Ther is no limits on the simple-firer system; except for the fuel you can feed it and the melting point of your furnace.
If you build a system sized right, it will work as you have built it. run your gisifier Hot
The heat is the limitation, I believe. Drawing harder with a larger engine will call for bigger pipes, more charcoal, etc. As it stands Gary G was cautioning me about running a 1.0L Geo Metro on it. It would work fine but get too hot too fast.
Hi Brian, To answer your question simply (Gads, I use that word too much, but love it!) NO. The Simple-Fire came about in mid March when I wondered how “Simple” I could make a gasifier. Since this is a hobby, no R&D money or help, I have been pecking away at different ideas. What I have posted is something that works, but I do not know all the limits of the system. I’ve learned sump pump hose starts to melt around 150F. I know adding some oil to the charcoal will cause it to condense out in the filter. I know a 1" iron pipe inlet will handle 10 HP with no problem. Are you interested in building one? They really are easy and you can let us know of your results and what happens as you “push the limits”. The Simple-Fire is by no means a final product with everything know about it. So, I invite you to join the fun and help us learn more!
Gary in PA
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I am Finally Close to being able to start building the “Simple Fire”. I have had most of the parts sitting for quite some time now.
I am building a boiler that should be finished this week; then my attention goes to the “Simple Fire”.
I am motivated to GOG (Get Off Grid) soon! Monthly $ and losing electronics, due to faulty transformers, is the driving force. The Simple Fire will play a role.
Gary G.: I can’t find any mini-barrel buckets like you have there. Do you think the pictured steel buckets from my local hardware store (with some sealing/gasket around the lid) would work for a SImple-Fire? They also have a 10Gal version available. Thanks.
You can get 5 gallon buckets with lids and lever lock rings for under $16 (plus shipping) from Baytec Containers at http://www.bayteccontainers.com/standard-unlined-5-gallon-open-head-steel-pails-covers.html
They have all sorts of container sizes and configurations.
Hi Brian, I have been thinking about your problem finding a suitable reactor. I just took another look at the picture and note the steel container you show is 6 gallon capacity with a locking lid. If this container has a gasket, OK, but if not you can make one. I am thinking several layers of duct tape around the lip of the container should work. Remember, the temperature on a Simple-Fire type reactor will only get into the 150F range and I think duct tape should handle this. The bottom line is you MUST have an air tight seal for the lid.
Gary in PA
Wayne sent me an email and thought some of it maybe of interest to those who are following the development of the Simple-Fire charcoal gasifier.
" On another note - What size inlet / outlet do you think I would need, for a
simple fire, to power a 4.7l engine? 1 1/2"? I will figure out cfm very
soon. I figure on it going in a 55 drum. I want to get my Jeep converted
before the next meet up. I would like to use your design for simplicity and
because there is no extra room on a Jeep Grand Cherokee for condensate and
cooling etc.
I am finishing my boiler this weekend and should be building a simple fire
out of an extra milk jug very soon.
ANSWER: Your engine is small at 4.71 HP so I recommend you go with the standard Simple-Fire inlet/outlet size of 1" pipe. This size will allow you to go larger, up to 25HP. The advantage of using the 1"pipe size is sump pump hose, readily available from any hardware store, will be a snug fit on the 1" pipe nipple. If you use a 55 gallon drum as the reactor, bear in mind that you must suck all the air from the drum and fill it with charcoal gas before your engine will run. I am guessing that it will take at least 5 minutes to do so with a battery operated suction fan. However, once you get this done, your little engine should run for hours on the mass of charcoal you have in the drum.
Curious, what is the boiler for? What size? Monotube or firetube? What pressure?
After building a boiler and an Imbert gasifier, you will be pleasantly suprise at how easy it is to build and operate a charcoal gasifier.
Keep plugging away!
Gary
I may be wrong here, but if so, it would be my first mistake of today.
I believe this guy is asking for information regarding useing the Simple Fire unit to power his 4.7 liter Grand Cherokee.
Richard
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Wow, I really missed that one! Did not even see it as a 4 liter engine until you pointed it out Richard. In that case, my seat of the pants thought is the air inlet needs to be at least 2 inches. The gas outlet should be around 3" and those dimensions are probably a minimum. This is bigger than any gasifier I made so there will need to be some research and design put into it. An engine of this size will also have a lot of suction so the gas filter will also have to be more than a chunk of foam rubber.
