Good concept, but in practice I don’t think it would work very well. For temporary storage ok, but not longer term. You’d have to use tarps to keep the surface layer from blowing away, same tarping as is used for grain temporarily piled. The tarps probably won’t last more than 2 or 3 years. Then there’s fire risk. If one spark ever hits a pile it will all burn, no matter how wet it is. (Wonder how I know this… )
I think in practice something like grain bins would be necessary, not the biggest obstacle, but I think that’s the reality.
I hear you. But think about what a city became starting with the industrial revolution. Athens has made a mark over millennia. There might have been 50,000 people living there. Thinkers, artisans, bakers, stonemasons, slaves etc. A center of advanced learning and achievement.
A post industrial revolution city might have those aspects but the numbers involved not much different than ancient Athens.
So, why do modern cities contain up to millions of people? A modern city can only be understood as a consequence of the mass exploitation of FF coupled with the needs of business. Take away either and it collapses. Look at Detroit. And the far more important linchpin is the FF.
Sure, people really enjoy city life, where food is a throwaway commodity, all the needs of life are brought to them from as far away as the opposite side of the planet for huge energy costs. They are so far removed from nature that they could really care less about it than garbage pick up day, all the waste and damage of their lives externalized, out of sight, out of mind, a problem for somewhere, someone else, or a future time.
yes and no. They need controlled burns to burn out the underbrush and it is the only way to release seeds from some of the tree varieties.
Part of this is the liability and insurance costs to let someone on their property. If something happens, they are liable. A spark from your chainsaw, you die, they get sued by your family for millions. They used to manage private roads and have their own fire equipment to do controlled burns, but since the liability laws started changing in the 70s, they quit doing that.
Then of course you have the city tree hugger types, that can’t comprehend that part of the forest is actually managed like a crop that grows for 40 years. then they turn around and cut all the trees out of their yards because maple seeds are too weedy and acorns hurt their soft feet.
There are multiple levels of problems to the issue.
In cities most trees panted are male because people don’t like the seeds. This means they have a lot of trees that blow off a lot more pollen and make their allergies worse.
I’d like to raise the point there is no such thing as an undisturbed forest. Both natural and to a much greater extent MAN made forces constantly disturb the forest and change it. Its up to us to do our very best to add diversity and nurture a healthy forest that can survive and grow.
Book worth reading that might bother you a bit, might make you angry, and it could make you laugh a bit…
It is a fairly valid point. There are relatively few even old growth stands in the world and basically they have to protect them to prevent people from stealing the trees. Like they won’t reveal the oldest tree in the world’s exact location.
More to the point I am trying to say nature does not exist. Its an ideological construct by people that think…
we are somehow separate from it and observing it.
both natural and man made forces constantly change it and usually this is not to the benefit of those people and creatures most closely dependent on it.
Nature is all around us in the microbes in our gut to the spider behind the wash machine and the deer hiding in the woods behind my home. Nature is all around and includes us, the reckoning we face is can we at least do no more harm than the natural rate of change around us. So far we fail at this… Utterly because we think we are somehow different from nature and the normal rules do not apply to us as well as the plants and animals we share this world with.
Don’t forget all the microbes and fungus in the soil!!! Healthy soil is teaming with them!!! I will stop there before I go off on a tangent about rebuilding the bacteria, fungus and nematodes to restore the soil ecosystem to favor crop growth.
Greetings All,
I did the annual clean-out of the Toyota gasifer today. I was curious to see the difference a year without exhaust gas return made in the nozzle condition. It seems to get blacker each year, but there continues to be no particularly noticeable erosion of the metal. I maintain about 2 drips of water per second for cooling and extra power. Thanks again, Kristijan, for the flute nozzle design. The slag was in the form of porus clumps. Planning to take it to a car show tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes. Here are photos of the nozzle.
The car show went well today—Lots and lots of people, with many interested in the CharCar exhibit. I don’t think anyone was planning to rush home and build a wood-gas car, however. I started the gasifier and engine every hour on the hour and let it idle for 15 minutes or so. At the end of the show I drove home SWEMing all the way. No official awards received, but unofficially the “people’s choice” for most unique car in the show.
Since my trips are short with many stops, I decided to make some changes which permit easier shut down and restart.
Instead of the stand-alone blower and flare burner arrangement I have been using, I permanently installed the blower where the windshield washer fluid tank was located. The blower is connected to an outlet/inlet underneath the front of the car to which I can attach a flare burner or air filter. The way it is set up, I avoid using a valve. I don’t like the air inlet location, but did not want to cut any holes and wanted to avoid opening the hood when starting up (Suggestions welcome). I use the flare burner on initial startup, then change to the air filter. I can leave the air filter on the remainder of the time.
On the reactor, I added a check valve to the air intake and changed the water drip nozzle which is removed when lighting up.
Thanks Cody. Kristijan, this is the swing type check valve (no spring) and it’s tilted so that gravity just causes it to close all the way. So far, I haven’t noticed any difference in the idle.
I have made one other change which I failed to mention. After seeing some others with larger engines using smaller nozzles, I got another pipe for my flute nozzle and drilled four 3/8 inch holes in it. So far I have not been able to see any clear difference. The other pipe had four different size holes which averaged out to about 1/2 inch each.
I took the CharCar to another car show yesterday. It was the 28th Annual Butner Chicken Pickin’ Car Show. I finally received a trophy! In this case, however, it was only slightly better than a participation award. There were about 150 cars in the show and I was in the half which received the “Top 75” trophies, and since I was the first or second name called, I guess that means I barely made that list. I’ll take what I can get. Of course, there were no other charcoal or wood gas vehicles in the show. Even I have never seen another charcoal or wood gas vehicle, except in YouTube videos. Guess I need to go to ARGOS or maybe Cody and Kyle will visit me again when they get their vehicles built and/or perfected.
Anyway, there were a lot of curious people examining my car and many interesting conversations. I did demonstrations of starting up and a few minutes of engine idle every hour. There was quite a crowd assembled for the final demo when I started up and drove off into the sunset–SWEM. Here is a YouTube video of the show. My car is at 10:25.
Steve! You are my planned first long distance stop. Got to repay you for the charcoal ride along . I’m getting close with the truck since I told the wife that it’s my Woodgas Summer. So I’m doing nothing but that.
Thanks for the video. Made me a little nostalgic though. Those shows started out as “Rod Shows”, then they became “Rod and Custom Cars”, and now they appear to be “Classic Custom Car” shows. I remember when!!! I have to marvel at these cars. I don’t know how they can take a complete car apart down to the frame, paint each part to perfection and then put them all back together with out one blemish in the paint on any part. Then the fact that a few people took a 4 door to this perfection. In my day, a 4 door was not “cool” and was reserved for old ladies. I definitely am not knocking your display. You are in a totally different class to the others there. I was impressed beyond the charcoal powered system with how sanitary you had made things. Even under the hood, where most gasified vehicles have little to show, you had a very “clean” look. Good job. TomC
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. I’m getting close with the truck since I told the wife that it’s my Woodgas Summer. So I’m doing nothing but that.