He said “Yup this is a pellet fuel machine. Pellets are the way forward for me with this reactor technology. This is the same technology that is in the Flex Power System. So it can run a range of engines from 400 cc up to the V twins in the 700 to 800 cc range.”
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This will not run a car, its only capable of 400 to 700 cc engine run.
The charcoal is very low volume, it should not get hot enough where it is melting things. Besides there is not a jet in there to melt. There is a choke ring and this a consumable part and can be replaced if needed.
Keep in mind this not a sole charcoal unit where all of its volume from the char reactor. Only about 15% of volume is coming from this unit. the rest is coming from the upper reactor. This is also open source, so it is left open for improvement as well. We may add on a steam reactor later, but for now KISS!!!
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Well hopefully this thing will run at the show like has been today. This thing is as low tech as it gets. No automated grate or hopper shaker, no fuel mixer controller, just a simple pellet fuel gasifier and this thing has been running like a top.
I also suspect this machine could run 100% charcoal.
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Hi matt are you up for the test on charco if some one brings some wood char too argos. ? .
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It will have to be char pellets 
this is strictly a pellet fuel machine. What ever you put into it, it has to pass thru a 1" hole in the reactor with out any hang ups.
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would screened to say between 1/2 and 1/4 work? In reality 3/8s would probably be better then 1/2 but i don’t think it is a common size. I wonder if it would run the wet stuff after it was running.
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That may work if it is screened small enough. But I suspect wood charcoal will be to light and bridge at the tiny restriction in the pellet fuel reactor. Pellets are very dense; both in wood form and charcoal form and are very uniform. This is key for flows in this reactor set up.
However, the only way to know is to try it, I dont know for certain so I cant say if it will or not. The machine has only been existence and operational for like a day!! lol. Small, wood chips I already know will not work in any shape or form in this reactor as the upper restriction the fuel is flowing through raw with out any reduction. .
I also do not know longevity of the charcoal reactor running wide open. So far I have had that thing running wide open and have pulled it apart and there is no melting so far. There is a choke ring there that is designed to take the brunt of the heat and can be replaced if needed.
Now there may be the possibility where the upper reactor and carb are removed to free flow any size charcoal with in reason.
In full charcoal mode this can run in two modes. first is where the upper chambers are closed off and the lower charcoal reactor is running at 100% or mode two, where both reactors are lit just like if it is running in wood gas mode. Still experimenting with this yet.
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It might not be heavy enough but it doesn’t have the all the fiber ends that makes it stick together like wood chips do either.
A day?!?! It should be thoroughly tested in all working conditions and fuel types by now!! lmao
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Haha, The lower unit is a brand new concept and this one is the very first one.
Yes the upper chamber is thoroughly tested and there is only one fuel it runs and thats standard pellet fuel;. hard or soft dont matter.
This kit should be looked at as an experimenters open source kit as well. When I set up the listing I will elaborate then. However is working as designed for pellet fuels and I will never admit to running anything else. Some users that attempt anything other than pellet fuel will eventually make tar and then crap on it. This is a pellet fuel machine only. So there!! lol
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Careful! It is going to argos. It would almost be worth going and bring a bag of bunny errm pellets… and maybe pick up some small alfalfa pellets to test with…
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Yes I have tried the 5 mil in a smaller prototype. It worked for a while then it quit I never investigated it further. However that is part of the vision for pellet fueled machines and thats to run grains, hemp, garbage and anything we can pelletize and make work. You can get a pellet mill right now Amazon for around $1000.00 thats all you need if you can get free dust. If no source then Im 100% sure we can figure out a way to build a grinder of sorts. There are already hammer mills available as well. Cost is not any different than if you had to buy a chipper and the fuel coming out of a pellet mill is ready to run plus you get all your yield. Not the case for chipping, next is sorting and then drying and then you throw away what you cant use. Pellets are hands down more viable easier and more efficient. You really need to look at whole picture for both pellets vs chips not just the processing. Pellets are ready to run right out of the mill, if they do have high moisture content its much easier to dry them as well.
