It was fun to hear, hope you make a construction thread when you start.
Do you have a car that runs on firewood now?
Hmm.
No. Be no step by step construction thread from me.
Only a done and this is what it does for me.
Like Joni. Like actually many others have put up on the DOW.
And, please, please I do not say this in arrogance.
Simply put I do not want my elbows joggled. I do not want to explain why I will do things a certain way. Why I will not do things in other ways.
Example? No friggin’ performance sucking cyclones!!! But, but, Steve: you must! The books all say . . . the historical pictures all show . . .
Nope. Did that. More than once. Waste of efforts.
I already have one very developed thick all stainless steel BenPeterson Built gasifier.
Too heavy for a car.
Too small of output for a V-6, V-8 pickup truck.
It has worked fine 2.5kW electrical to ~10kW electrical systems. Ahh. 7 to 25 horsepower gasoline engines.
“Imbert” in principals. But much more developed in three layers of insulations. Much more advanced Internal hearth flow design.
And Yes. As I have insisted since 2007; it will all stainless steel where the two point off of 7.5 neutral; acids, and strong bases and condensates will touch. Experiment and ideas develop in easy carbon steel. Build for endurance in acid and rust proofed steels.
But hey. That just me.
This will not be a no-weld project. I am not trying to make any statement with this system.
Ohh. Just one statement.
That roadside found raw wood systems can be made to work.
To me Joni has already proven this.
Now I want one too.
Steve unruh
9 Likes
Yes Steve we are in the same position, I do not know how to TIG weld and no welder for it. But my Son does know how and has the TIG welder, but it is 60 miles away from me.
I commuted back and forth to work for 35 years 130 miles daily not counting the many miles of driving on the job daily. I like staying at home now and not traveling. Ha ha. Call me a home body of sort.
Yes Joni’s design has got everyone beat for size of engine and light weight on the back of a vehicle. The Stainless steel seems to be the metal to use.
I am as you know am testing out the 409L on my cooling cooling header to my cool rails. This is what the exhaust pipes are made of and you can MEG weld with stainless steel wire.
One thing I need to check on is how the welders at my old job at the Dams welded the turbine blades they used MEG welders with stainless steel wire and welded on the steel iron turbine blades repairing the cavitation on the blades.
Yes we are going to have to use the 9.0 design until Joni comes out with the new and improved 11.0 design. Haha.
My Barrel in Barrel in Barrel design is being incorporate in my Double Flute design some what with the exception it is now square, and much smaller. Hope it works. Lol
Bob
2 Likes
I like the idea of no cyclones. So you’re just gonna run a cooler and then a filter then the engine?
That is how Joni does it.
With a MaxG gas reheating (me - by engine exhaust manifold). Then an oversized paper filter in the engine compartment.
Operating screw up, and you then clog-wet the paper filter.
S.U.
3 Likes
Yes, this is why I think your paper filtering should be done at the gasifer so the gases will not cool down on the way to the engine compartment and into the air gas mixer. I am going to use the ring air cleaner type filter, maybe a stack of 6 on top of each other lots of paper surface space for the gases to go through. Lots of ideas to try.
If we can solve the problems of carbon spoots making to the engine then we will open up many vehicles that can be run on wood gas. Just use a carburetor with a mixer on top or any MPFI with plastic intakes because of no need to burn out the intake.
Well it is worth a try for me.
It still needs to be light enough to put on the back of the vehicle. If it is to heavy then it goes in the back of a truck.
Bob
2 Likes
Hey BobMac,
I hope you do not object to me putting some of my personal learning welding SS barrel material finding onto this topic.
I thought to just put this onto a PM.
But then where’s the sharing out, eh.
First. Flux-core MIG on thin SS sucks! Go up to 1/8" (3.2mm) it works.
I now know why. Thin and you have to drag travel fast to not burn through.
There is not enough flux coverage generated to adequately cover the weld. 1/8" and thicker and you can linger building up a proper flux cover pool.
