-in and the woods own intercellular water for their cooling upper system effects.
Hot middle shell-skin for sure. Records show he did use this for at least three years, six months of the years long distances traveling. The hearth bricks saving the inner most thin metal shell. As they wear sacrifice themselves, replace them. NO blown hot char to metal walls exposures killing.
And as all-welded up designs such as this really should be made of all SS sheeting.
And I’d favor slip-fit, loose-fit thermal bricks instead like in all good modern woodstoves.
Welder guys, you all just want to weld everything.
Combustion furnace, forge guys, crucible metals guys think differently about materials heat-life’s.
As I said in that topic’s #12 and #15 and #17 his system is deceptively sophisticated.
And back in 2013 it was very, very difficult for me to write legibly attempting to explain as MikeL inferred. I was still brain rebuilding. I’m not going to repeat detailing out.
Now hard again writing. Just mostly old now, and short-timing inpatient. The Light calls to me much now. Why the wife has us involved with foster children.
Steve unruh
Edit add: up in post #1 of the DOW topic in the copied system explanation text KurtJ says his system weighs in at ~200 pounds, 90kg.
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200 lbs. That is lighter then my WK Gasifier unit that’s for sure. I was joking about the straight sticks but you knew that.
Bob
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Hey BobMac go back up and bring up the KurtJ’s pencil plan illustration. Click twice over it to maximum enlarge it.
The one area I could never figure out was how the produced below the grate gas-mix flowed into the inner gas filled shell space. “Gas cooling” as he labeled it.
I later asked Rob Windt. He said to realize that the welded-on angle iron brick supports were in 12 short gapped segments. These welded below the open bottom innermost shell edge to the middle shell inner sides. Then a round 3/16" ring was dropped onto these shelf brackets to support the lower brick edges. This ring wide enough to make a grate grid holding edge too. The ring centered inside the angle iron bracket segments would leave gaps for gas passageways between the angle iron brackets upwards into the innermost between shells space. Un-illustrated details in the lower R.H. details enlargement.
One of the far L.H. side illustration vertical dashed lines are to show a ~36" main body height. Confusing; the other dashed line saying that the starting up forcing blower mounts down below at the air-in pipe. After engine running the air pulled in past the unpowered blower blades. Note one-way flapper valve indicated to be made on the blower outlet.
Then knowing his illustration style; other dimensional measures with numbers indicated pop out at you, understandable.
Height of air nozzle down tube edge above the throat centerline.
The 4" height depth of the below grate area.
Others then too.
His above grate sweeper arm tells me his Mulga wood make hard wood char. Benefiting from some crushing.
The illustrated upper R.H. gasifier shut down internal over pressurizing relief valve says a many hours and conditions experienced woodgas operator user to me. Thin metals edge pinched welds can be cracked cycling them negative to positive pressure too many times.
Read the plan set copied text on that threads first post and he says use water vapor for climate conditions falling below 70% relative air humidity. Says all seasons using experiences learning again.
And I’d like to add a big Thank-You to Gary Hoffman @Madness for putting this information up here on the DOW in the first place.
Steve Unruh
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impressive, göran, your collection…i keep also a record, .i have only one…a dolmar since 2013, my first in my life…works very well, also with thicker things…it is a pity that not can run on chargas…
if you have time can you present some fotos of the the dolmar from 1936 and other rare models?
ciao giorgio
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Yes Steve it is a real head twisting, eye crossing drawing. I know one thing it is not to scale in the drawing as shown. You need more of a gas passage way gap for the gases to pass through then shown. Marcus and others proven this with other builds you need 1 1/2" minum spacing gap for the fine Char and Soot to pass or it is going to plug things up for sure. Even the old imbert style mantels hoppers needed to be pulled a part and clean out annually because of the build up.
I see the single nozzle has to having to be replaced with use even with the water drip.
Amazing amount of work to fit and place all the fire brick in and mortor into place.
It did get me thinking of my first gasifier build where I too used fire brick in my standing gasifier. That is now a retort. Using fire brick could be very benificial in some cases in the super hot zone area if using a firetube that is of a thiner wall material. Ash will only build up so far verical on the side of the firetube.
I just figured it was a guessing game on the real dimensions with out it drawn to scale.
Bob
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The only way I can run my saw on char gas is to run my generator on char gas and run my 110 volt electric cord chain saw from the generator. It works great this way.
Bob
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I cannot disagree with anything you’ve said BobMac.
So far as the char and soot pulling up and clogging problem; Marcus I.D’ed that as using the light fluffy Fir wood and even WayneK when he used pine wood and THEN big V-10 working sucked their systems.
Still an amazingly comprehensive system Australian KurtJ. developed for his usage; his conditions; and his available fuel woods.
And do realize he was only selling his plans sets pretty much only to those with the same conditions and usages.
And it for certain is lightyears better that our own USofA embarrassment, hugely flawed F.E.M.A. rlpos.
Anyone faithfully completing and using a Mother Earth News System got useable working results.
