Hi Matt . would you mind if i ask you a few questions on your machines , say the latest 1 the DFX-S3 as i think that’s your largest one to date , the reason being i am testing out a few downdraft versions of my own , no where near as pretty as yours infact one might say mine are uglier looking than Cinderella’s step sisters put together with a touch of Frankenstein for good measures…
So if i can ask how much volume of fuel does yours hold and what is the longest run time making power until its starving of fuel ?
After each run of your machine do you have any clinker /slag build ups you have to remove before refilling ?
I have plenty more questions i would like to ask but these would help me for a start .
I am running a 75 litre ish size unit that has a clearance of 14 inches between the input and outlet pipes and to gain more hopper space on top i have grafted another 1/3rd of a drum on top to give me a better run time , so far the very best i have managed running a 8KW inverter generator under full load is 3 and a half hours , but i was surprised at the amount of clinker /slag build up around the nozzle area after each run ,its moor or less what i would expect after 4 months of running my updraft with a vertical nozzle in the bottom pointing up .
This is the size of a baseball after one 3 hour and one 2 hour run , then i noticed power drop off so i emptied out and found this .
Thanks in advance Matt
Dave
PS all fuel is taken to to a good small size and i used a water drip of around 1 too 2 drips a sec
PPS also forgot this is a cross downdraft unit as well , with a plate grate between the inlet and gas out pipe
No there is tutorial video that shows them exactly how they work. They watch the video and they are up and running. Those that actually un box the units all have had success. Some dont and put them in a shed.
Well if they can afford too buy back up energy system for when needed, thats a good idea too since many don’t have the time too fiddle with wood, But want too have power should the grid go down.
Well i have always poked a rod into the nozzle as a matter of course to help break up old charcoal and get a few new fracture’s into the charcoal for faster start ups and like i said i am surprised by how much of a build up in such a short time frame , i shall keep persevering
as i am not there yet .
Dave
How consistent is your water drip or injection? Is it possible there are times flow has stopped?
I think there is a direct link to that and clinkers. Yes there are times the machines make those things but there are other times they dont and I noticed the more consistent the flow is the less I see them. I think at least just memory observation as they dont really bother me. I just check for them and dig them out, no big deal.
The flow is ok ,I aim for 1 drip but sometimes notice a lot more steam being sucked in,
This is just really a practice unit to see how i get on with downdraft to see if there is any real advantage for me and to change from the updraft i have run for the past 8 odd years , that one never really used water or egr back into the unit , and of course seeing your units and how good looking they are , it would please the wife if she did not have to look at rusting barrels in her garden and had a smart looking gasifier instead of piles of rust .
Dave
That will be another step, once i can get the generator to run without intervention from me so far I only managed one run of 3 and a bit hours from start to finish with no touchy touchy from me, other times i have heard the generator hunting and so have had to go out and adjust the air fuel mixture to get the full power from the generator, if this continues like this then i may have to change the design to a proven one that has worked for others .
Dave
I forgot to mention that the gas temp coming out of the drum heading towards the filter is a 137.3 C that was after nearly 40 mins run time yesterday .
Also the grate is now sealed at the front. Only about 1/3 of it can vent and this is at the pick up tube. So the flows can not migrate any where other than the straightest path of least resistance to this vent. The reaction chamber is also “V” shaped. I believe this is very important to keep fuel flow (as it is reduced), gas flows and heat all in a precise path. You dont want air / gas flows to migrate out of a precise reaction zone. Fuel needs to fill that chamber consistently and precisely.
Sort of like a carburetor, too much fuel / too little air it will run to rich. Too much air not enough fuel it will run lean and hot.
Just the reactor takes around 10 to 15 gallons of charcoal. From this point to the lid is the usable hopper load of 10 to 15 gallons. The DFX-S3 takes around 25 gallons to completely fill from grate to hopper lid.
I can give you a rough idea within a inch or two the nozzle is 16 inches above the gas out ,
It comes from the nozzle just short of the middle of a 16 inch drum and so that’s 8 inches it then has to go down through the grate so that’s 10 inches then the outlet pipe is extended too underneath the air inlet that’s another 16 inches , so that’s a total of 18 inches of charcoal the gas has to pass through to get below the grate and to the other end before its pulled out of the drum .
Hope u can picture it , lol
Dave
its not tapering down as such i closed off nearly all the drum with a cover and then cut some gaps in an area of around 4 inches and that’s where the gas has to go through .
Need to send some pics lol. Yeah flows have to be constrained to a precise path for it to work. First machines did not have this and they ran hot and made clinkers. The geometry changes where not initially for performance, this was derived to make them easier to produce. But as things evolved they did perform better and better. I am now learning it is probably because of these changes. I am now learning from you. But need to see some pictures
I will see if i can grab some pics when i empty it just so u can see the bodg up i have made , i have a square container that’s about 6ft high if i can cut it in half and flange around it i think will suit a unit of your style of design with your grate ect , i was just trying to see how it went before i just copied someone else’s build , i guess i am stubborn like that never like being told something will not work like that until i make it not work myself ! lol
Dave
Not so much stubborn Dave. But you are cautious and practical.
“Trust, but verify”
The only way to separate out the odd-occurrences; the dumb-blind lucks; freaks-of-nature; and over-promoted silly flim-flams is if others can do it too.
I find this the hardest of all. Getting others to set aside either their made-easy previous experiences using Spec made fuels; or thier cartoonish hopes&dreams; and get down and dirty DOing it. And DOing it again and again and again. Things done daily 365 teaches the best.
Because Circumstances change.
In the Real World, shit happens. And is happening in the world that touches you daily.
So become the energy Soup maker. Always able to serve up some kind of power you have made up.
S.U.
