Are you from Michigan?
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That’s some nice looking charcoal Rick. Drools, drooled, drooling on myself. Fill that charcoal half way in the firetube 12" above the grate. Light it up with the suction blower running, then put the rest on top of the hot coals. Should get a flare in minutes. If not the charcoal bed above the grate will need to get abstablish if it is to loose.
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From is a good word. I’m a SE Michigander living the dream in NE Florida.
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I may be moving that way in a few years. I have family in your area and friends in Georgia, yeah part of my retirement plan is moving anywher south of Michigan. I hate being cold Im not desinged to live here.
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Here’s a link to my last build where Giorgio shared some more details about the one linked before.
I didn’t build mine exactly like that guide showed but it ended up turning out pretty good after some problems.
A bucket of charcoal like what you showed would run my generator for around 2 hours working it hard.
With the first simple fire charcoal gasifier I could be running the generator within a few minutes from lighting it with very little smoke. My last down draft gasifier has been taking a little bit longer to get good gas but almost always under 10 minutes and very little smoke. Of course, if you look at my build thread, making the charcoal could still fill the area with smoke depending on how it was made and if it was dry or not.
You have to be really close to getting your gasifier working. I think Dave’s idea could be why you can’t get it to light. Mine won’t stay ignited if the gas is being pushed or pulled too fast. Mostly I don’t worry about flaring mine. I light it using the mattress inflater and then hook the hose onto my generator. Most of the time when the gasoline in the float bowl is used up it is making good gas and all I have to do is get the air/fuel mixture adjusted and it’s making electricity using charcoal as the fuel.
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I put something in the workshop music thread for you Matt. Sorry.
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Charcoal looks great, thugh a bit on a large size for my taste. Wuldnt hurt to crush a few big peaces and mix in to fill the voyds.
Giorgio, l had no idea you only did this for 3 years! Hat off.
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kristijan, it is too exiting running motors without gasoline, one cannot stop more…
a lot of projects are yet to do … a kind of anarchism or consume terrorism
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Georgio, I think of Woodgasing(chargasing)-for-Engines more as a FREEDOM shouting out.
Saying to THEY; to THEM, who make up the System and Systems in out modern interdependent world . . . saying in living actions; that I do not so much need you (as you certainly insist); it is you, who need me.
This is a Positive thing. Change made by just walking away. No longer a bought-it Sheeple.
In my now getting longer on in life age, I have up close and personal known these: anarchists; strident animal rights; strident human rights people. Ultra-religious. Ultra-political. And now the natural world over and above humans folks.
Some were/are actual blood relatives. All of these quickly evolve over to the extreme Negative. Justified by thier strong beliefs that any action or actions are justified. Destroying. Breaking. Than onto blood letting Violences.
So you, your close family, are a Positive shining beacon. That there is another way. Thank You.
Steve unruh
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Hi Rick this cold, cold morning I am having difficulties with my started up wood stove.
Mostly because I just scooped out the majority of the building up wood ash from the past days using.
Some is an air weather changing over to heavy-humid Pacific Ocean air flow.
Mostly though I am too much reading posts on the computer around the corner and missing the steps-timing to making a new a hot glowing bed of woodchar.
This may look good but the air in is at 100% and the upper by-pass 100% opened so most of the heat is sweeping up, out away.
Here is a good heating mode with an established good thick bed of char allowing then minimal air in, and the upper by-pass closed for a long in distance and time, internal stove heat transferring out pathway:
They only look similar due to a newly added split of wood onto the thick hot char bed in this second picture.
Woodgasing you must learn differences also by what you are having to do in controls and manipulations to achieve good results versus just pretty flare visuals.
The pretty girl in make-ups; skin tight clothing, on legs shaping heels is just that . . . a pretty girl. Go out to the kitchen. Go into the nursery. Go out in the working world, to find the truly beautiful women.
