I spend a lot of time thinking about this. Was not even aware of this thread. Right now I believe the only off the shelve supercharger that overcomes the problems discussed would be a ProCharger. Once you sell both your kidneys to afford one you may be able to drive from one dialysis session to the next. Still, for the purposes of enhancing some to the power deficits from wood gas you are not going to need as many pounds of boost as most superchargers are capable of. Is it possible to jerry rig some kind of low boost supercharger out of something that could be a cross between the intake side of a turbo and a unit like the procharger. Thatās the fools errand Iām considering.
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To put this back on topicā¦
@SouthernYankee and his brother were on Monster Garage to build a wood burning Corvette. Itās worth the money to get Discovery+ so watch that episode.
I remember they added a Turbocharger to suck up woodgas and deliver to the engine. Kyle did they eventually remove the turbo or keep it in?
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Hey Cody Iāve been wondering why you do not seek out and go this way on your next car:
The year I worked as used car tech at a Buick-Olds-Saturn-Nissan dealership I came to like these the best.
Regards
Steve Unruh
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Theyāre too well known and snatched up around here. Prices inflated. Iām lucky to find anything worth a hoot for sub 2k right now.
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One thing that also puts a major damper on my findings is after the acquisition by Terry Taylor Group, we no longer hold the auctions for wholesale cars anymore
Which means no buying a wholesale before it goes to auction if it can pass Safety Inspection. Thatās how I got my Mazda, and my Sierra.
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Yes. There are a lot of inevitabilities with time passing.
Any specific model configuration there were only so many ever made and with time passage, year by year later they are fewer and fewer.
Any cause for interest, like this 2017 article, stating desirability of these factory supercharged now have on at least 4 guys youtube best cars rating sites will drive up the price. Dry up the free offered availability.
Still. Thing do spring loose. Donāt overly focus on this. But developed 2-3-4 of these be-real-niceās and life will surprise you.
Just like fishing. Being there. Able to respond. Is half of it.
Now I am talking available $'s.
Buy a whatāchaājigget $$$$ ideal transfer switching center: then when that fish swims by. Youāll cry.
Having an absolutely great motorcycle and then the big winds come, or Putin disrupts our Grid, will not keep these refrigerators, refrigerating.
All personal time. Personal energy. And personal $'s budget juggling we all have to face into. Have to juggle.
Trick is I think to make the juggling the game-fun of it. The daily successes.
Steve Unruh
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Iām getting confused about what thread to even post in anymore. Everyone seems focused on making a gasifier fit into an existing vehicle. And then we are concerned with what can we get away with if Big Brother is watching. I say build a vehicle based around the gasifier. Get your self a pre-emissions junker, a early seventies anything but preferably a truck with a frame. From that point on you are breathing free air, exempt from most regulation. Even air bags. You are not going to be driving high speeds regardless so you have no need for anything but a straight axle, leaf spring suspension. Stick a big block whatever in it. Mount the gasifier on it so you have access to all the cleanouts without having to be a contortionist. Cab? Interior? No restrictions. You can have plywood door panels and a hard assed bench seat or transplant some nice heated butt cheek massaging buckets out of a Escalade.
Sorry Steve. I still have a soft spot in my heart for something like this.
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Ha! Ha! Youāer not hurting my feeling any TomH.
There is room in woodgas for hmmm Pirate? Outlaw? gasifier guys.
Iām more comfortable being a scofflaw myself. See no capitalization standing out. Sneaky bastard, smoothing on by. Whoosh. Feel something passing? Who? What? Did some just happen?
Yep. Freedom out carousing.
As far as Iām concerned, and can control in my surroundings, Iāll never have another flathead anything to have to pita adjust valves on. Or in-block seats lap.
Never have another set of contact point to file and adjust.
Give me one free; this-has-happened; Iāll give it away. Or use it for destructive learning testing.
Carburetors? Iāve done, and can do them all. OK fine for all of my small engines.
Immensely glad the electronic feedback types have all cycled out, and gone bye-bye now.
All of a mechanical carbs problems. With then layered on sensors, actuators and some kind of processor.
Having the sensors, and processors sorted out the peak of usability is simple throttle body low pressure big fat never clog injectors.
Freeze there, for the best results, with the least needed inputs. That was the peak of the best.
But in truth in all things I am really best as a Here&Now guy.
And this is where 80% of guys (and gals) wood-for-power will be working and developing.
A fellowās just got to attempt to keep up. How long since you known one of those Ford V-8 flat head guys still above ground kicking, eh. A VW air-cooled was the pinical Peak guy, eh.
Nope. Nope. Nope. The real nuts and bolts working future will be based on the present Here&Now. Not on the once-was, long past.
And GM supercharged V-6ās are this still present Here&Now. Findable. DOable.
Regards
Steve Unruh
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This is my dinosaur brains point of no return. Geared cam and distributor. I cannot adapt beyond that perimeter. I will take the fuel injected engine with itās sensors and ECM, strip it naked as a J bird and scrounge ways to get it to function well but if a set of gears is not spinning that rotor then Iām left with anus thumb.
