I have been interested in woodgas for quite some time but I have been intimidated by the cost of construction of even some of the simplest machines. Frankly I have no real application for such a device besides powering a small homemade generator. I already have a small 79cc Predator engine that I have converted to “hybrid drive” with the use of a small elector motor mounted on the crankshaft and I would like to have it run on woodgas, maybe eventually mounted to a vehicle, maybe just to generate small amounts of electricity.
With all that being said, I would like to build a small gasifier which is maybe about the size of a large computer tower or a bit larger. I have seen all of the involved designs for updraft and downdraft gasifiers, but I want to go as simple and compact as possible. I will list my questions below:
Can I not just construct a very simple design, an enclosed wood fire used to heat “fuel” wood in an oxygen deprived chamber above the firebox? This gas would be plumbed through a filter and into the engine. I’m just looking for the simplest, most compact design (must run on wood and not charcoal)
Does a cyclone filter have to be cone shaped? Can I just make it round?
Are there any generally accepted methods for the lowest maintenance, most effective filtering solutions?
I apologize in advance for asking questions that may have already been answered here many times… but I need to ask follow up questions.
welcome, alex, in the forum
though i am only a primaryschool charcoaler, i will say question 1:
in this way, you become dry wood and steam , and with more drying charcoal, and you harvest pyrolysis gases what cannot be used in a engine direct because of tar…
a cyclone can be round, but the conus is needed to keep up the gas speed and so the fallout of dust…round cyclone lowers the speed of the gas.
charcoal is more easy for beginners, wood gasifying is high school…
but there is a link in the net somewhere : woodgas nl (for netherland) from dutch john, and there a part for small engines as lawn mower and generator…when you read it you can understand the complexity of the argument espescially for small engines.
charcoal is easier, but more dirty in production and use, and filtering can be more difficult
but generally for me the simpler version
Read the “Micro Gasifiers” in English under the British flag icon version
Doing mini’s or micro’s for tiny IC engines is the advanced near magic hardest skill most difficult.
Build and maintain wood fires. A tiny sticks and twig fire is very, very difficult. A large bonfire is easy. Why the University Autumn school spirits fires are big stacked bonfires. Them educated; but shallow life experienced, that is all they can manage.