Hi, i’m Jurassic, i m happy to be part of this great community. I gathered a lot of info and now i’m about to start this adventure. But after studying so much, i can’t choose which one is the right gasifier type for me .
My needs are very basic:
generate electricity for 4 hours a day
have an available 1 kw / 1,5 kw power
most of the time i will charge batteries, but sometimes i can use full power
i need a low consume system
feedstock : woodchunks from dead branches
I am towards an open top drizzler, because it seems quite safe and easy to build. But i m not convinced with a continuos feed system, it can be a problem for my situation
Crossdraft seems to me like a easy to build and the cheapest system to build, but info and feedbacks about it are little, it could be a challenge as first gasifier.
Imbert is the hardest to build and the most expensive maybe? Though there is lots of info and feedbacks, especially with woodchunks. I am pretty worried about its consume, it seems like the hungriest.
Sounds like you are a perfect candidate for a charcoal system, especially just starting out with low power needs. It is an almost fail safe system. I am not sure if you considered this yet but it is worth looking into in my opinion. Good luck!
Thanks for your tip I have considered charcoal , it has some advantages but i find hard to accept the amount of wasted energy needed to make it. What about fuel consumption? I know it s easier to filter but i don’t know if i need more charcoal per kw/h vs wood.
6/8 kg of wood to make 1 kg of charcoal… it can work if one has a forest, in my own opinion
Welcome Jurassic,
Don wants you to succeed. He wants you to get over the horrifying summit between armchair academics and becoming a master at the art of making engine grade gas. Nothing destroys the ego faster then a gas producer whose flare won’t light. All that work, and nadda!
Don suggested charcoal because you will have a refined fuel to begin with. Dead branches are like handing you some crude oil and saying make your engine run.
Once you conquer flame speed, moisture, mixture control, leaks, ash flow, fuel flow, and ignition timing, you can always circle back and build a woodfired producer.
Look at what Gary Gilmore, or Matt Ryding are doing.
The first thing I would do is get 100lbs of wood and see how much moisture it has. You know, weigh out five lbs of billets, then warm it gently for several hours and periodically reweigh. 5lbs-end weight= weight of water If you are up over 18% then char coal it is… otherwise you need a monarator style hopper to dry the wood before you try and oxidize it.
Your complaint of wasted energy will be mute if you can’t build a hopper that drys wet wood, and you will be more successful simply making charcoal.
I had one Mentor that told me to stop talking and start building. (Mike LaRosa)
I had another mentor that told me to follow the directions exactly or I would fail. (Doug Williams)
Both apply to you as well.
Ha, but then again that 1kg charcoal equald 1l of petrol with (allmost) zero risk to mess something up.
Dont worry to much about wood consumption of different style gasifiers. Your engine dictates that, not the gasifier.
My first choice for any system, mobile or stationary, is a downdraft charcoal gasifier. It gives best gas with least flow drag and is the ONLY sistem that is 100% foulproof. Even if charcoal is undercooked inside, wich will mess up a updraft char gasifiers gas, here its no problem. In fact, you can add up to 50% raw wood chunks to your char and the gas will still be clean. Its more work to make but less thain a lmbert.
Thanks Kristijan, that gives a better perspective (half the energy is lost). Charcoal is the way for me too (if I get out of my armchair). The Gilmore gasifier is easy to build, had it running in a few hours. Charcoal making is a little more difficult. But it is better to spent time charcoal making then problem shooting when your generator fails.
Well thats a rough estimation. 1kg per 1l petrol equivalence can be achived when you get the hang for it and master the art of aditives like water injection or EGR.
Charcoal production is energy wastefull yes but keep in mind charcoal gasification later on is more efficient! so in the end, all benefits added in to account, l think charcoal still is a leader.
As for fuel making, people tend to forget making gasifier size wood chunks is allso A LOT of work if you dont have a suitible machine. Then there is drying and storing… For me it is simple to throw junk wood peaces of any quality in a kiln then chrush the char to size. Even a simple small chrusher will make engine grade charcoal for any size needs.
