Small engine mobile fuel station

Small Engines Charcoal Gasification
#22

I will do that. Let them finish sun drying to get rid of excess moisture.

Uhmmm … thanks for the warning but I gotta be hard headed on this one.

Converting grass -n- leaves to engine torque is whole purpose of this boondoggle.

If you turn out to be correct I will bow, scrape, and eat a double helping of humble pie in public.

6 Likes
#23

Wish you luck. The thing is, chemicly, there is litle difference between your binder and raw wood or whatever biomass. Esencialy, runing this charcoal trugh the updraft gasifier is like runing a mix of engine grade charcoal with 5 % woodchips/sawdust mixed in. I dont think anyone wuld be prepared to risk that. I realy hope l an wrong

9 Likes
#24

What you have posted has really helped me. You are a mentor. Thank you. So when you speak I listen.

I have knee pads for the bowing, and antibiotic cream for the scraping, and a big ole spoon for my pie.

I am probably wrong. I’ve read enough, watched too much, about tars.

That being said …

I’ve got a junker engine that I’ve cleaned more times than my dentures. And I’m willing to sacrifice it.

If I can work out the maximum ratio of binder to minimum volume of filtration.

Both from the charcoal in my oversized “hopper” and with external fiber, or oil, or oil soaked fiber filters …

If I can develop a proven procedure. It would be significant for my farm, and all of the farms around me.

Call it a “hope I am informed” calculated risk.

In any case … Sincerely … thanks for helping.

9 Likes
#25

Maybe using a sawdust filter box like Matt has developed would help to keep any tars out of the engine if it was made by the fuel being Gasifier.
Bob

4 Likes
#26

Kristijan,
Do you think this would work in a downdraft charcoal gasifier?

3 Likes
#27

Mark I think you’d really benefit from a downdraft revision to your gasifier. Would turn the humid char into a benefit.

Just close up the old gas exit and put in a 1" coupler maybe 10" above the bottom. Use the old nozzle hole for the new gas exit.

With the 1" coupler you can copy Matt’s nozzle

Edit: I went ahead and moved my suggestion to prevent clutter

2 Likes
#28

The simplicity of the Simple Fire is a MAJOR positive. Given the relative knowledge/skill/materials available in our area.

That being said … I will goof with anything until it bites me in the butt at least twice.

Can you link me to a picture of the “hearth” your thinking about?

3 Likes
#29

Sure, I’ll go find it and edit it into this comment. Have you seen Matt’s video on his ammo box gasifier?

Matt found a better way to make his nozzles without needing to cut threads on the nozzle pipe.

He uses the 1" couple and puts in a 1" to 3/4" reducer bushing. He then takes a 3/4" pipe and cuts slits in the end so it fits a 1/2" pipe easily. When you thread the 3/4" pipe into the coupler it bites down on the 1/2" pipe to hold it down. This way you can swap them out quickly and take the whole nozzle assembly out without needing to dive into the barrel. Removes from outside.

3 Likes
Gasifier Design Idea
#30

Thank you. I’ve skimmed Matt’s last few videos. But did not really take them in. (No offense intended Matt).

I’ve got one synapse left and it fires part time. So I tend to tunnel vision focus on stuff.

P.S. edit for clarity.

Damn you are FAST.

5 Likes
#31

Here’s how he makes the new nozzles but with pictures. I’m terrible at describing things and need images.

If the 1/2" pipe is too thick, I would just hit it with the belt sander to reduce it.

I have this issue with all the 1/2" pipes I can buy they’re just a little too thick to fit in a 3/4" pipe

3 Likes
Gasifier Design Idea
#32

Best part is since you can use plumbing couplers that means you can just braze that bad boy into the barrel. If it doesn’t work out just plug it with a 1" plumbing plug.

This kinda works like a downdraft but I think it also behaves like a cross draft without the risk of having too short of a charcoal filtering area.

2 Likes
#33

Synapse sputtering note space.

Ammo Box No Weld Gasifier Build Tutorial Segment 1 @ 06:20

Ammo Box No Weld Gasifier Build Tutorial Segment 2 @ 14:00

So this is a diagonal down/cross draft. In the case of the ammo can from 6" down to approx 3" from the bottom of the can.

That is a helluva nozzle.

The 1/2" plumbing inside the nozzle is for water drip system.

With air and steam wrapping the longish end of that 1/2" vaporization tube, and the focus of the heat right there … what’s the lifespan of that 1/2" tube?

Is this setup kinda a water filled, ( I forget the french name for it … tuyre? …) nozzle?

Burn zone would follow the air flow down and across the grate, so that grille has to be pretty stern stuff.

No inside hopper filtering, so I’d need to beef up the external filters.

Gas output heat is gonna be much higher. Need to switch the exterior plumbing to higher rated stuff?

1 Like
#34

I would use flex exhaust or something, yeah.

Also don’t use the nozzle he showed in the video it melted away apparently. Use a nozzle like I quoted from his thread.

But the exit temps is also why I said maybe 10" above the gas exit. Will cool the gas down a little bit more. If you only plan to use charcoal you wouldn’t need to worry too much about tar creep.

1 Like
#35

Like pictured in " [20220316_1501171] [20220316_1501251]"?

I understand converting a 1" nipple into a compression fitting to seat a 1/2" nozzle

So the new nozzle is just a double thickness, (sched 40), iron pipe tip?

1 Like
#36

Sorta, the part that protrudes in is just the 1/2" sch40. I think because it’s downdraft he hasn’t seen one melt away yet. They take to water drip really well. Something about how it transitions from 3/4 to 1/2 really breaks up the droplets and atomizes well.

I think he made it two part so it is easily changed, since he drills holes in the side of the 3/4" pipe to line up with the water drip tube.

1 Like
#37

20220331-114347

Tare’d weight is 520 grams.

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#38

Yes, thats what hard core charcoal junkie porn looks like…

Thats nearly a threefold increase in density. Oooh the possibilitys…

Are they easyer or harder to peletise thain wood in your machime?

Steve, thats exactly what l wuld use them. Since they wre all the same size, small and dense, a tiny downdraft hearth will make tons of gas and their density will extend hopper range 3 times! Just think about it, a 30 gal hopper will hold enaugh fuel for about 300 miles…

7 Likes
#39

I don’t have any frame of reference. I’ve pellet-ized 2 times now. Both charcoal.

I can say that I have the roller tension really high. The pressures involved are big.

When I clean the flat die after the run …I can’t just knock it clean with a nail and hammer. I have to drill the left over out.

20220331-145649 20220331-145702

We burned a handful this afternoon. Cut a paint thinner can into an oven so we had clean, virgin metal to observe.

It burns HOT and LONG, then crumbles into a super fine dust. Almost like talcum.

My next press I am gonna halve the binder and roller pressure. See how that goes.

8 Likes
#40

Ok Sensei take me to school.

If pellet-izing causes a

Then this estimate is no longer accurate?

Wouldn’t it be 5% / density increase ? Using the figures we have …

5% / 3 times the density ?

Which would make the apparent percentage of binder something like 1.6666… % by volume?

Physics guru’s … help a redneck out please.

6 Likes
#41

Mark, your sence of humor is realy something :joy:

I surely never was called that before and probably for a good reason :joy:

We talk mass percent here, not volume percent. There still is 50g of starch per kilo of charcoal, no matter the volume. Well, if we want accuracy, 4.76% since we got 1050g of the mix as you started with 1000g charcoal and added the starch.

9 Likes