I thought I would bump a old topic to the top again. A lot of things have been changing in this world and on DOW. Just read though and noticed some of the members are not active anymore, but most of the regulars are still chiming in.
My reason or motivation for driving on wood is this, I like Being One In A Million. I have always like doing things that are not the norm. I have always known that I was different, than the rest of the normal people around me. There for, Driving On Wood fits into my life just fine and I like it that way. By the way I just consider myself a different kind of normal person. Thanks DOW Members for making it possible for me to do this.
SWEM, November 4, 2016
Bob
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Good morning Mr. Bob and thanks for chiming in .
After awhile DOW just becomes a habit . 
I have come to the point where I donât like to mention the number of miles I am putting down on a public forum.
I will say I burned 200-250 pounds of wood this week 
SWEM
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I responded earlier with some reasons but will add a few more here
Born in 1947 in Cascadia, Oregon (look that up for a small spot on a map)
Often had power outages including a year with no power when we moved to a nearby place called whiskey butte.
So wood heat and cooking was a way of life and as the oldest son you can guess who had to keep the wood boxes full.
So I became very familiar with fire and somewhat of an arsonest when clearing underbrush.
Worked at logging the old growth timber until through college then retired this spring after 48 years with a large Engineering company.
DOW lets me stay motivated, gives good exercise, saves money??
As a 4000 hour pilot and now a 1 in a million DOW at 69 YO and in good health i am having FUN!
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Hi Bob I like the reasons you gave for driving on wood,as I feel a little like that myself. I am new to the group. I just started my build but will not get much done yet this year, as snow will start to fall any day now. Donât dare to weld in the garage. I am glad I found the drive on wood site,been reading everything.I think I am going to like all of the members,as there are some really interesting people here. Larry up in West Branch Mi.
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Larry, you couldnât ask for a better group of people to help you, hundreds of years of experience. People who want you to succeed in your gasifier project you are building. Donât be afraid to ask questions, there are no questions that are to dumb to ask, on this site. If there is, then I have already ask them, so you are safe. Lol
Looking forward to following your gasifier build.
Bob
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SoâŚ
I was totally in after seeing my first Wayne Keith video. I used to own a sawmill myself for many years. It taught my how to fabricate and make do with what I had. I have been working with wood since age 16, cutting firewood was my first money making venture.
To back up a little, I was actively looking for an alternative fuel source. One of my old partners said he had once witnessed a test car for Shell Oil which topped out at over 70 MPG back in the 1970âs.
In 2008-2009 I had been working on HHO with one of my friends, it seemed to maybe be the next big thing. My late father had warned me never to mess with pure Hydrogen as a fuel source because of the possible dangers. After our 3rd generation of HHO producer, we proved to ourselves we were wasting our time after a severe explosive episode, fire and melted HHO generator under the hood (my Dad had been right again).
I decided to look into a gasolive evaporator lIke the car from Shell Oil. I kind of talked myself out of this, thinking it might be even more dangerous than HHO and then discovered the Geet sytem for waste oil. I never started on the Geet because I found a couple of videos on wood gasification by Engineer 775 and Mr. Teslonian which sparked my intersts.
From there I happened on the Wayne Keith U-Tube video titled âWoodgas Part 2: Extras and In-Depth Infoâ. I knew right then I had found the Holy Grail, and found someone who had proven the conceptâŚeasy for me to relate to, it all made sense to me very quicklyâŚ
My main motivation is to be able to drive to our farms. I donât have the finances to just take off on the weekends and pay $100-$200 for gasoline just to drive there and back as many times as I would like. I have one girl in College and one in High School, the family takes most of what I make and I am very thankful to have a good job. Heck, I would just like to fire up the truck and take my wife on a drive in the evenings just for fun like TomC and others doâŚ
We have farms in Southern Illinois and one in Minnesota, an hour or so from Bill Schiller. I live in Northwest Indiana near Chicago. Gas was around 35 cents a gallon when I started driving. I still canât accept having to pay so much to drive. I want to be free to move about the country againâŚ
I very much enjoy working with wood, my first chosen profession and sawmiller for half of my adult life. I also enjoy making machines and parts from scratch, it was a necessity. âŚ
I am very grateful for this site and all of you. Thanks to Wayne and Chris who have made it all possible. My system will benifit greatly from all the enhancements since the â92 Dakota from the Bookâ was initially built! I too also enjoy taking the path less traveled. I canât wait to see all the head scratching and getting to field the numerous questions asked about a truck that runs on wood!
Thanks to all who take the time to freely respond to all the questions, all the builders who have proven the concept over and over again and then coach the other 75%.
Bryan S
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Our motivation is complicated and simple at the same time.
Not really looking to drive but to power an off the grid sustainable situation. I have friends whom are Amish and Mennonite whom run their shops off the grid using generator sets to provide all of the power, electrical compressed air and hydrolics required for their shops. Their systems still require an off the grid input, the fuel. I have often end maintained that as soon as the world you might say got away from a wood and grass based economy it started going backwards.
We are farming and logging with horses so our inputs are self produced and if nothing else producing fertility. Because of this life style our health is good our food is excellent and our minds are clear.
Any other direction than wood gasification just doesnât seem to fit in.
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Where are you getting the hydraulic power for you gafner on the horse drawn dray? The amish are using combines and bailers that have a gas engine on them and the equipment is pulled by horses. These could all be converted to woodgas and most of those engines are small so the gasifier would not have to be big. TomC
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Itâs a Kohler 20 hp power pack. I doubt that would get a gasifier but one never knows. Want to finish the new shop first and get something done before the wife well you know
You are in Crivitz? We are in Hermansville small world ainât it
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I REALLY donât suggest converting the horses to woodgas⌠They donât run so well on it! ;p
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That small of an engine is a good candidate for a Simply- fire charcoal gasifier. Much less complicated to build than a wood-gasifier.
I have to look up Hermansville. I have heard of a casino in Hammerville. Are they saying the name wrong. TomC
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No, no Brian. Have you ever worked behind a team of horses??? THEY make the gas. TomC
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Letâs see here a horse that farts will not tire and a man that farts is the man to hire
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Hannaville Indian reservation half way between here and Escanaba
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OK, yes, I was saying it wrong. So you are over near the Casino. So Johnny, to understand the constraints on your building a gasifier, are you of Indian decent? Your logging picture with horses made me think you were Amish or possibly Mennonite, but you said that your friends were of that religion. TomC
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My mother was Mennonite who left the church. Horses are more sustainable etc.
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So John, this is not the right forum for it but I would dispute the sustainability of horses depending on what kind of ground you have. I would say my 28hp tractor fed on charcoal requires less land and more marginal land then a team of horses. I live where open pastured land is a rare thing let alone rock free fields for oats. Trees though we have a lot. The tractor is under the charcoal section.
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Then Iâm finished here as my intentions are to build a stationary power unit. This suplements some of the things I do with horses. Tractors verses horses zero comparison as they have advantages. We have horses, a tractor and a cat skids teen each with a purpose. Thanks guys
John, please donât be finished here. There are other stationary units here and I for one am interested in anything that makes power from wood gas and I am sure we can answer questions and help you with build ideas. I think you are in the right place.
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