Thank you very much, Tone! Much appreciated.
Amazing how much work you are able to squeeze out of a handfull of woodchips.
13 Likes
That tractor is a true workhorse. I am sure you’re satisfied with the amount of diesel you are saving thanks to your gasifier.
11 Likes
I’ve not checked recently but I had an explosives permit some years back. Simply had to go to the county police department and fill out some documents and get finger prints. I had a friend who made fireworks and sold fireworks. He had a federal license for explosives and is who I bought items such as ANFO, TNT, detonation cord and electric blasting caps.
I also bought components from him - aluminum powder and perchlorate. 6F black powder for priming flintlock rifles and pistols.
I’ve not “played” with making noise for 20 years so don’t know what regulations are in place now.
4 Likes
The tractor works almost every day and the working hours are changing, I don’t remember the last time I filled in diesel fuel, well, at the beginning, when it first ran on diesel after the restoration, I kept checking the level in the tank and touching the fuel. Now, when I leave home, I fill the gasifier and calmly drive to the forest, if the work stretches and the level in the gasifier drops, I cut dry branches, split them and fill the gasifier,…
I wanted to say something else, namely regarding the ignition of wood gas in the engine. High compression of a diesel engine and igniting the mixture in a separate chamber is not easy, especially with a cold engine it is almost impossible to start on 100% wood gas, well, the start is done by diesel fuel and then it works in hybrid mode for a while, and then it switches to spark ignition. I notice that diesel makes the spark plugs quite greasy and ignition is quite difficult. I will try to widen the spark gap a bit from 0.6 mm to 1 mm and see how it works out. Here is a picture of the spark plug after stopping on wood gas, …
15 Likes
Hmmmm. I wonder why a diesel is hard to start on pure woodgas when cold? I would have though with warm to hot gas it would be easier than diesel.
4 Likes
Looks like what I considered to do to my Fordson Dexta diesel tractor. Creating an ignition system was the difficult part.
6 Likes
Perhaps this “separate chamber” is too deep, so that fuel and air mix cannot find the spark?
Rindert
4 Likes
All things do not always go according to plan, but they do happen in this project as well. Today I realized that there is a low level of coolant in the cooling system, when I topped up the water and started the engine, I noticed bubbles, otherwise very little, well, “there’s a rabbit in this bush”. Now I will have a reason to open the engine and replace the head gasket, but there is still some maintenance work to be done, the thrust bearing of the clutch can be heard, the plate of the cardan clutch slides under heavy load,… quite a bit of work for rainy days. When the engine is already dismantled, I will reduce the compression ratio a bit to 1:13 or 1:14, so I hope to get rid of the detonations that occur under heavy load, wood gas is no joke, it produces good power in the engine, comparable to diesel fuel.
Reducing the compression ratio; slightly cut off the top of the piston, increase the channel and volume of the combustion chamber in the engine head
11 Likes
This week I dismantled and opened the engine, the head gasket was slightly damaged in one place. I replaced the clutch plate for the cardan and gearbox drive, and I also replaced the thrust bearing. I cut the pistons of the engine by a little more than 1 mm, so now they stop 1.6 mm below the top of the cylinder, I also enlarged the channel that leads to the combustion chamber, well, now the compression ratio is approx. 1:13.5. Today I tried to start the engine on diesel fuel, but the glow plug for a cold start burned out and the engine did not start. Then I tried heating the air with a gas burner and the engine started working. CR 1:13.5 is very low for a diesel engine, on the limit for operation, but this tractor is reserved for operation on wood gas. I am attaching some pictures, …
17 Likes
Did you have to give the tractor anesthetic before such a major operation?
13 Likes
I bet he used ether(starting fluid)
8 Likes
Probably nobody really believes me that with this compression ratio the tractor ignites on diesel fuel, well, mathematics says otherwise:
- the working volume of each cylinder is 790 cc
- the volume of the combustion chamber is 51 cc (cr 1:16.5), which is increased by 11 cc to 62 cc
- when we theoretically calculate the pressure that is reached during fast compression, the result is 39 bar
- when we calculate the temperature reached during compression, it is slightly more than 500°C
- auto-ignition temperature of diesel fuel is from 350-400°C
This is just a theory, in reality it is necessary to take into account heat losses caused by slow compression and cold surfaces, but we still reach 400°C, but when the engine warms up a bit, it ignites at the touch of the start switch.
I did not use cold start spray.
14 Likes
You really are a technical master Tone 
9 Likes
I believe everything you say Tone, even if I usually have no idea what you are talking about. I understand this one. Just wonder how much battery it takes to get to that heat range. 
12 Likes
I belive for sure. I have a throtle plate on my tractor (17/1 cr) and it will run even if the flap is closed, at wich point the cr in maybee 1/5. Will not start on it thugh.
5 Likes
Mr. Tom, until now I used a 45Ah battery, I did a trial run on this battery as well, now I gave him a 100Ah battery. I also replaced the glow plug, as the old one had burned out, well, now the engine starts without any problems.
Today I finished the work on the tractor, the gasifier is installed again and I did a short test drive, the feelings are good, well, I have to wait until I load it, as it should be, and then I will report on the changes.
14 Likes
Tone, I’m impressed - as always.
But I struggle to come up with suitable compliment. Ismo explains one of the reasons 
6 Likes
When you add a third level of nozzles to your gasifier, do you change the size of the nozzles?
I mean, does the nozzle section stay the same? Or do you reduce the nozzle section to compensate for the increase in the number of nozzles?
I hope to be understandable, ask me questions, so that I can try to make myself understood better
Thierry
6 Likes
Thierry, if you mean the size of the nozzles, in the hot pipe, I didn’t change them, I just added 10 4mm holes in a wide area above, which are supposed to influence the course of pyrolysis and the formation of charcoal above. This air intake actually starts to work when the engine is running with a higher load, and with a lower load, even pyrolysis gases can enter through these openings and descend on the lower nozzles, at least that’s what I think.
12 Likes