Wow Wayne thats a big difference! What water content did the wood have?
I had similar experiances useing kiln dried wood, man this kicks ass. But my oildrum kiln is too hungry for wood so l abandoned it for now. Might paint it black and use it when the sun gets some strengh.
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Hi, Kristijan!
16.5.2017
In the focus of an aluminium(paper) reflector!
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I think Ron’s wood is mostly oak and as about as dry as it can get .
I didn’t measure the hopper water I drained off but I estimate 1/4 to 1/2 gallon per hopper load .
My previous longest hopper mileage was 107 on the same stretch of road and Ron’s wood .
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Thanks Wayne on all the recordings, it would be nice if anyone stillhad a bag of that wood too measure the weight and water content… at leaste for there own data.HWWT
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Thats pretty good milage, almost to Indy on one tank!!! Maybe it is down hill going south from Argos?
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The Rabbit got only a short rest while the gasifier was fixed and then back to work again. A late firewood order ment knocking down a few dead standing spruces. Two loads, 25 mile roundtrips, delivered to the customer.
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That Rabbit sure can haul a load…always suprising what it can do!
Bryan
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Hauling a load is the only time the suspension feels anything near comfortable 
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Its funny, l never saw spruce firewood here noone wuld ever burn wood with lesser quality thain oak.
A question thugh… Have you ever burned spruce chunks in your gasifier?
I think it may have some advantiges over hardwood, but ofcorse allso dissadvantige.
I know mr. Wayne uses pine a lot, wich is similar to spruce…
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Yes, i have mixed in some spruce from time to time in the gasifier fuel but i don´t think 100% spruce is a good idea. It´s very bulky and the char brakes easily and creates lots of fines. Denst limbs might work better.
Ha, no oak or beech up here. Cheaper to burn dollar bills. Birch is the best we can get.
Well fellows when the ONLY thing you have is conifer woods - that is what you will learn to use and design around.
Yep. VERY fragile char. Why I gave up on charcoal making dreams! Softwood confers do have a tendency for carbon/soot fines carry through downstream. BUT. Excellent fast energy release. Just have to make the hopper bigger for the lower bulk density. And because of the added hopper capacity moisture thermal/quenching then created: must religiously pre-dry the wood; and/or have an excellent hopper condensate removal system.
Why Wayne’s huge soot dropping/exchanger and extreme hopper condensation systems.
Oak wood - different set of problems. So a system biased for different solutions to oak “problems”.
Just like a peat fueled system will be different yet. Have to handle the low temperature melting/slagging high percentage ash.
The good news is ANY and ALL natural woods can be used for wood-to-shaft power.
Just the more a system is biased designed for one extreme type fuel use the less it will be able to flex use well at another extreme type
Woodgasifier like the best of people should be as resiliant/flexible working as possible, IMHO.
No one really likes PrimaDonna’s. Pretty to watch. Hell to live with.
As my Mother-in-law would tell my darling wife, “Melinda, there is only so much bacon on a hog. You must learn to eat the other parts too”.
Do not pine away for a wood you do not have - would/do; with what wood you do have.
J-I-C Steve Unruh
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Steve, a good and wery imformative reply.
It comfirms my thinking of spruce in the first place. Judgeing by the performance of different woods in a fireplace, l thod spruce shuld make a more energetic and impulsive performance in a gasifier.
And, allso, when l drove on charcoal l saw better performance with softwood charcoal. More reactive due to fluffy consistency.
Ok, looks like its time to make some spruce chunks and give this one a try.
Oh, and allso thanks for sheding light on my slag problem. I burn 90% oak.
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If you have an hour or two to spare you can either go for a DOW or you can go for a DOW + bring home a small batch of fuel.
I went clearing a few birch bushes under the power line. Brought them home and chunked them emediately. Another 200 miles of fuel drying. The weather is said to be nice and warm during the weekend 
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Looks like the treebuds exploded there! In your last report all was still asleep.
Whats the can under the rebak?
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Hi Kristijan,
Yup, a sudden explosion. Went from winter temps to first lawn mowing and green trees and from long legged underwear to shorts in just a few days
Rebak can:
Well, you know how I hate buying. The motor is 3-fase. When I built the rebak the only switch I had laying around was a 1-fase emergency button and a relay, but no fancy housing. I used an empty paint bucket
Edit: How is your rebak project going?
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Aha! This looks fsncy too 
The guy that makes my rebak head just screws me each week, shuld be finished a month ago 
thanks for reminding me, lll call him today, this time a bit less friendly.
Did make a wood preparation plan thugh, and eaven got some guys willing to help me prepare wood. When l get the rebak working and if all goes well, we shuld be able to chunk and bag a years worth of fuel in a day.
Now, on a nother topic. Tryed a couple of hoppers of 100% spruce chunks the other day. Not good.
The performance was good, and lighting spruce char the next time is just explosive, but when the gasifier cools down, the usual oxidation zone cavity expanded from normal few innch to below restriction! Neadless to say, spruce chunks falling in the reduction zone are not nice. I found this one too late, ended out with a sticky tary throtleplate, but hopefully no damage.
Back to oak, chestnut and hornbeam 
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Thank you Kristijan, that is good information. I am glad your engine is OK.
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I save the 1/8" + screened charcoal from cleaning the ash pit and then add 1/2 gallon at each cold start after lighting and before rodding to fill the cavity.
This makes startup much quicker and ensures a good char bed.
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Good idea, l culd pack a emergancy pack of charcoal in case something like this happens again. Thanks.
True. A fast enrgy release/low weight density wood like spruce, versus a slow energy release wood like your hard/dense hardwood does take a “different hand” to operate with well.
The experienced rule of thumb is to make the “fast” low density wood chunks twice the size of a “slow” energy release hardwood chunk sizing.
So . . . beginning with a designed tuned hardwood chunked system the internal dimensions will probably be too small for best use with a larger chunked conifer softwood usage.
Why KristijanL some of our softwood systems seem so physically large to a mini-guy.
Exclusively softwood using/designing then the opposite learning curve to climb. Have to dramatically down size the chunk size using a hard wood to get the increased surface areas for the same instantaneous energy releases as had with softwoods.
This chunk sizing range, and the resulting physical space “problems” incurred separates out the limited fuel range type designs from the flexible fuel type use designs.
No criticism of your system intended saying this KistijanL.
Your challenge that you have accepted is making a small unnoticeable system to be able to culturally fit in.
Every thing you do must fit into this tight shoe.
Ha! Ha! Having to use a special “premium” fuel is just one of the use/design compromises you must choose to achieve your results.
My old Shihl chainsaws specified the use of 87 octane gasoline. These newer, lighter higher powered ones specify the use of 89-92 octane gasoline. Matters not for the costs. They do not use much. Engine heating and power it matters a lot!
Much Respect
J-I-C Steve Unruh
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