Thanks for the rides Herb. I never get tired of hearing that throaty roar of that exhaust.
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Thanks for the ride herb. !
You should start a taxi service in your home town . 
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Thanks guys, it’s always fun to get feedback! This one isn’t quite as boring, towards the end I hit a rock that blows the right front tire, also shook everything so hard it knocked the hay clean out cover off so the motor died! I changed it over to gas and drove it home on the rim, fun was over!
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This is what a tire looks like after it blows out and then driven home about two miles! Hope I didn’t hurt the rim to much, I drove real slow but???
The rock most have hit the gasified too, that hay filter clean-out door hangs from a fairly sturdy hanger and it got knocked pretty good, O well it’s all in the game, really wouldn’t have needed to shake it down, it was running just fine, I just have this “need” to shake it for some reason!!! Sure wish I wouldn’t have!
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No more off road driving for you, until you get a lift kit put on that caddy. Keep on Gasifiing. Bob
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Hi Gassers,
Wanted to introduce myself. You all must feel like one of your kids has been sold to the gypsies.
I’m a 66 year old semi-retired vet who lives in Florida during the Winter and at family Summer home in Northern Wisconsin the rest of the year. I have been interested in gasifiers for many years now and have been planning a gasifier for the Summer place in Wisconsin. I have not been sure how i was going to do it.
I started looking into gasifiers years ago - including a trip out to Portland to meet Ben Peterson at Victory Gas Works. Steve, i don’t know if you will remember me but i met you at one of Ben’s get togethers. He was just doing his first combined unit. I forget what he called it now. I’m the guy who flew up from Florida and bought the pizzas. :-). I’ve purchased Ben’s book, been in touch with Ben about buying his prototype, contacted All Power Labs and Staks Properties, joined DOW, and talked to local welders and fabricators. 2 years ago i purchased a wood chipper in anticipation.
i already had a propane generator powered by a 4 cyl Wisconsin Engine for the gasifier project -
Herb’s beautiful Caddy is the last piece of the puzzle. His sale to me is not the end of the Caddy but just a new chapter. I look forward to Herb’s ongoing guidance and experience to help me take care of ‘Herbie’ and i hope to continue to share the Caddy’s path with you all. It will always be Herb’s accomplishment. I will try to honor his wonderful work by maintaining his baby while he builds the limo.
I have seen how involved you all have been with Herb and his project and hope it might continue as it moves to the next phase. I will do my part to continue to document it’s path. Please forgive my presumption since i have not previously participated in the discussion but i feel as if i already know many of you from your responses.
Herb, will see you soon. The check is in the mail. 
Bob Phinney
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Hello Mr. Robert Phinney, and welcome. Happy to see Herbs baby going to an appreciative new owner. I look forward to seeing it’s continued evolution.
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What Andy said!
I was hoping to see that Caddy at Argos this year. Maybe now that still may happen?
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What Don said .
Would be nice to see a Caddy at Argos 
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welcome from north western WI sounds like Herbs Caddy is getting closer all the time. how far north are you? I am just south of Superior.
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Congratulations Robert on a great find. And thank you for jumping in and purchasing this great vehicle. We will absolutely be looking for more information from you as you learn the next 75% of owning a woodgas vehicle. Did you deal Herb out of his wood processor? Making fuel is a big part of driving on wood. I am 50 miles north of Green Bay. Another dot on the Wisconsin map for a gasifier in Wi. TomC
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Thanks Tom,
You read my mind.
I’m having minor surgery at VA latter this month then plan to fly to Herb, spend a day getting familiar with ‘Herbie’ then driving (probably on dino) to it’s new home in Rhinelander, WI in the middle of the NorthWOODS.
Got the “75%”. Figure that’s about right. If i can become proficient enough operator, i may well try to make it to Argos (450 miles) if for no other reason than to give you all a chance to inspects Herb’s beauty up close.
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Robert, I have a 15 kw kohler generator with the VH4D engine. I bought it for $95 running. They sold it cheap because it had no power. The origional setup came with 3/8 in. I.D. hoses running from the propane tank to the regulator. They had connected it to a bbq regulator with a .020 orifice in the spud nut that goes into the tank. That 4 cyl can not run with any power while trying to pass all the fuel gas through a .020 orifice.
Unless I am mistaken, the setup in your photo shows a tank with a bbq regulator hooked up to the big diameter hose that feeds the regulator and shutoff valve. The bbq regulator is way too small. It looks like your system is missing a part. Here is a picture of the same engine with the vaporizer / regulator siting on top of the engine. it is the round, white part with fins. http://i.ebayimg.com/images/a/(KGrHqJHJFUFBiiYcb0PBQkRKpoJfQ~~/s-l300.jpg
It sits in the hot air stream because it has to throw off all the cold generatd by the expansion of liquid propane to a gas. An air-cooled engine running on propane has to heat the vaporizer with just air.
When i bought my gen, it ran fine and powered a 100 watt bulb. That was all it could power. i would be willing to bet that your pretty green generator will be the same.
This is the kind of vaporizer that you need. It is the missing part; http://i3.ebayimg.com/02/i/001/05/21/7d48_35.JPG
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Good thing that the Caddy is staying in the family… 
Hope to see you at Argos…
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Hello BobP
Thanks for remembering me. Yes I DO remenber the pizza’s. And Remember I think you getting acknowledged as the farthest come-too that particular VGWShop monthly get-together. Ha! On some there were folks in from Spain, New Zeeland, and then Australia. Hard to beat that.
Systems we were working on then was the very small HotWatt that was having an ouput gas forced blown heated air exchanger.
