Properties of a good wood gasifier

Okay I have another question now and it is Why? The WK Gasifiers already have a great Turn Down Ratio built into its design. It will idle for long periods of time and then take off and go the at highway speeds for long periods of time and anything in between. You can even run a genset off a WK Gasifier that will run a full size truck with a V-8 engine pulling a trailer. You can not do with a Imbert or other Gasifier designs.
Bob

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Hi Mr Robert, I think you know the answer , given the particular problems that Marcus , or Jo , or Jan , refer to , we have to admit that there are shortcomings . The WK has a well designed fire tube , which preheats the air well and has a large charcoal stock , which does allow it to run for quite a while with a small amount of circulation , but not too long and it is also sensitive to the size and shape of the fuel , it wouldn’t work best on my fuel of different sizes and shapes. Ever since I started gasification I have been thinking how to build a flexible hot zone so that it is always glowing just above the restriction orifice, and if the demand increases the heat would spread up and apart, with WK there is no such effect as the air is only supplied through nozzles placed high above the restriction orifice, here the heat spreads in and down and at optimum consumption reaches the restriction orifice and the grate.

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I’ve been laying awake thinking about this for a while and since we’re on the subject

With the deep charbed of a WK, the big nozzles are probably what makes it work so good. It’s been mentioned before, that at idle oxygen is probably slowly pouring down the sides of the firetube, keeping the heat closer to the restriction than it would with tighter nozzles recommended in Imbert specs for example. Doing so, the lower region is more prepared, heat wize, to deal with a sudden blow of steam and CO2 when we suddenly start pulling hard on the gasifier.
I showed raising the restriction in my Volvo gasifier the other day - an effort to help with both hesitation sympthomes and tightness of the charbed. It’s got only 8mm nozzles, 10 of them. I’ve noticed no difference in behaviour so far. I still need to accelerate carefully not to suffer from hesitation. Once past that, there’s plenty of power again.
I belive the tight charbed is somewhat caused by the small nozzles as well. A hard blast of air pentrates the chunks and fraction char faster than desired. Shaking the grate at lightup gives a couple of miles of OK vacuum ratio. After that - back to “normal” tightness again.

Edit: Tone, I think you’re right when It comes to supply oxygen closer to the restriction at low demand, but as I described above I belive there are several ways of doing that.

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One has to ask oneself: Is having in effect a gasifier with two different (interconnected I know) hearth areas in order to optimize performance instead of a reliable/ acceptable compromise worth the extra complexity and trouble that could create? I could see a way to semi-automate this, drawing from either hearth depending on the measured temperature of each charbed. If the (main?) larger charbed is not in full operation (engine idling) for an extended time, would it not then cool off enough to allow weak or even tarry gas to flow through to the engine upon sudden demand? I realize the smaller (secondary?) hearth will still be at proper reduction temperature
 I guess you may have to build it to find out, Tone!

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I agree. You won’t know unless you try. It’s made of steel. If one thing doesn’t work you get out the welder, plug up some holes or whatever and try something else. I seldom understand what you guys are talking about design wise but show me a drawing and I can build it and hope it’s right. If not I’ll build a different one.

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What do your charcoal, ash look like under the grate?
Is there any charcoal coming down or is it just ash?
Interesting I listen and try to understand you all.

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Tone, dont get me wrong. I have prooven time and time again im all in for inovation when it comes to gasifiers. Im just trying to give a constructive critic :smile:

Others have well described the problem l see with this. At low demand, there is no new charcoal produced. You burn just the charcoal stored above the “idler” nozzles. Raw wood passes down past the main nozzles and once you hit the throtle, this is essentialy the same as if you had a bridge in the hopper that collapsed. Tar!

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Marble sized char, but with quite a lot of fines and ash mixed in. I slip what I would call a normal amount of char. Maybe even a little more, since I’m forced to shake the grate at every lightup. In avarage about a bucket every 4-500 km or so.

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Mike, we have a saying here and I’m sure there’s an English version. I just don’t seem to remember it right now. Ours goes something like:
“The destination is not the goal. The journey is.”
I’m all for simplicity, but with gasification this means
even if we’re fully aware of how to make things work first try, that would be the end of the journey. Most of us like to experiment.
One would like to think it’s easy to learn from other people’s mistakes, but nothing beats doing them yourself. You learn a lot as you go and get a much better understanding. If you’re really lucky you may even come up something new.