A young industrial Swedish guy showed well stick welding 6G position of 2mm to-be x-rayed SS pipe.
He gapped it 2mm. Used 2mm welding rod. Single pass. With clever rod tip working. He positioned so the flux would flow through and backside (inside the pipe) protect too.
So I quit trying to make good flat surface practice welds. Not typical of the jointing I will need to do.
0.40" gapping with Harbor freight butt joint clamps.
Using 3/32" 308L (2.4mm) rod, and the India-mans stitch technique.
It is working down to 18 gauge just as he showed.
The 1/16" rod has inadequate flux volume. Same problem as the flux-core MIG.
And now I’m out of the 3/32" 308L rod.
More ordered now.
And for any wondering why I do not just get the Argon/oxegen; ot Helium tri-mix gas and shielded weld cover . . . .
My monthly Social Security retirement had been pulled back first by $358. a month just before COVID. Now by an additional $78. a month. And been NO stimulus checks for me.
Set me back 2-3 months of good weather, stretching-eagles, to save up to go for specialized of SS, MIG gas. 4-5 months to re-set up for super expense for SS, TIGs gasses.
The property sales money are my Wife’s from inheritance. This is all she will have when she quits working, to last her for the rest of her life. And I fully expect her Social Security will be set back too.
Anyhow; I, wifie beg poorly.
Unfortunately the current incomes; and the taxes; are joint.
Anyhow I’d druther spend on system new SS materials. Welding; although critical, is not the object. Wood-For-Power is.
Steve Unruh
7 Likes
Morning All,
I should have put these up previously. Ha! I had to find them again. Look:
Then listen. He talks:
Hey J.O. Hey JanA.
Made-In-Sweden. Only the best. eh.
Steve Unruh
5 Likes
Haha, I think most people prefer Made-In-Their Own-Country.
Steve, I know nothing about welding but I welded both my gasifier’s with stick only. I found 180° welds like that the easiest. It gets tricker with 90° and narrower. Most of the material I used was 1.5mm. Even the firetube.
I obviously did things wrong because I tried to always drag the stick and keep the mating surfaces as tight as possible to start with, not to burn through. Also, whenever possible, I welded horisontally, not to get a runny welds and burn through.
I never expected my gasifiers to hold up like they have, especially since I welded ss to mild steel - firetube to propane tank. Thin material and the tanks dome’s flexing abilty probably saved me from heat cycle disasters (so far).
10 Likes
Not at all Steve, I am still looking for the salvage barrel or thin walled vessel tank for this project. For longevity it will have to be Stainless steel in the making it light weight.
You are one step ahead of me and it is a good learning for all of us. So share away. I appreciate it.
Thanks for sharing.
Bob
1 Like
Well . . .
I did have 1/2 stick of 3/32"(2.4mm) 308L still left so impatience got the better of me.
This is gapped .040" (1mm) and using JO’s recommend welding angles.
Ugly as sin… But actually sound. With three re-filled blow holes.
Three pass-lengths; dabble-stitch welded. The center being the third pass-length done.
Second picture showing the back side protective flux had flowed.
The under-fluxing MIG and 1/16" (1.6mm) rod and the back side was always oxidized lava looking.
Get more rod and next time I will gap .060" (1.5mm) to match this 16 gauge material thickness.
And obviously I need a lot more stick time, muscle memory training.
BobMac I have pre-cut and rolled stock in this 304 ;16 gauge to make up 8", 10", 12", 14"
tubes from back in 2009. Just been waiting for a worthy project.
Enough for all of the possible internal gut’s of it.
But, yeah would still need an outer SS barrel. 18 gauge (1.2mm) barrel will be $245. USD.
So there is the by Steve’s own hands ugly of it. I will get better.
S.U.
7 Likes
Steve, I didn’t recommend nothing 
I just told you what I probably did wrong, according to your expert-video
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For some reason l find stainless the easyest to weld with a stick like JO, a stick wealder is what l had to work with till recently.
