Lid has been getting HOT since I switched to 45 degrees upwards.
Cyclone collected maybe 1/8 of a cup of water in the little over an hour run.
Trying this time with flutes at almost 90 degrees, biased slightly upwards. Flame went from purple to blue much faster.
Feeling less moisture if any. I’m hoping the residual moisture in the cyclone isn’t throwing that off. I put a piece of open cell foam after the fan in the flaring tube like last time to see if it collects any moisture.
This unit really likes to be shaken every 10 minutes or so or the flare dies.
Still getting some moisture at the base of the flare tube. I think this combined with the small volume of the hopper this won’t be ideal for my Mazda project. A barrel probably isn’t the best form factor for this design or at least not how I’ve made it.
If you are running a stationary engine for testing connect a steel rod from the engine to the reactor. The vibration from the engine will help shake the fuel down. Works like a charm…
Lately I find I am asking a lot of questions about names and such.
But I am a little scared to ask what [ForbiddenTuna] is all about…
Forbidden Tuna is a reference to Landmines. From an old internet joke among firearms enthusiasts.
I just find it funny enough to use it as a name on forums.
You should not have that problem once you build yourself a charcoal grinder and get the charcoal down to a smallish more uniform size you should see it flowing much better .
Dave
Yeah there’s definitely still some big pieces. I ran every thing through a 1/4" screen and then through a 1" mesh to catch the biggest stuff, but a grinder would be the ticket. Lucky for me I found a roller wheel off of a dumpster, big old thing but I’m going to weld RR spike teeth nubs on it like Gary Gilmores grinder.
I’m still going to test this reactor in my Mazda and if it us successful I’ll just take the flutes out and try lowering it. I’m going to put in a stainless steel rod to see how far down my reaction zone goes and adjust accordingly.
I wish I could find a shortstack barrel that is the same diameter as a 55 gallon drum.
I have had an idea of getting a cheap cargo shelf that hangs off a Reece Hitch and mounting it permanently to the rack by doing what Wayne does to his truck beds. It would put me at the right height for EGR feeding too. I’m not a skilled enough welder to shorten a drum just to add hopper height.
If it sits low enough I might not even have to recess the reactor.
It is possible to shorten a 55 gal drum even without any wealding. Takes some skill but you seem to not lack that.
Cut a ring out of the midle with one cut going over the ridge and a nother above the bottom ridge. The half cut top ridge will act as a flare/guide for you to press the barrels together
Idealy both ridges shuld meet for a nice finish. Just add a bit of silicone before you tightly press the ridges together and you have apreety good seal.
Hi everyone
excuse my question out of context i didn’t know where to ask this question
a simple fire (updraft) requires a coal sized between 1/8 and 3/4 of an inch. Why does a downdraft tolerate a wide range of coal sizes vs. an updraft generator?
Because, as in a wood gasifier, the fixed burn zone, prefferebly with a restriction, gradualy “licks” away the chunk surfaces as they migrate down. Everything is more confined, concentrated. The goal in the end of it all is that the gases pass trugh pea sized charcoal before exiting the burn zone.
But with a updraft, its the other way around. Smaller bits are at the nozzle, biger ones are at the boundry of the burn zone. Thats a recepie for a forge, not a gasifier. Hope it makes sence
Going to attempt an engine run. Hopefully my predator 212 can pull enough to keep it running. I stuffed some open cell foam in a 2" pvc pipe to keep as much soot as possible from ruining the engine but if it dies, it dies.
Can’t wait to hear how she runs. Depending how hard you “stuffed” it, 2" may be too small to allow unrestricted flow? My first small engine gasifier filter, based on Gary G’s example, was a 4 inch block of open cell foam cut round so that it slid snuggly into 4" pvc. There are many great filter options, if your 2" pvc is too tight.
Yeah I’m not sure if it’s the engine or the filter. It can’t get enough force to run. Going to try one last time but without a filter. It’ll just be a short run anyhow.
Edit: I give up on this little engine. I’m having way too many variables screwing with me and I hate relying on the rope start.
