I’m new here, but I’ve gone down a big rabbit hole of research on wood gasification in trucks. Never knew or learned about it in history class, never knew it was ever so popular in Europe during WW2. It’s fascinating. I’m wanting to build my own, but I just wanted to ask, I assume there’s some risks involved with building a wood gasifier for a truck. If there’s a leak where I weld my seams would I blow myself up? I’m just trying to understand the possibilities before I dive into this. Anything else to look out for? Basically what are the DON’TS in building a wood gasifier in a truck. I want to be as safe as possible doing it, as I want to drive my dog and girlfriend around in it as well, as well as myself lol. Thank you all.
17 Likes
Welcome Brendan, woodgas can not explode until it is compressed. The greater danger is exposure to carbon monoxide. However, burning gasoline releases that as well, so all of the same rules of not running an engine in a sealed garage for any length of tine still apply. Leaks tend to degrade performance; an engine won’t run properly on a diluted gas.
I have never heard of, and do not think it is even possible, for a gasifier to explode.
10 Likes
The gasifier is only making gas while it’s being pulled on by a source of vacuum, or pushed through the intake of the gasifier. It also has to be lit.
Ideally you’d want to wait for the gasifier to totally cool down before doing any weld repairs so the gas will be dissipated from the system.
Hans makes a good point about carbon monoxide, and you shouldn’t run any engine in an enclosed environment without proper ventilation like a garage door being all the way open with fans evacuating the air. Best to startup a gasifier outdoors.
12 Likes
Brendan,
Welcome to the forum.
Having a CO alarm-detector close by is a good idea.
12 Likes
Thanks guys that’s good to hear. Makes me feel better about getting into it. Monoxide alarm I’ll definitely get. Thanks all!
8 Likes
Hello Brendan and welcome to the DOW ( drive on wood ) .
I think there is more danger gathering fuel for the gasifier vs operating it .
15 Likes
The history actually goes much deeper. This technology ran the entire world at one point in history. All the gas appliances we have today originally were designed and ran on synthysis gas. Although at this time there were also other new and emergy technologies mainly kerosene and then later electricity. It was done on at large scale back then and stored and supplied the town using a giant gasometer system. The gas was mostly derived from coal but other fuel feed stocks were also used. This where the term " towns gas" comes from. A common method of suicide was sticking your head in the oven. That being said CO poisoning was common and fires from gas lighting was an issue.
Later in the 1920’s gasification evolved to fueling the internal combustion engine and now we have forums like DOW and other devs like myself pushing the technology forward.
As far as safety a gasifier is for the most part safe and you are not going to blow yourself up. Use common sense, yes CO is dangerouse but all ICE’s produce CO. So adding a gasifier into the mix isnt going to make it more unsafe. Always use the system out doors and where CO can not migrate into a dwelling. A wood stove produces CO just as well its really no more dangerouse than that.
As for an air leak, Its actually unlikely you are going to introduce a perfect air mixture. But yes it can happen. However this is one reason you never ever want to use a positive presure system. A gasifier system for fueling an engine are generally a negitive presure systems relying on engine vacuum for the draft. So its pulling and stretching the gas so very low charge in any part of the gasifier. Versus positive presure you are forcing the gas presureising the gas. The more you compress the gas the higher the energy density. Compress enough volume at high presure and you can level a 2 story house. So if you build it right and even it you do introduce a leak its unlikely it will be volitile mixture and generally an engine will stall out long before it can get to a volitile state. But even so this is why we all incorporate puff back lids and other forms of flash back arrestors in our designs so we can safely vent any puff backs or explosions.
15 Likes
Maybe not a explosion , but you can get blow backs when opening the lid or a blow back from air inlet if conditions are not right .
Welcome Brendan have a great time down the many rabbit holes and let the fun begin .
Dave
11 Likes
Welcome to the DOW BrendanM.
Many of the hazards and dangers of adding a wood gasifier into your life are as explained in the fuel harvesting and processing. Crushing, cutting. Infected wood splinters. Spider bites here for me. Forest snake bite for others.
Then in the gasifier constructing. Hot metals burning. Abrasive wheel grinding edge cuts. Arc welding “sunburning”; eyes flash damaging. Welding fumes toxicity. That "free’ “cheap” galvanized metals can make you very sicken welding without first mechanical or chemically removing the zinc coating!
So by the time you get to actually operating then only system hot burns. And Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Getting whacked by low velocity pieces flying off of a woodgas sneeze-woof.
Versus . . .
Ha! Wide area contact exposing yourself to gasoline . . . long term breathing gasoline vapors . . . worse mouth syphoning, and swallowing some . . . You Will Be Sickened.
Then; Evil, Evil gasoline hot weather vapors . . . flash exploding and burning!! Burning gasoline splashed permanent scarring . . . loss of limbs.
Versus the electrical hazards in an Hybrid or fully E.V.
To live an interesting and rewarding Life will involve hazards exposures.
You are asking good questions at the right time.
Regards
Steve Unruh
13 Likes
So when I initially posted woodgas can not explode until it is compressed, I was demonstrating my ignorance.
How can flares* be done, presumably a relatively safe activity, while also needing flash back arrestors and other ventilation?
- A flare is when woodgas is intentionally released and lit on fire.
6 Likes
If you have ever flown on a plane. They always say " in the Unlikely Event the plane were to go down over water, your seats are life preservers.
An airplane is relitively safe but typically when thing go bad they are fatal. A gasifier is far less likely to ever be fatal. The safety features we put on the units are to to keep us from shitting our pants when the dam thing makes a suden unexpected POP or BANG?
If this were dangerouse, more than half of us here on this forum would dead by now. Especially me! If you dont have common sense then no stay far away from ever building a gasifier. If you do have common sense get out there and start bulding something!
13 Likes