HAVE you built or had working a wood gas or charcoal powered vehicle, I live here in vassar,mi.
1 Like
They collect heat pretty well, when it is sunny out the problem is heat losses especially in the winter. Most hoops houses are meant to extend the growing season for a month or two in the spring and fall. If you want a year round greenhouse, it won’t be cost effective without lots of insulation, like insulated glass and most likely heat storage which can be thermal mass heating like rocks.
Instead of mirrors which get expensive, passive solar thermal panels to collect heat, might be a better solution. In this video his heater is going from 42F to 150F. There are plenty of other designs. They are basically a black box.
No I have not built a gasifier to run an engine. I just make charcoal at this point. I have a small generator that is on the project list to convert, but it fell way down on the life priority list after a few life events happened.
2 Likes
Too much work, making charcoal is easier than dealing with that. Plus it heats the shop, That shop heater retort makes 20 gallons of fuel per day and I have to heat the shop anyways. That 20 gallons of fuel adds up fast especially if we are not running the gasifier everyday. Its almost like having a free source of fuel. That fuel we make takes way less work than raw wood fuel processing. Running this heater is the same work as any other wood heater.
4 Likes
Ok I had to run quite a few burns to get this green wood knocked down. Typical as I had this issue earlier in the year with the green wood I was processing. I finally stopped after burning up all the fuel and let what was left to season for a few months. But now that wood is gone. So now harvesting more green wood and that is what this is. So with quite a bit of energy invested this is my harvest from the retort. Id say just over half or maybe 2/3 is converted to charcoal. Im going to run it as is as this will be a good test. Its a new design and if this works well than it makes its even better less processing and if the result is the same as charcoal then it makes it even easier and more efficient. So we will see 
I repainted the hopper / reactor so wating on that to dry and then Im going to give her a run on this fuel.
6 Likes
THANKS MATT I MAY build one like this, is this a barrel in a barrel, putting the heating fuel wood around the outside of the inner barrel, CAN you share this design more detail, I don’t know what inner pipe DO EITHER.
1 Like
You will have to read up on this thread. Ive posted the concept up above. No its not built anything like the retort. They are two completely different things.
DO this unit work making gulf ball size charcoal as well as wood chipper charcoal.I will read up on this design THANKS
1 Like
Its like any other retort. It will convert what ever you put into into charcoal.
THAT IS A NEAT working heater, and looks easy to build a stack of them,and insulate all but the glass.
2 Likes
Ok concluded the first run, Yeah it stuck the intake valve oh I love fixing tarred up engines!!! ARGH!!!
The tar that was produced however wasnt really too bad. I was able to free the valve fairly easily. I am not running any filter media right now. So it might just possibly be enough to make the gas clean enough where the tar will be tollerant. Only way to know is put media in the filter and try it.
Second run is on the WEN this time but higher charcoal to wood ratio. It was about 50/50 first run. This run I think its probably closer to 75/25 mostly charcoal.
Ok so on 5 gallons of fuel running the 9500 I got a 1 hour run time. Its a fairly stable but you do have to give here a bonk with a dead blow every so often. Its certainly no CFX but on par as far as run time. I still think a automated hopper agitator could be an improvement but not nesisary if you dont mind intervening once in a while. Thats not the case with consumers though. They dont want to mess with it. its supposed to just run and without tar.
So now running the little genny, this gasifier maybe best suited for the smaller generators.
11 Likes
Ok concluded the run on the WEN. Well the WEN decided it was time to quit as the intake valve stuck open in it too. LOL. So fun day pulling intake valves to get them freed up today. 
Ok so to recap and what did I learn? So it seems it maybe possible with filtration to run this fuel, but I think at that point just convert it completely and that way you know you are good. So that is the path forward.
Ok fuel size I have now figured out, yeah pre chipping with a (box store chipper) before the kiln is the way to go. Thats if I dont have to invest a bunch of energy to convert it. I think its just too green is all. I think if I started with seasoned fuel it would convert with the about same energy investment as with seasoned chunks. The WEN ran much more stable so I think this gasifier will be best on the smaller 200cc range engines. I think for larger generators the automated hopper shaker will be desired but with the shorter run time I think a larger version would be a better solution. So that will come in the future making a larger version. I think this version is perfect for the smaller engines.
So next runs will be with 100% converted fuel bummer torified fuel will not work.
5 Likes
Looking good,IF it was me I would probley build a gas cooler rack or any cooler easy cleaning, if wood char mix is a little too damp to go strait to the motor, at leiste them valves easy too get at if you don’t bend one.? you could try it with one of your gas coolers and see if it don’t tar up too much.
3 Likes
The filter / cooler drum was fairly cool on the WEN run. Adding another drum may help and I do have one I can add. It would be nice to reduce the investment heat requirement while also salvaging some of fuel not fully converting it. But if the trade off is occational tar Ill stick to full conversion process. I dont do tar anymore. I dont want it in my filter, my blower the gasifier and absolutatly not my engine. Im good Ill stick to full charcoal.
I have a special tool I made for fixing the valves. I use a pair of needle nose vice grips that I cut slots in the tips to fit on the valves spring retainer. Then I welded a slide hammer to the adjuster of the vice grip. So you clamp it on the spring retainer and bang it out with the slide hammer. Then reverse it and use the slide hammer to knock the valve back down and then repeat until the valve moves free again. Its a pain in the butt, but its better than tearing the head off.
3 Likes
YOU got any way to use a 100 pack of plates 7" square with 1/2" holes to move the gas out, it was making about 30 letters a minnut HHO at around 30 amps 220 volt, probley could make a water torch out of it.they are clamp together I think in a welded jig type bracket, setting on hose or plastic insulator.
2 Likes
Yeah Im done with HHO. Water gas via charcoal is much more efficeint.
1 Like
MY brother and I were trying varrios setups , but not much gain over unity, COVED gave my brother ammonia, and he passed away last 2020, He always took care of his health the last 30 year no alcohol or tobacco.ALL from the crooks in our government, setting up bio wepon labs.
5 Likes
It is basically an insulated box, and if you have access to leftover building materials, you can do it really cheap. It is called passive solar heating. I have seen clear fiberglass corrogated roofing material they use for skylights as well as glass, clear plastic. then just foam insulation. You can pump the air into your shop, your house, your greenhouse, etc. and then fold it up at the end of winter and stack it out of the way.
Honestly, you could probably make it out of a pallet by knocking off like the top boards, lining it with insulation then putting a cover over it. IF you want water, then you just run a hose or tube in it, then pump water through it. It adds complication and cost. The way to make it work is using stuff cheap and free. Simply because PV is so cheap, if you are buying everything new, it ends up to be about the same price as solar panels and less useful.
6 Likes
THANKS for the info-that looks not to hard to build, are you sure it is only in the 40’s degrees F and putting out 150 F- that sounds to good to be true, we get fair emount of sun most of the winter time,spring and fall. THAT LOOKS WELL WORTH BUILDING.
1 Like
THIS post is deleted.
1 Like