Thanks again for pointing out the error of my assumption!!!
Gary in PA
Thanks Gary. I will post pics when I make some real progress.
i’ve been busy with housebuilding on the ol’ homestead here, but thinking about charcoal also.
occurred to me that a few activities that i intend to need lots of heat for at some point - that would make use of all that “waste” heat “lost” in the process of making charcoal - include these:
kiln drying lumber and future charcoal firewood
making maple syrup
heating an outdoor sauna
heating the home domestic water supply reservoir.
trying to think of a set-up that would accomplish all of those functions with just one charcoal-making facility is challenging, but if possible, it would significantly improve the efficiency of turning wood btu’s into charcoal btu’s.
anyone else have any suggestions that could also use the “waste” heat normally lost to the sky during charcoal production?
So I’ve started the process of putting together a Simple-Fire to power my newly acquired 18HP (B&S Engine) riding mower which will also soon power a WK style wood chunker. I am using the above posted galvanized steel bucket as my reactor vessel.
Do I need 2T-fittings and 2Ball Valve fittings to make this work? I’m thinking I’d need 1 pair at the air inlet port/exhaust reutrn for the gasifier and 1 pair at the motor for fuel/air ratio mixing. Is this accurate?
Brian, Yes that is accurate. On the “T” at the air inlet port I have a close nipple and a cap so you can close off all air going in to the reactor. Same at the output…somewhere you want to be able to close off any air that could enter the reactor bucket. (I just loosen a stainless clamp at the filter output and install a threaded cap, so I have threaded caps on input and output, and no air gets in.) That 18 hp motor is going to suck lots of air through the input nozzle, and the high temperatures will certainly melt the nozzle. (Make spares.) Be sure to check out some of the latest postings on Gary’s Charcoalgasifiers Yahoo group. wtom.4321 is experimenting with furnace and retort cement cast in a cylinder around the nozzle. I have wrapped the nozzle in my simple-fire in stainless sheet (held on with a stainless hose clamp), and then wrapped that with high temperature ceramic wool, and then inserted a ceramic coffee mug over the assembly. I used a dremel tool and cut-off wheel to make a one inch hole in the bottom of the mug. Gary and William have some very beautiful blue flares. We joke that those blue flares are generated by the consumption of the metal in the nozzles!
Ray Menke
RayM: Thanks for the info. I’ll head back to the hardware store today and get some more parts.
I did get some “black furnace cement” that says it can withstand up to 2000°F, as well as regular 500°F RTV silicone. They were sold next to each other in the bbq department. Picture below. Do yous think that it would be good/better for sealing applications here, especially in the lower/hotter portion of my bucket?
Brian, I painted my unit with Chevy Orange Engine paint that is supposed to withstand 500 degrees F, and it burnt off in the area around the input nozzle. (The nozzle did not burn up.) Based on that, I would say that the silicone sealant is also going to be toasted. The furnace cement might be better, if it will stay pliable. As an interesting story, I have a charcoal retort that I load through a small hatch. High temp. RTV Silicone Gasket Maker (the red stuff from the auto parts store) was burning away, so I salvaged some heavy duty Aluminium Foil from our recycling box and pressed it flat. (It had been crumpled into a ball.) It was full of stiff wrinkles, but I pressed it over the bolts on the hatch, then poked holes for the bolts, and installed the hatch cover, and tighted the nuts on the bolts. (I use anti-sieze compound on the threads.) It actually works! The little wrinkles must fill in the “highs” and “lows” and make a good seal. At first, I was using the high temperature red RTV Silicone which is supposed to go to 650 degrees, in addition to the crinkled foil, but later found that RTV was not necessary, and just the foil made a seal. FWIW. (For what it’s worth.)
Ray
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Hi Brian, I did not realize this until today, but you need 2 “T"s and maybe three. Here is a picture of my Gravely. One T screws to the air inlet and also allows engine exhaust in. You will see a 1” plug hanging on a chain. That is used to screw into the air inlet to shut down the gas generator. Another T is located on the exhaust pipe. You can see the valve there that regulates the exhaust gas with the excess expelled through the muffler. The third T is located between the air filter and the carb. This is where the charcoal gas gets mixed with air and into the engine to be burned.
