These things are all works in progress…
Lessons learned personally and through others experiences.
I live in a cold climate, any liquid build up in the low spots will get solid when it cools off.
Some Generous soul donated my blowers… I can’t afford to be replacing them. They are working well so far (one winter) and are all mounted vertical.
One of my favorite Wanyne-isms is… “Pain is a Wonderful Teacher” 
Good lookin build, look forward to see it rolling.
TerryL
Ron…be careful having to much hardware inside the air cleaner. Be certain if a spring breaks or anything comes loose in case of a backfire in the air cleaner it can’t end up stuck on top of a piston or in a valve seat area. I also put a strap across the bottom of the air cleaner. I tack welded the nut under the original short strap that bolts in the middle of the throttle body, that the air cleaner bolt goes through. Just a thought. Your build looks real nice.
Gary
Your post will no doubt help some one that is not as mechanically inclined as some. I made sure nothing can come loose inside of the air cleaner. Pretty much did things the same way you have done, tack welded the new longer bolt, lock tite on everything else. Thanks
Ron H
I have looked and could not find a post on the proper protocol to START and STOP a flare. Seems to me that when stopping a flare it could migrate back down stream and cause a rather large explosion. For me lighting the flare is not the issue, it is stopping the flare. What keeps the flame from going back down stream when the blower is turned off? Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Ron H
Ron, the flare is a reasonably weak flame. I usually put mine out with my hand and then shut the blower off.
Hey RonH
BillS is correct - LEAVE THE PRESSURE BLOWER ON WHEN FLARE STOPPING to prevnet burn backs.
On small stationary systems best to AWAYS have a gas tight shut off valve just below the flare burner point.
You cooling rack guys, end of rack flaring, understandably this is not easily possible.
Try this. Leave the blower(s) ON. Cap the flare with a metal screen - splatter frying pan cover - cooking straining cone - made up screened cover/cap with a handle. This should kill the flame above the screen yet still allow gas out flow. Flame out. THEN turn off the blower forced gas flow keeping the screen in place until all out flow stops and you can hard re-cap…
Once a system is in-use a lot it will develope a few air leaks. That leaking in air can with gas mix in system. LOTS of system variations out there being made up now!
Hard flare snuffing will cause a burn-back kaBOOM under many conditions.
Took me two years to live down a “Boom-Boom Steve” nickname video taped 2010 summer VGW bbq hard flare snuffing.
Someone elses turn now to be the boom-boom king. Tag! You are It!
Steve Unruh
Steve U, there’s a video out there showing this? I vow not to call you Boom Boom Steve if you care to share the link. Haha
on my small systems, I always turn off the vacuum first… pulling on it with a small shop vac… and then close the vacuum valve. If I do it the other way there will be a pop inside the shop vac. Surprisingly, they will survive doing that to it more than one time.
unless there is a leak somewhere, and then that should be a high priority fix. No air, no flame. Also, an operating gasifier, will continue to produce gas after the pusher blower is switched off, and maintain a positive pressure for maybe a minute or so. Take a look at Gary L. flare video. At 2:14 he turns the pusher blowers off and positive pressure from the gasifier continues to produce a small flame. There is no burn back because there is no oxygen in the gas pipe. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NL1-NpUqlE
What Carl said .
I have never had an issue shutting down a flare .
Thank You All for your response, you have greatly reduced my anxiety on this matter. If all comes together in the next two days I will be building a fire and see how the gas/flare looks and be DOW by the weekend. Will post some pic’s soon.
Funny story their Steve U. Thanks for your input. And I will do my best to not be dubbed the boom-boom king.
Ron H
Hey RonH you have no idea just how funny that boom-boom story was.
The bbq get-togather was at a public county park. No permit requred - normally. But lot of cars came. Lots of people came. A towed-in demonstration trailer dragged in with these fanacy shiney reactor looking “things” had attracted an official park response. Get-togather organiser had just walked over to talk/calm them that all was OK, legitimate.
Just as I made the first big kaBOOM!
I’d arrived late. Unit had been “crowd” assembled as a hands-on, see-all, interactive experience.
Was then lit off. Heated up to stabilty. Flaring nicely blower driven. I arrived and took over operating. Then I wanted to shown them quickly unlit “cold” GOOD woodgas appearance now that they knew this from the flare. Did a quick hard snuff out with the bottom of a metal bucket. Intending to lite right back up for a solid before and after gas quality two way to see proof. That BOOM did not video tape - too quick. A sonic/audio pants browning scare.
Park managers were old, half deaf, hearing aids noised dumped I figure. Were safe event satisfied, drove away. Back into flare then I tried my standard sop quick snuffing again - KaBoom again!!
That one was videoed. Expecting then, nothing much to see with no more duck and cover reactions.
Yep. Seems the “crowd” participant assembly job had a bunch of flange air leaks.
The system back pressure sneeze events DID clear out any reduction char bed flow restictions but good and the gen-set did start up unusually on staight woodgas on just one pull, and power good.
Enough air in the mix introduced post hearth in the cooling/filtering to make a back-flare boom possible.
Not too much air for the engine needs fuelgas/air mix.
All in-use gasifer systems will develop some leaks. Period.
We no longer did crowd experience assembly. I no longer did hard flare snuffs.
You do not stop fishing just because the boat seeps a bit of water. Bail as needed. Keep those catching lines in the water working.
You do not stop cutting if the blade throws just one tooth. Keep cutting until the whole blade needs changing out or restoration.
Gitter Done First. Then count the costs later. You’ll never know the worth of it Doing, without any results to measure by.
Regards
Steve Unruh
Great story, I’m sure that we all enjoyed it equally. Thanks for posting.
I grew up a couple miles from you, have many relatives still living there, (old school German farmers). Went to Viet Nam in 1969 came home from there in 1972, been around some very big explosions, (RPG, rockets, hand grenades) still packing a couple pieces of shrapnel, left hand and arm, don’t care for anymore of that stuff.
Ron H
Got most of the electronics installed and working. Still battling the distributor advance hook up, hope to be done with all in the next few days. I will post the flare and engine run ASAP.
Ron H
I see detail and quality construction, and that should help you have a great “maiden voyage”.
Hey Ron, I like your labels. Opeck on and off made me laugh:-)
Looking Good Ron !
The family member of Ron that I’ve been talking to says the truck runs okay in cold weather with a cold engine, but once it warms up it “acts like it’s starving for fuel”.
What could cause something like that? The IAT Sensor or maybe the Intake Plenum leaking when it warms up? She says it will run rough in the summer months as well even on a cold start.
I know he looked hard for it and couldn’t find it. IAT sensors more typically appear when it is cold rather then warm. but the symptoms sound right.
It could be a vapor lock type of issue as well. It only takes a fuel line that gets pushed over by something hot to cause it.
maybe weak injectors if it has them. If it wasn’t happening before he was driving on wood, possibly they didn’t get enough lubrication and the fuel has a lower density?
maybe restricted airflow at the intake?
maybe an o2 sensor? weak fuel pump? leak in the fuel line/bad o-ring? bad gas cap? plugged fuel filter? low compression? Too many hot chicks in bikinis trying to hitchhike?
I think i would ask if they knew it if was happening before he converted it to woodgas. It may have, and that eliminates some issues that can pop up while messing around trying to get it installed.
It didn’t have the issues before the conversion, and the truck runs fine on woodgas itself apparently according to Ron having told the relative I’m communicating with
It must be something to do with fuel delivery. I wonder if a wire is getting shorted on warmer days.
It’s a 1994 so it’s port injected.