Sawdust Gasifier

General Discussion
#41

Patrick,
Was able to see the video. Impressive! How much of your sawmill can you actually run off your genset?
We found our 45kW would run lots of our equipment, but our bigger saws and molders required more starting amps than we could produce. Upgrade time or just tie into the grid with what we have. We were trying to avoid all the problems with the utility company. An electrician told us we would need 175 kW. I would have to calculate if our gasifier can actually produce that much gas. If it can, it would be at it’s limit.
Is it going to be worth it to you to invest in a drier for your sawdust and purchase a briquette press? The drier you could probably build yourself.

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#42

Hi April
I can run all of my saws at the same time as long as we don’t try to start them up at the same time.
My double log edger has two variable speed drives on it so it is the softest starting of the saws, which helps a lot.
Thanks Patrick

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#43

Sawdust gasifier in Brazil:
http://data.obitet.net/makale/makale/internalcombustionengines/054.pdf

The problems they dealt with would probably be typical. But it really is cute, isn’t it? I like it.

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#44

Hi April
Thanks for the link, I think I have already read that article. May head is in such a jumble with all the papers i have read on sawdust gasification.
Its a very complicated gasifier, I would like to find or build the WK equivalent for sawdust gasification.

Keep them coming Im sure there is gold out there some where. Or i / we have to make our own!

Thanks
Patrick

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#45

Back when I worked on a farm, mostly on the machinery maintenance, I was warned about the explosive potential of finely powdered stuff. For example when I needed to do some welding inside a feed grinder. I seem to remember also some kind of experiment in a book when a young’un using flour blown into a cloud to make a bomb.
My point to all this was, I was wondering if a person could blow a cloud of fine sawdust such as with a venturi type sand blaster and ignite it. Kind of like a sawdust torpedo heater or blowtorch.

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#46

Back in the sixties we installed a lot of unfinished oak tongue and groove flooring that had to be sanded and finished. Those big floor sanders had collection bags for that very fine oak sanding dust and we used to amuse ourselves by tossing handfuls into a bonfire and then walking away without arm hairs and eyelashes :slight_smile:

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#47

Doug Brethower has this little jewel.

http://driveonwood.com/resources/pdf-articles/missouri-wood-gasifier

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#48

Hellow Andrew.
A few years ago I built a small square bale burner , looks the same & operates
Like those out side wood furnaces ,you in the country .It would hold 4 small bales.I heated my house & shop with it.I had some flax staw pelipized ,then I made it into a powder . I took about a walnut size amout and through it into the
Squirrel cage combustion fan while it was operating. Guess what ? Bang.My explosion doors opened up & the blast of air through me back on my but.Will never do that again.

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#49

I played with powderd flax straw ( up in our country we have tons every year) they tell me it has same energy as soft coal.it can be put into pellets , but very dangerous to do ,because of a spark. I was wandering if the WK could some how be made to do it ? Would be nice ,because we lack a lot of trees.
Calvin

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#50

I tried to open that PDF at 10:20 Central time and this is what I received.
Forbidden

You don’t have permission to access /sites/default/files/pdf/pub1353.pdf on this server.

Apache/2.2.3 (CentOS) Server at driveonwood.com Port 80

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#51

Don, Calvin, you have confirmed with experiences what I have only heard. Makes me think even more that a person with a supply of sawdust could use it in a burner for practical heat solutions. Perhaps a small auger slowly feeding the dust into the blower. Use this burner in a boiler system instead of solid wood.

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#52
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#53

Flax straw powder.
I have heard that the engine guys are experimenting with coal dust running big Diesel engines.
The fuel saving on the diesel out weighs the shortened life of the engine.
Here in SA a vehicle will use 2-3 times its value in fuel in it life time.
Not sure about the US?

How about using flax straw powere to run a compression ignition engine , or even a conventional spark ignition engine.
Mix dust and air and run!
I haven’t been able to find a flax straw here to try some explosive experiments.
Thanks Patrick

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#54

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvRK0lC1UKk

Some interesting boiler. I am wondering if the principle is suitable for an ic motor.

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