The larger more practical wider use Victory hearths were in a combined output gasses heated air and pumped liquid heat excangers. The “chip heating bins”. Exchangers in the inlet corner. Still undisclosed lower slow pass through settlement/rising heat floors. Final filter chamber “candles” on the outlet corner.
The HotWatt got production dropped due to it having nearly the same production costs in fabbing/welding as the larger Victory hearth bases systems. Just like children’s clothes take every single cut-out piece and seam stitched as adult cloths. Only miniaturized needing much BETTER attention to details.
I think you missed the few months later evolution to the Kubota methane engine adapts.
Ha! You probably remember me as the one openly drinking coffee shots of Irish whiskeys. Discreet sneeking shots of 5-hour Energy drinks to try and keep up with Gatling gun pace all of the questioners.
Really good to see you putting Herbs Cad project into a good use home.
Yep. Only actual on-hands fuel wood burning is learning. And only loaded IC engine running is learning well.
Best Regards
Washington State Steve Unruh
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William,
Thank you for the input re Wisconsin VH4D. You have a hell of an eye. It has only run on that small tank to just fire it up occasionally - never under load. It ultimately will be connected to a 500 gal propane tank by underground 1/2" flex pipe protected by pvc conduit that runs 50 feet into the shed where the genset will live. I have not done the final propane connections, only laid the pipe from big tank into back of shed.
I got the picture of the air cooled regulator. You forgot to put a link to the part. No worries, already found it on ebay and saved it to watch list. I’m not sure it will be necessary in final configuration because of distance from source tank. My mechanic in Florida ran it with a high capacity regulator off a small tank. Already have one of those.
That genset originally was backup power for a nursing home and configured for 3 phase. It has been converted to single phase. It only has 300 hours on it. I got it for $1000 and have put another $400 into it plus hauling it from Florida to Wisconsin and horsing it around without benefit of tractors and fork lifts and such (manpower). I am not sure how i will ultimately configure it (perhaps back to 3 phase) but i always intended it to run on woodgas. I have smaller dino generator that is more than adequate for standard household backup needs. That big genset was always planned to be run by a gasifier on an integrated system that would have sufficient watts to power small, no AC house needs, charge battery bank, and heat water with any extra available wattage - limited gasifier runs of 2 to 3 hours or less (1 hopper full). Ultimate goal was to be able to be able to come off the grid completely (ISHTF). I have done small wind and solar systems for a small cabin on an adjoining property that is not on the grid. (pics on request)
The beauty of Herb’s caddy and the way he has designed it is that as long as the coolers have sufficient airflow (which my guess could be provided by a large shop fan that could be run by the generator while operating), i not only have a drivable gasified vechile, but also a working gasifier of sufficient capacity that i can run either that straight 6 Ford chipper or the Wisconsin generator by just capturing WG from his flare tubes (already filtered). It’s simply perfect. (I might have to ‘stir or shake the pot’ once in awhile)
I had thought about truck mounting a Peterson gasfier so that i could have my cake and eat it too. Herb’s caddy allows me to do just that. I thought of attempting a WK system on a little Datsun pickup i have in Wisconsin (may still do that - just went Premium). My fabrication experience is very limited. I am handy and have tools but i do not have welding experience. I intend to start welding this summer as i see i will need those skills.
Steve, i’m glad you remember me. It was a few years ago. Hotwatt - that’s it. I can’t tell you how sad i am that Ben has stopped fabricating. I doubt you remember but i have always called him ‘Maestro’ in my communications with him. He taught himself to weld and became an artist with SS. His machines are beautiful. At the time i thought his designs far ahead of APL’s. I thought he and VGW were the best. That’s why i flew out to see him. You were a part of that. I would love to have seen Ben’s later designs. I would probably have one if not for financial setbacks that prevented it. I have saved many of his earlier vids from youtube that he has since taken down. I understand him moving on but he’ll always be ‘Maestro’ to me and his ‘motors’ will be missed. Shades of John Galt!
It seems like All Power Labs has come a long way since early GEK’s. I seriously was considering their current GEK since i already have a decent generator. 17 K is just too rich for my blood. Steve, i’m curious what you think about their current designs. They seem to be to be the leaders now in smaller scale gasifiers (under 25K watt). I think their ‘Power Cube’ is magnificent but at 45K … OUCH!!
Already talked too much. RWP
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Robert, the essence of welding is making a puddle and controlling it. If you start with gas welding, you can make the puddle the size and depth that you need. Then, you can adavance / expand it at the speed that you find best.
Once, you go to stick welding, you don’t have as much control on the puddle. Also, the filler material is added without a lot of control. Once you go to wire-welding, you have even less direct control on the puddle and the material is added pretty fast. TIG welding is somewhat like gas welding because the filler material is not added automatically. It is always a good idea to learn gas welding.
As far as the genrator, it needs quite a bit of volume. Liguid propane gasses off at about 225 psi, I believe. You will have tank pressue to the regulator / vaporizor and secondary pressure to the “carb”.
I often get calls from people who tell me that their propane forklift will only run for a couple of minutes. it will restart 30 minutes later and run for 2 minutes. I tell them to fill the radiator. The water-heated vaporixer is frozen up.
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Ok I’m starting to get withdrawal already and “Herbie” hasn’t even left yet! Got check today Bob thanks, if you get half the fun and satisfaction out of it that it has given me you will be happy!
I have been trying to get interior in my ModelA for years and now it’s not coming out of shop till it’s done, haven’t got much done to it since I started the Caddy cause I always want to do this or that to Caddy instead of A!
I will be checking in and keeping up with everyone’s projects so keep up the good work, I will probably start a wood burner of some sort at some point!!!
If anyone out there knows anything about doing Model A upholstery let me know cause I sure don’t !!!
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