Hi Ron,
Sorry to be slow in response. I have produced these results several times with and without trailers attached to the vehicle. I did manage these results continuously from Florida to Alabama on Wood then back. With an additional 800 pounds of wood in the back of the truck. I would say 95% of the time the speedo didn’t drop below 75 mph. Diffidently the only f-150 in Alabama with gasoline on board from Florida.
Hello Peter,
The pressure side of the Super Charger showed 10# boost. Then the gasser said I can’t give ya anymore Captain I don’t have the power.
The side of the highway looked spectacular a mixture of steam smoke and water.
Manage to get one good video of a supercharged woodgas engine. Like a scene right out of Mad Max
A few months ago, I was trying to figure a way to hop up the acceleration of my VW Rabbit diesel (naturally aspirated). As it is, 0-60 is more of a yes/no than any sort of performance data listed in seconds. Well, maybe not that bad. In any case, I found a few on the market. Also, the idea is catching on with the manufacturers and the racing community. There are quite a few snake oil types on eBay but there are a few legitimate electric superchargers/turbochargers on the market. Essentially, it is a 12v blower instead of one driven by exhaust or the crank. I can see going in between the gasifier and the engine. When you need some extra power, such as going up a hill (when engine vacuum is at it’s lowest) crank up the boost with the blower. Possible? A few years ago, Auburn University was talking about adding one to their BioMax 25, not just for startup but for running.
A long time ago I worked for Carol Shelby. He was on a turbo=charger kick. He put one on a Honda 750 motorcycle and it pulled wheelies while shifting. He also built two Rabbits with turbo- diesels. Short story, they couldn’t hold head gaskets in them.
I’m pretty sure the real racing guys are still doing mechanical blowers. There are probably exceptions. At any rate, don’t buy into the 12v supercharger BS. It’s designed to separate you from your money.
Remember, it takes power to make power. Normal superchargers consume around 20% of the total engine output, and generate around 40% (20% gain). A purely 12v blower cannot deliver that kind of energy (pressure and volume), the power simply isn’t there. On 110V you’ve got a better chance, given some other input of power (a generator in the backseat?) but the battery and alternator alone can’t take that kind of abuse. You’d need to triple the alternator output size and add hefty wiring, possibly another belt… at that point you’d do much better with a mechanical blower.
EDIT: It does appear there is at least one real electric supercharger on the market. Tested by a guy who’s been warning people off electric superchargers for many years. Note that it is neither 12v nor powered directly from the car’s battery/alternator. Wild Weasel Tests An Electric Supercharger
I would be suspicious of the 12 volt electric superchargers . Several years back ( 2004 ) I bought a couple to experiment with and found they were a joke . However this led me to the 12 volt bilge blowers that I am still using today for starting
I agree… it didn’t take long to see there are lots of them on eBay that sell plenty of sizzle and not much steak, very ready to lighten the load of a wallet. But, in looking deeper, there are a few companies who are serious about performance and they are using them. Car manufacturers are, too. I’ve learned to not throw away what seem like outlandish ideas. They might be adaptable. Again, my thinking is for short term application such as going up a hill. Manually adjustable almost like a second throttle. Just pondering. A chemist for the national soybean board told me biodiesel came about because some guys working at a plant realized the byproduct from making glycerin would burn in their tractor. Also, a chemical engineer scoffed at my notion of burning used cooking oil in my truck. That was ten years and a quarter of a million miles ago.
As one who has only run gasifiers in stationary settings, I guess my first question is… how would the gasifier behave with increased vacuum added for about 30 seconds? How much would be acceptable and how much would be detrimental?
I am having trouble posting . Will try to reply in segments
Hello Todd .
I have used a roots supercharger on four of my older trucks as a starter blower . They are 12 volt activated very similar to a A/C compressor clutch , belt driven from the front pulley .
Under the hood of a dakota there is enough room to mount the supercharger but it takes me one or two days of labor plus buying a longer belt. Depending on what one thinks his labor is worth you could add 500 - 1000 bucks to a gasifier build.
I found that a couple of cheap bilge blowers and a few pennies of petrol will start the vehicle just as quick .
On the issue of needing more power going up a hill with a gasifier .