Regards
Steve unruh
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Yes Steve, I agree. The coal bed needs to be established first in the fire place stove. I tried using my poplar wood this last couple of days, I have many cords of it to cut up still. The orchard above us has now cut all the old wind break poplar trees down.
Here is what I have learned, build a fire dry chunked poplar, add to it charry wood establish hot coals and get the stove up to heat. Once I have that then I can add the bigger pieces of poplar wood with some cherry wood mixed in. The poplar makes 5× the ash that cherry wood does. I do have to empty my ash tray every morning when burning the poplar wood. And I notice I am going down to adding wood more often when burning the poplar wood.
Yes freedom from the man made systems that have been made by greedy men. It will fail. How do I know this, Ha I read to the The End of The Book.
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Trying to reply to each and every idea is wearing out my search and peck typing skills. 
so…a small update. I tried lighting it using charcoal about 4" deep with the same tiring results. I simply do not get it. Its air tight. I’ll include a sketch with the basic dimensions. It should work. It is VERY similar in design to others I see on the web which light off with no issues. It has to be a physics issue. Could it be that my burn tube is too large? My outlet too low? Could it be my plumbing is too small? Could it be my plumbing is too big? My filter box is empty. Is that an issue? I’m running out of ideas. Take a look at my basic design sketch as well as my earlier uploaded pictures. I have no issue moving past this design but would really really really like to see it work first. The weather is crap today and tomorrow so I’ll take a break. I’ll attempt one more light using more charcoal but I don’t see that that will help. The videos online don’t use charcoal at all. They simply toss in their wood pellets, light it off, run their generators and have a beer.
Anybody want to buy a real quality gasifier? I’ll make you a great deal. 
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Are you lighting it at the top with a full load of fuel?
Mine had an ignition port close to the grate that was used to light it then that port was closed and the air came in from the top like yours.
You could light it with just a small amount of fuel and then add more once that is burning.
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I’ve used the ignition port, which is 1” pipe protruding over the brake drum basket. (Forgot to show that on my sketch) I’ve lit it from the top using charcoal bed then added chopped wood blocks. I’ve tried dumping hot charcoal down the empty tube then adding more wood behind it. I’ve tried the fan on every conceivable speed.
No joy. Always exactly the same result.
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Hey Rick
I went back and attempted to read through the entire thread and may have missed it but do you have what we call a choke plate ? If not I would suggest a choke plate with a hole cut in it of 3-4 inch diameter and placed in the fire tube about 3-4 inches above the grate . The disc or plate does not have to be sealed tight between it and the fire tube and just placed on a little ledge . pegs or slugs to keep it above the grate . The purpose of the choke plate is to speed up the velocity of the air in this spot by 2-3 folds which will bring the temps of the charcoal high enough to make the gasification conversion .
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When i tried FEMA-style many years ago, the first attempt i got a flare after about 2,5 hours of using the blower, poking, let it rest some, blowing again, and so on, those are tricky to get a flare.
The fastest i managed to get that setup flaring was maybe after 30 minutes, after some “training”.
Could help some with running the blower at really low power.
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Yaeh man thats why I suggested just forgetting that thing. You are so much better to just move on to a simple fire. Start learning that and it will flare off. I dont know of anyone that has failed making one. The time you have put into this, you would have probably had one built by now and flaring it off.
Salvage what you can go that route and you will soon be experiencing running an engine on wood.
Nice drawing I can tell you have done some drafting in your day.
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Hey Rick . . .
a slightly sick woodgasifer joke . . .
Man you left out two letters from your declared POS.
Add and R and an L.
Makes it then a REAL PIECE OF LOSER SHIT.
Will give you the pathway to losing this as has been suggested and moving on with clear conscience.
Once you have struggled and gotten the important gasification basics down you actually can make a flare out of a straight piece of 4" pipe. Pretty. But as useful as a clowns juggling act.
S.U.
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Wrap that blower in duct tape. Those things leak a lot of air. Thats if you want to try again. Be easy enough to try. But yeah dont use that in the future you need a better blowr for this.
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