The Handbook of Biomass Downdraft Gasifier Engine Systems shows a diagram of an in depth system that dries wood on your vehicle using exhaust from the engine.
This shows how you can utilize the exhaust, but i was wondering if it would wor effectively. it seems too simple to dry wood that fast. maybe it would take more than a day for a small batch of wood to dry. just checking out some new topics nobody really talks about on this platform.
I rigged up a metal 5 gallon bucket to the exhaust of a 4KW generator and got huge amount of fog out of it in minutes.
But after the fog began to die down it started up again with smoke…
No tempretures control, and so stopped it and dumped it out.
Bottom 1/3 was dry and charcoal parts on fire. Top 2/3 still wet wood.
It worked, I guess but until the whole mass is above 212 deg you are actually adding water from the condensation in the exhaust
I believe a heat exchanger is needed so only dry hot air is injected
I learned from a wood product manufacture that steam drying it how you unlock the moisture from the core of the wood. So exhaust direct will work well and I have also experimented with it too. But like Michael, you need to control it otherwise you get fire!!
a volks wood could get some good heat recycle too, though probbly more weight and space problems. if its on the go it might work, but like you say, it would take longer than hour too dry a barrel of wood, that it burns soft wood an hour in a work truck.Good stationary generator set up though.I seen those white pages years ago before i knew wood gas worked, around 6 years ago.I thought they were driveing on the gas from the heated wood.
Ho MattR,
I do believe you were told correctly.
Kiln/dry stabilizing is as much about stabilizing the wood product from any future biological activity. You do need to get out the inside-cell moisture. The wood temperature is also driven high enough, long enough to fix the cell sap sugars.
Woodgasing you only really want to get out the between-cells moisture.
For woodgasing fuel prepping I vote for dry off-engine cooling system heat. And exchanged indirect dry heat sourced from the exhaust system.
S.U.
Thanks All for the good advice, considering future build and exploring what other people are already doing. this saves me some time and money by not having to experiment for myself. Tyler
I had another thought, could you possibly use an old turbo from the pressure of the exhaust to blast cold air into a drying box? It may dry faster in that sort of closed system, where there is always a pressured flow of air coming up from the bottom of the box, and flowing up into the wood, and out side vents. Wether the box is a steel barrel or a more horizontal shaped box
Why not heat the air before it enters the drying box? Some aircraft use turbos to pressurize the cabin.
Solar-Fuel, onward !
Yes, that would make sense to heat the source of air or exhaust or if it is already heated, I guess where I am not so knowledgeable and wrapped around the idea of wood drying, it is a good learning point.
I would let the turbo suck cold air and push the cold air through the heat exchanger (think WayneK) and into your dryer.