Anyone have an already completed gasifier truck they would be willing to sell me? Prefer one with 4x4, but don’t need a V-10 for my application. Would ideally like to buy one where the capability to run an additional line to a generator has been designed into the system after all the filters. I live in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, but willing to do a little driving to get to someplace within reason.
Thanks in advance! Craig
Craig do you not have equipment to weld and cut metal?
I think you’d get one built a lot faster with our help than waiting for someone to sell theirs.
Also why 4x4? Snow days?
4x4 when I have to go off road. Not very often, mind you, but would like to have the capability when / if needed.
I don’t have the equipment, but could obviously purchase it. What equipment do you think I need? Also, have no idea on how to size the correctly needed gasifier, and concerned I might build it only to find that I didn’t build it big enough.
Lastly, I don’t know which vehicle to go with. Ideally would like to buy a newer truck, but have seen where some say you need to get a 1992-1996 Dakota with V8 engine. Totally at a loss of the newest vehicle I can buy that would work with a gasifier other than that commentary received previously. Difficult to find answers to all this!
For a WK gasifier he built it to fit his Dakota, but it will work with just about any engine. If you buy his book you’ll get 6 months of Premium to the forum and can look at all the WK design vehicles.
But you can always go for a design from the Gengas book in the free library or any other gasifier that’s been made on the forum.
Minimally speaking for equipment you’ll want an angle grinder with cutoff wheels, grinding discs, flapper discs and wire wheels to cut grind and clean up the metal and welds.
My current welder is a flux core wire welder, it is an Inverter style so the beads are cleaner than a Harbor Freight flux core welder. I’ve owned both.
I got the 140G model.
It says MIG but it does not use shielding gas. It can also stick weld.
Flux core welders are pretty easy to get into the swing of things if you’ve never welded. I suggest getting an auto darkening welding mask, good insulated gloves, a slag hammer and set of handheld wire brushes.
If you wanna get really fancy with metal cutting, get a Plasma cutter. I have a cheaper one and I love it. Just uses electricity and compressed air.
Here’s one I have.
This will cut through any metal that is conductive up to about 1/4".
You’ll need an air compressor, any with a tank will do.
Bless you! That’s a good start for me. I’ll look in the library to see if there is anything there I can glean. But, the first block of the whole thing is the vehicle. Any recommendations on what I should be looking to buy - years, models, engine size (most say V8 from the things I’ve read), etc.? I so appreciate the help!
Look for an early to mid 90s pickup, if you want a 4x4 you’re pretty much going to want a V8 to make up for the extra weight.
The GM trucks are not hard to convert, they’ve been converted up to 2000. Dodge Dakota with the 318 is always a safe choice and Wayne’s book and the digital version of the Book with videos shows how he converts it in depth.
Welcome, You will be time and money ahead by buying the book membership.
You haven’t really described what it is you want out of the truck Craig. Work truck, daily driver, something to play around with? It will make a difference in choices. 4X4 of course. In ninety per cent of cases a two by is a one by. May as well try and walk with one leg and no crutch. Posi on a two by four gets you a little closer to a four by four which is actually a two wheel drive only spread out back to front. Four by four with a rear posi or locker and front locker makes it a geturdone hair on it’s chest vehicle.
You should read Marcus’s whole thread about his Chevota build. Gets pretty clear that you will have a very hard time ever learning the in’s and outs of Wood Gas driving without having a fairly intimate knowledge of the equipment and that is best learned by doing. That thread may require premium membership. Anyway welcome to the site.
Understood if I have the only option to make it vs. just buy already built. Not at the stage yet that I am committed to building. Thanks, Al.
Thanks. It would be both a work truck, not full time use. Not committed to building it myself yet. Hoping to find one already built due to time constraints at the moment, but appreciate the insight nonetheless!
Building the gasifier yourself gains you knowledge of the unit you have and provides the ability to fix when it fails or develops a problem.
Agreed! Just not committed to the time required to build one myself at this point. Thanks, Bill.
Welcome to the DOW CraigR.