It seems with my trucks it is not so much of running out of power . I could go to WOT or down shift to pull harder on the gasifier. If the gasifier is already up to good hyway operating temperatures about 30 sec of over pull would probable melt it down .
To correct this over heating going up hills by holding full throttle , down shifting or trobo boost I could make my gasifier big enough to stand the volume of draft . Once the gasifier is designed to handle the high volume of air draft if I drop down and run the speed limits 50 mph or slower I will be making tar and will need to go to 100 gasoline to avoid locking the motor .
I have found it is much better to design the gasifier to handle the lower ends of the driving needs and let the top side work out wherever that might be . If I need 30 sec of more power going up a hill or passing a car it is so easy to add in a little gasoline
On a similar note ,
When I was out on the salt flats I saw many vehicles that was designed only for there top end speeds . To get them started they had a push truck that would push them up to about 70 mph before they would start the race car . Good for a race car but not particle for driving though town :-).
My Question is: Have you ever put burnt motor oil on the wood then ran it in your trucks. I’m just wondering what it would do. I use to put a oil drip in a wood stove when the wood was running low. Thanks.
I believe Steve U has addressed this in one of his posts (ALL of which I read, and re-read - - it’s a good habit to have).
Most likely, once the gasifier is up to temperature, all the hydrocarbons in the oil-soaked wood chunks would leach out all at once, and give you a big burst of energy, followed by normal wood-only operation. If you could rig up some type of continuous drip, you might have a more consistent power boost. When filling your hopper you could try alternating oily chunks/dry chunks in a layered fashion, and that might accomplish more of a timed-release effect.
A few ounces of gasoline is by far the easiest answer to give a needed boost on short notice. Remember a fire does not “instantly respond” to increased air flowing to it. There is a lead time to your request for more power, in getting the fire to increase, there by producing more gas, and then that gas traveling 20’ + or - from the fire to the engine. It’s very hard to replace the human factor in anticipating the need for more power, making adjustments, and getting the desired response.
Dave aren’t they just talking about “tuned exhausts”. That is a common practice in 2 stroke engines and has seen some use in 4 stroke. Go Karts, motor cycles and out board racing boats have used this for years. I don’t know why the limited use in 4 stokes — with a V8 too many pipes to work with??TomC
I read this entire post as I too thought about using a blower. Remember, before you make fun of me, I’m brand new here.
All I kept thinking about was Mad Max. In other words, a clutched Blower. Remember? He had a switch on his shifter much like a gear splitter. Add a thermocouple into that and you could force the blower to drop out once a dangerous heat level was obtained.
I glad you read this all of the way through WilliamW.
I’d stopped reading/contributing way back in early 2013.
You forced me to read on forwards to catch up.
Lots of name guys way-back then no longer with us.
“Beware of Hollywood” or whatever the Down-Under entertainment video makers call themselves.
A Roots lobed blower, not turning does not allow flow through worth a crap. Why military, HD truck they use a breakable narrowed section “quill” drive member. Snap. Then they can freewheel turn some allowing some air flow for limping back home.
At least this is what I’ve been told.
Steve Unruh
Not a foolish question, I had that thought myself at the time.
Unfortunately, the Mad Max movie supercharger was a fake. Lots of folks have wished they could duplicate the “supercharger ON DEMAND” movie setup… it doesn’t work. Real superchargers need a solid shaft connection.
The A/C style electric clutch you’re thinking of can transfer maybe 5hp. A Roots blower making moderate boost takes around 50hp to turn over.
The idea to control the boost is a good one however. If you want to equalize the power output of your engine you may need to think outside the box. A Gated turbo that exhausts most of the pressure when on gas and then only boosts when running on woodgas might be a workable idea. It also hit me that a manual truck could be switched to elevate the RPM when just idling to keep the fire hot until such time as you needed to begin driving again. Then it would switch back down to a lower RPM so you could easily engage the truck and start moving. The other idea would be a gated blower of sorts that would improve the vacuum a little at low speeds choosing to exhaust the gas into the atmosphere. Lets see, big ol stacks with flames roaring forth when you’re sitting still. hmmm … LOL
You all know I’m probably gonna push the envelope a little too far and blow my first one sky high … hehe