You have to make sure your seals are tight and no air gets in the gas generator, dust filter or hoses. With enough exhaust gas return, you should get at least 10 burns from a nozzle before it oxidizes away. Silicone should also be able to take the heat where the nozzle bolts on to the generator and the gasket at the top of the generator. When my outlet temp gets to 140F, it is time to refill the generator with charcoal.
OH, here is the picture. The silver container is the chargas generator.
Gary in PA where we have 12" of snow.
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Keep it simple !! Aluminum foil works wonders and gets backfilled by all the other stuff. I have used it for filler and emergency repairs for years. Gary, ONLY 12" :o) … We ave a bit more than that right now. Oh, the biggest problem I have had with using furnace cement is keeping water away from it. I have to go over my truck’s system when it warms up a bit. I have some hi temp hi pressure flex hose to replace the old aluminum stuff (from the cyclone to cooler) which is full of small holes that add up. I have the stuff in a heated spot but it is supposed to be below zero the next couple of mornings so I won’t be able to play with it till the next warmup … ML
Have had a little more time to work on the Simple Fire charcoal gas generator this winter. I now have some info and data to share. First of all my Simple Fire generator is a 15 gallon grease barrel about 14" in diameter and 28" high. The air inlet is located about 4" from the bottom of the generator and the gas outlet is on top of the lid. This unit powers a 7Kw kolher generator and consumes 1 pound of aspen charcoal for every 10 minutes of run time. Some engine exhaust is routed back to the air inlet to reduce the heat generated in the oxidation zone. Initally I used a steel pipe for the nozzle which eventually oxidizes away. Lately I have experimented with a Kent style nozzle made from fire clay that works very well. Pictures to follow. From a cold start, it takes about 2 to 5 minutes to have the generator powering my shop. Once it is up to running temp, the air/charcoal gas mixture valve does not need adjusted. Just let it run.
The Kent style nozzle was developed in Austrialia in the 1940s but was of cast iron. My filter consists of a 4 gallon tin can with a foam filter in it. Over the foam filter is a wool cloth filter that works very well at capturing any charcoal dust that comes from the gas generator. After about 10 hours of run time, I have yet to remove the foam filter. All I do is take out the wool fabric, slap it alongside a post outside to knock the dust out, and put it back in the filter can.
That is enought for now, so until later,
Gary in Pa
My Simple-Fire (Pics 2+3) is finally coming along. I found a few (14 total) metal buckets (Pic 1) on Craigslist for free. The guy poured concrete driveways, sidewalks, garage floors, etc. so he went through a LOT of concrete sealant. When ever a bucket got too hard to easily pour, he’d set it aside. In the end, I got about 2 gallons of good sealant out of the deal.
Unfortunately, the lids have that 3"D pour-spout (Pic 4) which is going to make a heavy flange a requirement for the exit pipe.
So far I have my 1"ID ‘black iron’ pipe running through the side with a double flange that I cut out of some sheet-metal roofing scraps I had laying around. I used the black stove cement/grout to seal the holes/flanges. I can’t find any refractory type clay around here and having trouble finding a cheap piece of stainless to wrap the nozzle end of the pipe with. Do you think the stove cement would be able to withstand the heat at the nozzle enough to protect my pipe, assuming I coated the pipe end in the gunk?
I did install a Dino Fuel Cutoff Valve (“DFCV”, Pic 5) in the fuel line of my riding mower (a old Craftsman with a 18HP B&S engine) today, along with a new (non-rust filled) Dino fuel filter, and a pair of new spark plugs. After I got the engine warmed up and running more happy, I tried to cut the fuel but the engine continued to run on the residual fuel for another 60-90 seconds before starting to die. That might cause issues with getting the fuel-air ratio correct while transitioning from Dino to charcoal.
I need to leave to stock Dino system usable for my girlfriend. She does lawn maintenance for a living and I am quite allergic to cut grass so she would be using the mower as originally intended when I am away from home. Hopefully, she’ll learn the charcoal system soon but it is good the have the backup in case I forgot to make charcoal for her.
