So, what happens when you use too much oil?
Does it kill the reaction?
Make dirty gas?
Someone mentioned leaving a place for excess oil to leak out, which suggests it might not be a problem beyond waste?
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Most just use water instead of oil. But you could have the excess run into a container. I have tried using oil in my drip but I didnāt notice any extra power, so Iām instead saving it for a furnace.
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My reason for asking is an interest in using char that has been doused in oilā¦
I know it sounds totally nuts, but I plan on trying it soon, just one red hot coal in a #10 can of waste oil.
I think it will extinguish and cool off the charcoal and slightly warm up the oil.
I do plan on making a video recording of it, complete with me handing my beer to my wife beforehandā¦
If soaking it in oil ruins or degrades the char for gasification, its not worth doing.
Otherwise it could be a way to stop the pyrolysis in its tracks and enhance the resulting char at the same time.
I think even a tiny bit of dry ice might have the same dead stop effect, but that isnāt part of any waste streams I have access to, whereas all kinds of oil are.
Why bother with this crazy idea?
Well,it seems like most char smokes fir a while after being stuck in a cooling container, and that is a problem in my urban living situation.
If 5 gallons of red hot char can be snuffed out in 50 gallons of oil without raising the tempatureof the oil to the smoke/ignition point, then I might avoid that smoke.
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In an updraft configuration it wouldnāt work. Same if it was absolutely soaked for a down draft. Gary Gilmore has done a lot of experimentation with adding materials to charcoal, I canāt quote the exact thread but itās on here somewhere.
Look up his posts regarding the Simple Fire and it should get you close to it. Forum has its own search function and it works a lot better than most that other forums have.
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I ran a search on oil drippers before, but now Iāll focus on Gary even more.
Does he still have the yahoo forums mentioned on so many posts?
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I think that would be the result.
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I think Yahoo forums is defunct now.
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I thought so, couldnāt find it with Google.
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I spent a lot of time trying to hash out what could be added to fuel to increase itās output. It always came back to water.
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William,
I am careful to make sure people near me, including the police, know what I am doing. For one thing, I want to know if Iām breaking any lawsā¦ This has kept me out of trouble very well so far. Like, get them on your side. One detractorā¦? Yeah well you KNEW there would have to be one. Actually, my neighbors seem to like that I want to save the world. 
Rindert
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All about putting yourself in the right light, most people are open minded if they donāt have a first negative experience with something. And a friend is much easier to dealer with and placate then an enemy
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I have a neighbor. Lives a quarter mile away. If I were younger Iād move somewhere and maybe have a neighbor if they were at least two miles away. I like my contact with humans to be cyber.
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It is always good to find reasonable people in your neighborhood, that know you and they know you know them. In the old days, it was to borrow a cup of flour or something. With familiarity graduates to ācould you keep an eye on my place while I am gone? Thanks!ā In a worst case scenario, you need to stick together for survival. It is true no man is an island, no matter how well prepped you are. Tribes happen because humans are social creatures and need to stick together for security and social interaction. I am fairly well prepared for a short disaster. I plan to open my doors and share. Have you ever read a version of the āStone Soupā story? 
I Highly recommend watching the original Japanese version of the movie āSeven Samuraiā. Just about my favorite story of all time. You will get used to the subtitles. 
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Luckily most of my neighbors are also kin to me. Some more extended than others but we have a long memory over here.
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I say try it, and find out. I would think the smoky smell might be the most obnoxious component, and maybe messy storage. I would do a small batch in an open space, like you said. I know there are oil quench hardening techniques for metal working. If you are making biochar (garden soil supplement char), the water +nutrients quench makes sense. As fuel for a gasifier, I would prefer the ācleanā dusty char in a sealed (covered / vented) container myself. you can always add water (H2 Hydrogen!) later. Excess oil oozing out of your gasifier sounds a little like a fire hazard, too. 
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Thatās all perfectly true Mike.
Iāve been on both sides of this issue. I grew up in a small town in northern Vermont. You may have heard of Ethan Allen, and his brother Ira? The Allen family is still there, and controls a significant fraction of whatever happens or doesnāt around there. There isnāt a single small detail people donāt know about you if you live in Grand Isle, Vermont for very long. People youāve never even met āknow ofā you.
So, now I live in suburbia. Most neighbors hardly ever even talk to each other. Why? I think itās because they donāt ever work together. They do a 9 to 5 job. If they ever throw a party they only invite people they know from workā¦ Only their children ever really mix. There are other factors involved Iām sure.
What ever, people fear the unknown, and will try to destroy it. Do NOT make yourself unknown.
Rindert
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I have owned this property since 1977. It was mostly orchards and small farms in this area. No zoning. Then the libtards started migrating in. Those folks that " Know better whatās good for you than you know for yourself." I disagree. Hard to separate the wheat from the chaff now. We have lived back in here full time since 1995 now. When my shop burned down a few years back the volunteer fire department couldnāt find us at first and non of the fire fighters had any idea anyone lived here. May have some disadvantages, I just havenāt found them yet.
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Iāve had terrible relations with neighbors in the past.
In particular one neighbor kept reporting me for my chickens.
Cost me a lot of time and money, even though I was on the right side of the law and politeness.
Apparently their right wing love of personal freedom and property rights did not extend to me.
My current neighbors are just great, they like me having chooks, growing food , building weird crap.
They also happen to be liberals.
For the sake of all my neighbors, friendly or not, Iām trying to avoid noxious smoke, just like I avoid power tools after 9 at night.
It is just polite.
The oil quench will produce crappy biochar or gasifier fuel, so its a no go.
I have crafted a close fitting, but not air tight lid for my trough style retort and I plan on covering the char and dousing the lid and sides, bringing down the tempature quickly without soaking the char.
I will be upgrading to a system that needs less care to burn cleanly, something with a stack.
Probably several somethings, because burning things is fun
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William,
To seal off a loose fitting lid I have used a wet blanket and sprayed it with water for a while until things cooled down:
http://forum.driveonwood.com/uploads/default/original/3X/a/9/a9479808bdd48ea91c922a602b86a9c0bdf80d2b.jpeg
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I like that a lot, it will definitely be part of my routine!
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