Correct, I am still hoping for some time to invest in a kiln but don’t know wich is easiest for my situation. Since we are working on the land every weekend, maybe it is ok to build something there and take the heatloss (instead of integrating in the heating equipment and use the heatloss). Barrels are here, maybe only a few hours to make a retort… Anyway, on topic. My search started with sawdust and ended with charcoal. I think the only way to have your generator running unattended. Gilmore gasifier is a very well proven design.
Your observations are tempting me but the choose of feedstock is paramount for success. I live in italy and we have not big and easy to reach woods. My idea is to invest in buying a land and make my own fuel and other activites. We have strict and ridicolous regulations for tree cutting, for instance i located an area along a river where floods happen and a lot of logs are on the ground. The administration wants money to take it, money to call an expert (?) and so on, i did the math and buying wood is more convenient. With my own land things are easier, and cutting trees of a small forest just for coal, it seems not like an investment to me.
If i start with charcoal i would surely learn, but isn t the same thing if i learn with an updraft wood gasifier, and then a downdraft in succession?
So please, charcoal apart, what would you choose, knowing my situation?
Seems like an Imbert from what i’m gathering…not to start sure, but as final goal
Sounds like you have already decided, so I would look in the library here.
I can’t help you until you get some fuel, be it wood, charcoal, or turkey feathers.
I mean logs, 90% of wood comes here from your country
I was thinking about vines trimmings too, here when you turn the corner there is a vine. I have alredy burnt vine wood, it burns slow and makes a lot of embers, i don t know if it is a good property for gasification. Anyway my view is , a property with woods, making fascines with the dead branches i find, cut them with a chainsaw like you cut chives or parsley on a plate :). Not so time wasting and energy wasting the way i see it. Feedstock is already dried.
What i would like to know is , no matter the type of gasifier the amount of wood consume will be similar? Suppose i have a 2 kw generator, is it viable to build a gasifier for this power or less? Should i start higher?
Welcome Jurassic! Sweden calling.
There are no easy answers. Most of us like saying: It depends.
For example, what are your goals? Is it mainly to be able to charge your batteries without grid/without gasoline? Living in Italy I would go solar then.
To save money? Can only be done if you consider your time invested free, like with a hobby. You will be investing a lot of time and effort. If you can get building material and fuel for free (or cheap) naturally helps a lot too.
Is it partly about learning about gasification? That’s another story.
A charcoal gasifier would be best. I wouldn’t build a wood gasifier for anything smaller than a car engine. Heat loss is the trouble. A wood gasifier needs to keep as much heat as possible in, and a small volume has to high of a surface area-to-volume-ratio. Also, wood chunks will not flow very well in a tiny gasifier.
I see , nice equipment you have. Well , i don t have a tractor, and your charcoal-maker is sure useful for your needs, but i prefer to work with light stuff, a table, a chainsaw, that’s it. When you’re done, you take all you equipment away.
I m not being stubborn even if i seem so, i just find raw wood more easy to me. My concern is what i can power with wood, and what could be the lowest consume
My goal is charge batteries and sometimes turn on work tools , 1000 watt max stuff.
It’ educational i d say, but my dream is to make my house 100% off-grid, it means freedom to me, don’t know how to explain that…
I live in north italy, solar is way better in the south, we live in a perennial fog during the winter.
Heat loss huh? I saw some people on the web powering 5-6 hp generators with wood. I don’t understand this ‘surface are to volume ratio’, could you explain to me please?
Maybe i see your point now, smaller the unit, smaller should be the chunks because smaller is the reduction zone. An open top like drizzler could solve this problem…
Penguins for example. The bigger the crowd the higher % of them will recieve “free” heat from their “neighbours”.
A small group will have a higher % of cold butts
Yes, small scale wood gasification is possible, but bigger is easier.
Before buying some land for fuel, think about contacting a gardener. They often have nowhere to go with the trees they take down in a garden. The question:Please bring them over to my place, will/can give you more wood then you want.
I have considered charcoal , it has some advantages but i find hard to accept the amount of wasted energy needed to make it. What about fuel consumption? I know it s easier to filter but i don’t know if i need more charcoal per kw/h vs wood.
with (allmost) zero risk to mess something up.
Well the only way to find out is trying so …