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In regards to the woodgas Corvetteā¦
The turbo was installed in the rear against my brotherās and I having consent to it since it would result in only pressuring the fuel and NOT the fuel/air ratio together. We had a passionate conversation with Jesse about it that went nowhere. The very first drive it went 60 or so mph before building boost to richen out the fuel ratio too much once the woodgas pressurized. After the car was painted I ādisabledā the turbo and it ran 72mph consistently. BUT the turbo wasnāt at fault. If the crew had listened and installed it in the engine bay then the air and woodgas would have been boosted like a drawthru carb setup. That would have the woodgas supply and air valve just before the turbo inlet. Which could have resulted in a much better speed run.
On a side note, Iām getting a '76 Chevy c10 with a 350 and automatic that Iām going to boost. Iām hell bent to work this all out.
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Perhaps, instead of a supercharger or a turbocharger, something like half of the compound turbocharging setup that Volvo trucks use might be of use. Itās basically a main turbo where the expended gases are used to drive a secondary turbo that provides extra power to the flywheel.
Perhaps the expended exhaust gases could be used to drive a small turbo to provide extra power to the engine without the risk of drawing down too much on the burn chamber.
Here is an exploded view of the set up.
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Of the superchargers Iāve researched, you may be able to get into a basic turbo If you donāt need a lot of extra pipe fab or an intercooler, for around 2K. Next up would be the TorqueStorm as in the article above. Right around 3.5K lastly a Pro-charger at 7.7k to 10K. Roots type not considered. A lot of bucks just to get WG up to petrol power levels.
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This is a rethink from my earlier post about boosting. I have been thinking a lot about how to increase the overall power to match or surpass outputs from running gasoline and I keep coming up with the same answer. Boost is a problematic solution no matter how you do it. In the world of prepping an K.I.S.S, I have decided against it entirely. (Iāve also decided against the 02 Dakota I have if anyone is interested. but more on that later)
Turbo charging, supercharging or any other type of pressurization techniques end up costing more than just a simple engine rebuild to increase cylinder compression ratios and intake systems with more open flow characteristics.
For example, I can rebuild my peanut port 454 (usually without even removing the motor) to change from a flat top piston to a domed piston. Taking the engine from a 7.5 to 1 ratio to a 9.5 or 10,0, plus an RV cam and an intake manifold change from 2 to a double plenum (4bbl) can allow me to increase the HP from around 230 stock to more than 430 bhp. Reduce that by the 25% loss and youāre still in the 300 bhp range with more than enough remaining vacuum at idle for the system to work properly.
Oh, and for me, a carb over injection is an absolute must. Remember the EMP strike? Nothing worse than a cooked electronic system. A coil, 12 volts and a resistor is all I need.
I know I havenāt actually built one yet and I am sure Iām in for some big surprises but Iām a thinker and I try and get it all laid out before I even make the first piece for the puzzle.
How weird am I? Iām even looking at a way to lay the whole thing on itās side so it doesnāt stick up above the top of the truck, lol. (Iāll let you know how that doesnāt work out). Iāll probably end up with some weird hand crank system I have to turn while Iām driving down the road to feed the hopper.
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One thing if you donāt want the gasifier to go higher than the cab is to make a wider diameter hopper to keep it short. Thatās how the Monorator hopper was discovered, or so the story goes at least. A Finnish woodgas racer needed to see behind his car so he opted for a short but wide hopper, found out the wide hopper was also removing water from the wood due to cooling. Before the monorator was standard the exiting gas surrounded the hopper, sort of combining a drop box and reactor body into one. Condensation really only appeared on the inside of the lid since that was still exposed to ambient air.
If you need it to be up against the cab but retain plenty of volume, make one face of it flat, that way you can preserve bed space.
Just make sure you leave enough of a ramp to reliably feed into the hearth.
If you really want to future proof and have the means, definitely go with stainless steel for the hopper area to protect against acidic tarry condensate and anywhere water would collect or humid gas can touch. Stainless exhaust tubing for the cooling rails and filter body, bottom barrel, etc. Stainless doesnāt transfer heat as well as carbon steel so maybe the burn tube should stay plain.
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I can do stainless. Thanks for the tips!
I am building this truck to haul trailers and 5th wheel campers with. Thatās why I need the extra power. (yes, I probably will back it up with gas). It is a long bed The hitch assy sets right above the rear axle and when you turn tight, the front edge of the larger 5th wheels actually come closer to the back of the cab. I am using what is called a slider hitch. This allows me to slide it back and forth about a foot. The design requires the hitch be in a position forward of the rear axle for weight management but I can mount it over the wheels directly instead. (Long Cab, Long wheel base). This allows me to slide it back behind the axle for maneuvering tight spots when necessary and should give me enough room so the trailer doesnāt interfere with the gasifier tanks.
Has anyone considered removing the sides of the pickup bed completely and replacing them with the cooling system? Again, need to keep them lower so they clear the trailer.
Jacob did something close to that and built a flatbed that integrated the entire gasifier system into it, cooling rails are nice and low. Another option would be like Jo and Bob with the fast back slanted cooler inside the bed, both giving room for the drama deck of a big fifth wheel. Wayne makes his cooling racks adjustable so they can be set up for towing with short sides his v10 and the Wilbur Smith build both do this
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What kind of gasifier do you think would suit this
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Iād love to see some better details of that thing. I was born to have adventure but I donāt think Iād drive that thing.
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warning thread hijack
KB8OOE told me once, if you need to put your Baofeng in an ammo box so it survives an EMP, then you will have bigger problems.
I always thought this was both intriguing and ridiculous at the same time.
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