I’ve only seen and used one system that specifically was designed for conifer softwoods that I’d respect for my wet WestSide conditions. Or others, with similar needs. And able to do the more difficult soft charring conifer woods, then does hardwoods easily.
No need for me to name and get slammed for shilling.
I’ll let those building and then loaded engines using prove it’s worth.
As they are now
But now, very much why I say evolve and redesign for your worst possible using conditions. NOT part of the years Idealisms. Using only your better wood species. Only using your best year-long dried down woods. Or a system only using protected sacked-up or barrels-stored pre-“Refined” concentrated, purified, sanctified, hardwood fuels charcoal.
Zeeez. And then these same Idealists will slam me and others for still using some pump gasolines as a practicality.
Working woodgas is no place for the Garage Queen’s; only drive-on-sunny days in parades “builders”.
Around my place everyone, and everything works for their keep. And the vehicles do get washed at least twice a year to keep airs coating pollens and dusts from growing green and black molds.
Ha! Ha! I got slack on the 94 white Ford pickup sitting unused during the COVID years. Boy what a job that became later. Cost me big-bucks then in girls power, to get all of the black growth off of that white beast. And they’d only participate after I sprayed and scraped off, eight built up inside of doors jams, and under fuel flaps hornets and wasps nests. No snakes to speak of here. Lots and lots of stinging bees and leaping biting spiders.
Steve Unruh
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I have to laugh too. I will not stop using gasoline , diesel, LP , or any other fuel as long as I can afford it, or it is gone. My gasification is my last hope to run the IC Engine. I do not think many people even think that you do need oil to run IC Engine even on wood gases enen changing the oil more often. If these convenient fuels run out so will the oils needed to run them on or they will cost you many monies to buy a quart of this now liquid gold. Planned Shortages has been always a way to make more monies.
I just like running things on woodgas and feel it is good to keep in practice. Just in case it is needed. But always remember the oil for the IC Engine. Does oil spoil or go bad? Nice to have you extra needed oils on hand in bulk. Right?
Founding leaders of this DOW group are not a purist on only using woodgas. Case Closed in my book on this. Lol. But if you really want to be go ahead I have not problem with YOU doing it. I think we and others can agree with this.
Yes, designing the gasifier for your wood you have avalable is one of the most important things that have been over looked. Some gasifiers are design with internal adjustments can handle a wide varieties of hard to soft woods and different moisture conditions. Even in the engine sizes to some degrees.
Bob
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Steve I’d hate to see a Garage Queen Gasifier.
Imagine the termite infestation! Worse than gasoline shellac!
One of my personal reasons for woodgas is it’s a redeemer for the old gas guzzling powerful vehicles. Classic examples are the Cadillacs you sometimes see running on woodgas, or Vesa M’s Lincoln. Fueled by wood, it only costs you in sweat and maybe some electricity(which could be generated or direct powered by woodgas).
Just a perceived bonus, not the main reasoning to do it.
Or Wayne and Marcus’ Dodge V10 especially. People love what the V10 can accomplish but wince at the liquid fuel economy.
My Square Body and it’s low close ratio 3 speed TH400 will be another good example of saving a guzzler. I guarantee you it’s gasoline economy is in the high single digits.
Also to mention the usage of gasoline, in my Mazda I never used a blower to get the truck going. I started on gasoline to pull the draft. Engine is nice and warmed up and more likely to keep going on the Gengas. Finished on gasoline to get any soots out of the intake and make sure my jets were clean.
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Cody, I still shut down my gasifier and run it on gasoline while I do the water draining or tar drain out.
If I need to go to town that is 5 mins. away and then back home again. I just can not spend the time to start up the WK Gasifier. I need to go about 20 miles to get it up to prime running conditions. I wish some times I had a long drive way like Wayne does. If I pretend I do I am in town leaving the driveway. Wayne still has a little drive to get to Walmart, I am there already parked in the parking lot and inside the store buying things. Lol
Bob
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Ops, vernal equinox already last night. Equally long days and night all over the globe. I spent all day in bed with a fewer and almost missed it. Wife promised to make me some milkshake, but no sign of it yet. Prolly already forgotten about.
Felt a little better today. It was sunny out and I felt I just had to turn to some terapeutical chunk bagging.
@Johan, aren’t you lucky my fewer lined up with our days off 
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While I know you -won’t- do it, nor am I suggesting you change, you are actually in a prime position for an electric truck and a stationary generator especially after they do a price drop within the next decade. Then your 5 minute trips can get bundled into an 8 hour run time. But I think you were saying you only paid 4c/kwh which would be the equivalent of 50c gas, in which case, using the char as a soil amendment be a more lucrative proposition especially if you are experiencing drier then normal conditions.
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Jan, make sure to get plenty of sunlight! Vitamin D is essential to fight off illness and improve mood.
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I think you meant: “Jan make sure your wife gets plenty of sunlight since it improves mood, then she won’t forget about the milkshake or you in bed!”
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