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Right. I was just thinking grasses might be easier to run through the mill, and easier to handle and process since it is essentially hay equipment. In fact, that was part of the big push for switchgrass research. It is drought tolerant and high yield, and can grow on marginal land.
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We have 2 pellet mills one is a larger 10 inch dia die and i run all the floor waste from gum tree’s and lawn clippings through it for my pellet pizza oven once burnt they leave a complete pellet in ash form , the pellets made from wood leave next to no ash at all , i would really be interested in buying a kit to try our pellets through it once your all set up and ready to sell the kits .
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You can order one today if you want. PM me
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I even made sure to get some on some hoses and other things that arnt supposed to be green just like factory!! lol
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You are really pushing ahead with your designs and making them marketable. I am so impressed with all you have done. I’ve got some real world unanticipated life events going on, so I am just going to have to wait until things settle out, but your “harbor freight” kit sounds like a winner.
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I like the color scheme. Thank you!! 
The hoses that get hit with overspray, I think are intentional so you know if you have the original hoses.
ash content can be an issue, it is one of the major differences between hard and soft wood as well, but when you move to other materials the ash content increases.
The UK and canada both have power generation stations that use wood pellets (but bigger ones) for the exact same reason why @Matt chose to use pellets. It is consistent, easy to handle, flows smoothly, and has a higher energy density. You just don’t have nearly as many issues to deal with throughout the entire process.
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So this time of year by routine is generally when I try to launch new development and bring it beyond the concept level. I have a lot on my plate, but what I really want to work on is the “H Gen Gasifier” this will be a whole new level of development and introduce the hydrogen generator for the Hydrogen Plasma reactor. This will also feed in pure Oxygen as this is a splitter cell. Its not an HHO cell as the H and O are separated from one another at production. The gasses will be re combined later at the hearth.
So why would I want to do this? In concept or theory, this will increase the gas energy density by eliminating the Nox that is in atmospheric air. If the theory holds true; then the units can be down sized quite a bit, making them more cost effective (even with the added equipment). Additionally one of the physical challenges of gasification, is fuel flows; as we are dealing with a solid fuel. Unlike a liquid or a gas, fuel flows are not linear and never will be. We can get close and many have shown very consistent gas production. However even so your “raw” fuels are not even close to flow consistencies of a liquid or gas fuel. There is more as there will be steam reforming implemented and indeed the lower charcoal unit has its place in this plan. So there will be two steam injection systems. With an air gas mixture that has a controlled flash point in the hearth the raw fuel flows are no longer as much as an issue. With this system it buys some time for those issues to self correct or automation intervention.
So to put this to the test, I simply recirculated the produce gas back into the gasifier. Pics speak for themselves and it did this for over an hour with less than half a hopper load. Probably three pounds of fuel. I know that the blower is capable of boosting the engine and I know the generator runs for an hour on a full hopper load. So Id have to say there are some efficiencies gained. However I need to re test and re test again to make sure this is repeating and not some other thing is happening that Im not aware of.
This is with the char unit wide open and feeding the hearth a woodgas mix. It can not run in char mode wide open otherwise. At least not for very long with out the top reactor going out.
I ran a battery test on the battery I had at the show. Its junk!! haha. The amps test is in the dirt 10% of what its supposed to be. I ran that blower from the charger and it screams like its supposed too. generally my blowers are a bit loud.
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This thing can be stubborn little bugger to get going sometimes. But it is up and running under blower power for the day with the re circulation set up. This can be done on pretty much any gasifier, so it would be interesting to see what others experience. This mod by itself maybe a simple upgrade to achieve more stable flows along with a hotter hearth / cleaner gas output.
Now I got to figure out how to add this re circulation while under engine run. I think I might tap into the hose connection between the dual cyclones and feed the engine from the first one and then feed the gasifier with the blower.
Anyways for today, I am going to run all day and just observe it. I cant even see the flare not even a slight tint of color. So will need to wait till dusk to see whats going on.
When I add the Hydrogen generator something that occurred to me is there should be a significant reclaim form the energy required to produce the gas. When the H is oxidized we create water so this doubles as form of steam reform. So we burn the H create heat and steam then crack the steam and repeat 
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