Fella’s DIY built woodgasified pickups do come up for sale about once a year here.
You will have to be patient.
And then be willing to shell out the $,$$$ to $$,$$$.
Admin Chris Seanz now owns Henry Austins Chevy 454 woodgassed pickup.
BobMac now owns Chris’s woodgassed Dakota that Wayne Keith had built for him.
Both of these did need some repairing restoration from the previous owners woodgas usages.
Then later use repairs from the new owners woodgas usages.
Woodgas is mildly corrosive to carbon steels. Neoprene rubbers either heat harden and crack. Or gas reactive swell and bind. Gas passageways do soot up and clog. Tar drains clog. Condensate holding tanks constantly fill up . . . then back up.
WayneK once related the story of selling one of his converted trucks to a pair of fellows 4-5 states away. Before they even made it drive up to their home state they had the truck un-runnable. Not having slowly step by step built it. Then progressively over weeks learned to operate it they were clueless.
So the best be able to metals work advice, Cody gave is valid.
And I’ll say first woodstove for real through a season or two to get an handle on wood fuel sourcing, cutting, hauling, drying and storing first too.
These beasts used will gobble up at least 1 1/2 pound of prepped dried fuel wood a mile for the lightweight Dakotas. The 454/460 and V-10 guys use a solid 2 - 2 1/2 pound of wood per mile.
Think about it. 10,000 miles annually and that is cords and cords; or cubic meters of wood.
Not time to build?? Will you have the weekly time to keep up with the wood fuel slaving??
Ha! You were advised to read Marcus Normans Toyota-Chevy commuter truck project. Marcus is an excellent welder/fabricator and could carve out the time to build from working, and family life.
The fuel wood time sweating is kinnda driving him nuts trying to keep up.
These beasts are demanding rigs.
Wives get very jealousy you are taking on a new, time-demanding mistress.
Wood heating is at least a somewhat shared experience. Explainable. This allows you to ease into wood-for-power.
Making electrical watts from wood can be next storm outage family demonstrated-explained as a benefit…
Regards
Steve unruh
And that time will effectively double for the V10 wood consumption if I’m not mistaken. Long days spent building, learning, burning. And much more to go, the price I pay to be independent of the pump is to be a slave to the chunker. BUT, I enjoy running the chunker, I don’t enjoy swiping plastic at the pump. The wife got to see the chunker in action this weekend and after the scowl of mother safety wore off a bit, I got another compliment on my creation. Approval. Think it will pan out some the first family trip the V10 makes at no fuel cost. My growing up wood stoving fuel prep of 3-4 chords cut in spring stacked and forgotten about seems like child’s play to feeding the beast daily driving wood to wheels power
Marcus I’m sure you could put some diamond grate to make it Mini Norman safe. Also keep you safe in the case of you stumbling around it, freak accidents happen.
Let me add a bit about wood suppy, here I have plenty of hard cherry wood that is trimed and pruned out of the orchard yearly. I can go out and prosses wood any day of the week. That makes a big difference of not having to look for it all the time. This make it easier being able to stock pile it too, a little at a time. But I am not a daily driver going to work driving lots of miles. A fews miles weekly.
Bob
All excellent points, Gents. I will stick by my original post - i.e., I am looking to buy vs. build if I possibly can help it due to time constraints, and most definitely appreciate the commentary about needing to be able to have adequate wood supply. Got that part covered. I agree that I may have to suck it up and build if I have no other option, but going to continue to explore the buy option first. Would love to hear from anyone on the feed if they do have one for sale.
Thanks to everyone for chiming in - I truly do appreciate it!
You won’t just need a truck, you’ll also need a chunker. Processing wood with a saw is just too much work.
Rindert
Understood. Got that part covered. Thanks.
Here CraigR is the DOW “For Sale” topics link:
You can read back here for when whole converted vehicles were offered up for sale. And then sold.
The previous offerings often have pictures and detailed descriptions.
You can use the BookMarking tool to follow a topic: or the bell-shaped Tracking tool to get e-mail notifications and not have to keep looking daily.
Steve unruh