You got to love wood, but you got to adore charcoal 
its a midle station between wood power and petrol in many ways.
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Hi Kristijan,
just have seen your edit:
Except from idling: How often do you hybrid (rough estimation)? Is this in situations where chargas would not be powerful enough and you need the boost of petrol? Or is it more for convenience and the enjoyment of more power from time to time?
The background of my question: With your experience, what would you think would be necessary ore needed in addition for not needing any dino-fuel at all?
This is maybe more a theoretical question. Using just about 10% of petrol is a huge achievement, and I know that it is often stated āDonāt be a puristā in this respect.
Iām just interested in your opinion.
Thanks!
Til
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Til,
I do not want to imply that my experience is anywhere near that of Kristijanās, but my MGB has no hybrid function. It is straight charcoal and water. The only place I cheat is with a squirt of gasoline into the intake manifold for cold start up. Not necessary, but so much easier. A simple turn of my mixture valve when stopping takes care of the idling problem. My system is very clunky compared to Kristijanās, but works.
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Hi Bruce,
I red through your whole thread and really like your MGB on char. I guess itās in hibernation at the moment?
So idling is no problem for you. Also a low and steady idle?
And how it is about power output, for example going uphill? Do you miss petrol power from time to time?
Thanks for your answer,
Til
Edit: I red again through your thread and you stated good power in all 4 gears with maximum speed of 62 mph.
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Hi Bruce, I wonder what the vehicle weight comparison would be, and engine displacement of the two. What would you estimate the weight of all your gasifier install to be. The reason I am asking is that you have a sports car and Kristijan has a four door sedan.
Weight has to be a big factor here on how the gasifier will perform, my gasifier is heavier than both of yours. I not sure if I can put on the back of a car hitch system.
It looks like you kept your gasifier light weight in design like Kristijan did.
Bob
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Til,
Yes, in hibernation. I might be able to get the idle down if I added a bypass valve. It is steady, but not low. 900RPM. On hills, I drive in one gear lower than with gasoline. The 90 HP 1800cc was bogged down to 65 HP with smog controls on the 1976 MGB. By cleaning things up, Iām guessing that I get 50 HP out of my setup. I have a set of high compression pistons that would allow me to squeeze out more power by boosting the CR from 8:1 up to 12:1. Maybe some day?
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Bob,
This old sports car is heavy, just over 2000 lbs. My gasifier is probably 200 lbs. I did need to add spring helper to keep the butt in the air.
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If the E230 specs I found are right (130 Hp, 3000 lbs), the power to weight ratio is about the same as the MGB.
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200 lbs., I would guess mine at 225 to 250, I hope it not any heavier. They Donāt put real heavy duty hitch receivers on small cars. In the bed of a truck no problem. Thanks for the information.
Bob
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Til, well, l culd throw the gastank out now and make a idle bypass for chargas, and drive on char without many problems, but l chose this way better.
Why l hybrid. Firsr of all, l do not want to be the āsnailā on the road, with nervous people behind eating their nails for me not flying across a hill like a race car. I never came to a road l culdnt drive on char on, but say l drive home from work, l need to face at least 7 idleings and a 2km 11% hill at the end. Now, this hill is a country road and running 1st gear and crawling slowly isnt a problem. But, if l have to pick up my son from kindergarten, l climb a steep hill about 3km long, on the main road and l need to drive at least 50kmh. Chargas will not do this. I wuld drive over slowly no problem, but will arouse suspecion to cops, get people that dont know me nervous and people who do know me a missguided message of woodgas conversions being useless in modern world. Allso, l wuld risk overheating the gasifier and burn/waste lots of char.
I much rather press the peral a noch more, kick the petrol throtle and drive with a reasonable speed in hybrud mode
And, ofcorse, l do like a occasion pedal to the metal feeling too
As to the question of what culd be done to avoid dino, in my case, a apocalipse parking the dino depended trafic aside 
but if the question regarded to what l culd do better, ld say water injection, heat recovery and not a sedan. The position of the gasifier in the trunk and the size of the gasifier are limiting factors. I cant afford a overheat. This is why l use all the piping/valveing/throtleing rather small.The throtle is just sbout a third of the original one! All this to prevent a overpull. When l go woodgas wot, l feel there is s lot more gas st disposal but a few minutes of full engine draw wuld end catastrophicaly.