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Ok, I’m so surprised that you can drive with such a small and dense grate, I tried to put o one more net in mine, it got better gas, but got dense pretty fast.

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With the small diameter I think most gasses by-passes the grate to the sides anyway. What’s your restriction size?

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This is a good description, JO, I think this is why i let my truck standing for so long, it just worked reliable til it broke down. For now im more tempted to start a new build on another car than repair the old one, but I have to control myself and do it :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:
I noticed this when i felt somewhat “jealous” reading on this forum about new builds, experimenting and tinkering, making tings better and better.
Anyways i have some objects to start experimenting on, sooner or later.

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What’s wrong with it? Gasifier or truck?

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Probably a crack in the heart, very hot and weak gas, also noticed a leak in the outer housing that i cant reach without lifting the gasifier off the truck, maybe this small leak is the culprit, but I want to be sure. Bad thing with stainless is it are prone to cracking.
Almost forgot, the filter must be replaced, the fabric lets alot of soot through, glass-fibre fabric is some brittle and tends to “open up” during stress.

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I have 120cm (5 ") in restriction, but I also have much larger grate, and the holes in grate are also very large, maybe too big.



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Is not it much easier to fix your car. than to start on a new one?
You have a lot of things ready besides the gengas unit.

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Absolutely, but much more fun with new challenges :grinning:
But I will fix the truck before :slightly_smiling_face:

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Yes J.O. we have the same saying, “It is about the Journey, not the Destination.”
Better said, “Enjoy the moments.”

Then also there is the counter point song sang by a rural country woman asking her man-love to just settle down for true happiness. Rambling Man.

We each must look into a mirror and face what we are. Most difficult. Then choose to change to what we would better want to be.

Are you the Experimenter? The brainiac? Kudos for you. Innovations and designs will be named after you. Your Life partner will drift away, ignored too often. Your children will learn to hate you, also ignored. Edison. Rudolf Deisel.

Are you the Artist, the Entertainer? Hard working for years. Achieving great one-off performances. Struggling to match, exceed, your best previous, one-offs.
Wedding cakes. Wedding dresses. One time wedding events are your high standards. Just in metals. Just in track elapsed times. Never ending. Always journeying. Trekker. Seeker of truths, solo in high mountain tops.

Are you the type to take the existing? Carve off the excessive frou-frous. From use experiences slowly fix the original designers’ oversights. Fix his “optimist-sions”. Instead change to optimizing.

I will say that capable of daily using and providing is the only wood-for-power standard that will endure. Ben Franklins cast plate metal box stove. Rumford’s performing fireplaces. Weber’s carburetors. J.O.'s; Tone’s and TomH’s house wood fueled heating systems.
If you want to have an impact on your family.
Have a family: this is the GOAL to pursue.
And this will mean settling for good’enough designs and results. Designs others can replicate. And then use, producing repeatable results.
Make nourishing soups. Make pies. Meat and fruits pies. Only in metals and ceramics. VesaM’s; Ben Peterson’s and Wayne Keith’s books systems.

Screw the Cake eaters. The catering Cake makers.
“What profit a man to gain the World, but lose his Family”
Steve Unruh - foster parent

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I see what you are talking about with the big nozzle holes like I have in my 12 nozzle Gasifier. If I let my gasifier sit engine idling for ten minutes.
You would think it would have cooled down at the grate. Yes it would but not that much. Lets say I am at 1630 degrees f running down the road. Then I stop for ten minutes idling the temperature will drop down to 1380 degrees f. Now I open up the hopper lid and look down through the smoke/steam as it clears all I see bright red glowing Charcoal on top when it is time for a refill. Plenty of air must be coming from the nozzles to do this when the hopper lid is closed. If I turn on the suction blower it really gets hot and glowing fast. Yes the lid is open and air is coming in from the top of the hopper, but it gives a Idea of how fast the firetube.
So I see what you are trying to accomplish here down closer to the restriction zone with the double nozzle in the middle. With cold air coming up through the drill nozzle and being made of high carbon steel I hope the temperature is not to high and it can handle it. Only one way to find out just build it see if it works.
Bob

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Jan, it hard to tell. How many mm is it across the slots.
Bob

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