I find 90° wealds easyest. Like JO l tightly press together the seams and only melt the outside edges together witha 2 or 2.5mm stainless rod. Pressing the rod tightly on the joint notdoing any zigzaging.
Probably all wrong but it worksfor me
Oh, one more thing. Whenever l wealded thin sheet steel l always used stainless rods. Forsome reasons they burn trugh material less.
6 Likes
I actually have listened well to both of you JO and Kristijan. Thank you for the feed-backs.
Short arc. Low amps. Careful control.
Until my orders come I have only been able to get a few stick of 312 super expensive “missile” rod. Too expensive to do much practicing with. I seem to have flux melting problems causing slag inclusions at these low amps with the 3/16" (2.4mm).
My “Made-in-Italy” Forney welder says to use 2mm 316.
2mm is impossible to get here in the U.S.
Ha! Ha! I may begging for a kilo of 316L 2mm from one of you.
Would you prefer South African gold? Or old American silver?
Best Regards
Steve unruh
I was at Princess Auto the other day ( A Canadian hardware/tool/surplus store ) and saw this pipe in the surplus section, longer lengths of it. It struck that you could use these inside the gasifier to preheat the incoming air and strip some heat away from the gasses below the hearth in the ash catch. I think this is what was used on the GEK gasifier in keeping with the idea of heat recovery and preheat at the beginning of the thread
Added photo I went looking for some better images. Y3s I think this could function pretty well and reduce build time.
I dug a bit deaper still and found some build instructions on Instructables that show these pipes used
1 Like
Steve, if you need them just say. The ss rods l buy and am plesed with come at about 10$ a pound here, last time l checked. I will send them gladly.
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I love my Forney mig welder. It is simple and welds great. I just get the spool wire size that is close, and then adjust the wire speed.
I have a Lincoln for stick welding.
Bob
1 Like
Hello friend Kristijan.
I would actually need a true 5 pounds. Or 2 kilo’s. To do all of the gastight welds.
PM me with your true desires from here.
I was serious about the gold or silver.
Food from here like Bill’s maple syrup is too iffy to international mail. And I have gifted away all of my gasification books except for three. You are beyond these already anyhow.
One European fellow wanted American cook books for his wife. O.K. . . . I did that too.
Gardening book are too area specific in my opinion.
And I have; and could send you, actual paper Euro’s.
Steve Unruh
3 Likes
Hi Wallace.
Your first GEK picture is a GEK IV (maybe considered a GEK V?) version.
Note the side feed upper fuel particle opening.
The upper common manifold air-in chamber.
The lower basket grate.
Yes uses SS spiral wound individual air tubes.
I gave mine away.
Real-use; using, these have proven to be soots catchers then clogging the produced gasses flows. And then soots insulated, very questionable just how much heat they are transferring.
The GEK system has a number of excellent features.
The drop-in from the top all guts core allows for easy servicing.
The then having NO hard to seal joints within 150mm/6 inches of the jets heats rising zone.
And I personally maintain that a center-post; commanded-active; rotating grating system like VesaM’s, later VictoryGaswork’s; and the GEK is superior, the widest-use flexible to all others. Well worth the complexity making.
My barrel-in-barrel all stainless steel will be a Kolovan 9.0; hanging grate and all. As close as I can copy. Simple. Direct-use. Light and compact. Shown capable of using road-side picked up wood fuels.
Purpose made for rear mounting for vehicle usage. Then later, used by me for an electrical generator.
GEK was purpose stationary.
Past stage III’s wood chunks direct using was abandoned.
I’ve only ever seen that one very limited use vehicle install. And then driven.
The overall form factor ends up either TALL. Or side auger fed - spread out.
And then too many actuator motors; and control systems; and feed-back sensors dependent.
Some love complexity.
Not me.
S.U.
4 Likes
Hm…Steve, you better stick to Slovenian rods. It seems just about everything is less than half price down there.
A 1.6 kg pack of 2mm 316 is $82 here at today’s rate 
2 Likes