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Very well thought out and said KristijanL.
Practicality over Idealism, each and every time in all things
tree-farmer Steve unruh
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Hello Kristijan .
Agree with all you said above .
Driving 90-99% woodgas can be very enjoyable and fun 
Driving 100% woodgas in our fast pace society is work 
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Todays drive from work wasnt feeling right. The gas mix seemd overly rich at fixed the seting, and it just wuldnt takeoff smooth after a idle. Eaven stalled once. When l came home l noticed my lightport screw was missing, must of forgoten to screw it in at startup. Ill find a nother, no problem, but the richness of the gas leads me to think l might inject too much exhaust? Need to do some tests.
Im glad no cop drove behind, looking at the āmufflerā in the dark from the behind wuld show the hot reaction zone right to his face.
Emptyed tge felt sack, so far so good! Its still snow white on the outer side.
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The dusty gasifier simptomes are starting to show again. Long hard lightup and a hot hopper.
I tryed the auguer method Don and JO use on their gasifiers, doesent work well enough. The auguer expells just clean char as the dust makes a cone in the gasifier.
Plan B.
This is what l came up with. Its a 1/2" pipe poking rod hooked to a vacuum cleaner. I hadnt had time to test it on the gasifier, but tryed it in a bucket full of dusty unscreaned char. You just start the shopvac and poke trugh all the char. Dust gets sucked while char cant suck trugh. Works well, althugh clinkers will still require periodic hopper emptying.
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IĀ“m sorry the auger didnĀ“t work but that SVP (Slotted vacuum poker) looks like a winner. Clever!
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I bet that will work.
Canāt wait to hear how it works. 
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Hi Krisitijan,
thanks for your long and detailed reply about the benefits of the hybrid mode in your case. And sorry for my late āThank youā, I was very busy the weekend.
It seems that with your current setup and use, you have to clean your hearth about every week (estimated from your first and the current post).
Easy servicing is always a key for a good and trouble-free operation. Hopefully your vacuum-cleaner-rod works, as this is a nice idea.
But if it doesnāt, maybe a clean out door at the bottom of you gasifier would help. You could empty it every week when it is nearly empty, just sieve the ash out and put the rest back into the hopper.
Maybe a bit plug like Don Mannes used in his char-gasifier?
http://forum.driveonwood.com/uploads/default/original/3X/4/0/4048aa36cfbc528517dc5b0571d2f635ca98cb92.png
Just an ideaā¦
Til
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I just noted that I have to correct myself: In the Swiss Book, the ratio is about 1.25 kg charcoal equals a liter of gasoline.
But still, Kristijans number of 1kg =1 liter with EGR is a clear difference.
Edit: Also, for wood it is about the double amount, 2.5 kg = liter of petrol. This is just an estimate, in some conditions (many short trips, lighting the gasifier very often) the numbers can be twice as high.
maybe the coal that Kristijans uses is a bit damp.
I do not use water or EGR and the temperature of the reaction zone seems moderate (nozzle intact, color of the reaction zone red and flaring flame quite white)
I think that the humidity of my coal is in question. Is this possible? 
Thierry
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Hi Thierry,
well, there are several parameters. Your gasifier is different.
Then the charcoal size, water content, air speed at the nozzle.
But mentioning the water content: In the Swiss book there is mentioned that some water content of the char may limit the area of the reaction zone because the water evaporating from the char consumes heat and thus cool down the border of the burning zone.
Also, charcoal is not just plain carbon, but there is also some bound hydrogen and oxygen. The higher the temp the char was cooked, the less volatile parts. So accodring to this book, best quality charcoal is made at temps of about 500Ā°C. No more tar, but still some hydrogen. This hydrogen will be driven out in the gasifier and enriches your gas to some degree, even if there is no steam injection. Some humidity in the char can help in increasing the hydrogen content of the gas.
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