Woodgasifiers Builders Bible

Waiting patiently, I will have to start checking the mail a little more often now that I will have some good news coming.

The waste plastic addition to a stationary charcoal reactor looks interesting, will need to build a shredder of sorts though.

Bens new project, charcoal reactor with steam injection.

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DavidK, months ago I directly questioned BenP about having to pre-shred plastics . . . .(as I was sneaking over to him some of my wifes collected up, bagged, plastic drink bottles).
He said no need.
The video shows her Dasonti “plant-made” water bottles being whole loaded into his WasteBot machine.
So I have to believe him; no need to shred.
Fortunately for me she does not watch these videos and see that I gave away (for science) some of her VFW fund-raiser bottles.

I am not into any urban wastes for energy utilization personally. Only believe, and use solar capturing and using purpose site grown wood fuels for energy. Green grow. Harvest. Utilize. Recycle the base, face of the earth, components. Repeat. Indefinitely - just as long as the sun will shine. I figure we have at least a billion years there.
Ha! Ha! No one has a forever answer! That is tooth fairy fantasizing. Whale oil was not a forever. Fossil coal and petroleum not a forever solution either. Nuclear would run out of either consentratable base inputs; or life-living-killing environmental spent-wastes overload long, long before Forever too.
Taking care of Today. Tomorrow. And the Day After Tomorrow is as good as it gets.
J-I-C Steve Unruh

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Good Morning all
I just realized that I could copy up the link to BenP’s June newsletter without being accused of “overselling”, “shilling”.
This link should allow you to no commitment read results about his Mustang car charcoal gasifier system without having to even video download.
Short answer is his videoed system made of carbon steel tank metals went too heavy. Weight and space always the vehicle gasifers hardest crosses to bear. No one is immune.
He is next going to recreate this system in thinner, lighter all stainless steel.

Regards
J-I-C Steve unruh

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Here is for you Tom Collins.
You asked for more woodgas pertinent posts.

Excerpts from BenP new book about his experiences thoughts on gasifier air pre-heating.
page 21 shows up first time as #6 in his 8 Stages of Heat Management list; “Air Preheating: Hot air reduces the thermal (hearth) load.”
Next one-half page, four paragraphs expand out on pre-heating on page 31, direct fully quoted;
“If you want to hear some heated exchanges between wood gas enthusiasts, (pun intended) just bring up the subject of air preheating. Some are “believers” and some are “deniers”. And then there are people like me who are in the middle.”
“in the middle” means that he has learned to design and use some preheating for benefits but isn’t fanatical insistent about it (my words here).
2nd paragraph begins with, “To preheat or not preheat”. He then words out the benefits of inlet air preheating.
3rd paragraph; “Preheating is a good idea, but . . . .”
4th paragraph: "It is also possible to do with no preheating. When you run a gasifier with no air preheating, the air . . . "

Section 3 Operation, starting on page 225 is almost all completely new and highly expaneded out. Gives do-do’s, no-no’s, WITH the Why’s, check lists; all with some real Ben cheeky humor and been-there, done-that stories.
In the Q&A he explains Why this book system has no needed cyclone system.

In the Performance Upgrades section pages202 to 223 he has added a sight glass add to his lighting port, back drilling the air jets for better flow and pattern, and a moisture captering monorator hopper system add on.

His last E-mail a week ago said that all pre-ordered book had been shipped out.

So TomC.
This is what you get for no-buy, no-commitment free.
J-I-C Steve unruh

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I got my book Friday. Haven’t had a chance to open it yet. That soft cover price was a deal even I could not pass up.

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My copy showed up during the holidays. Well done ! !

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Steve Unruh; I didn’t know that every so often I had to spend another $50 to participate in the subject pertinent discussions in DOW. I guess Peterson owes you a comition for selling books for him on DOW… Your promotion worked; I see a few people report receiving their book, including me. I am all about DOW. And to find NO information or pictures of this gasifier mounted in a vehicle, was disappointing.
The first thing I did when I got my book was brows through the drawings to get a basic idea of how it worked. I have to say, that I am not a fan of the computer drawings. I prefer the three view drawings with section views. He has three chambers that I see no inlet or outlet to; the air jacket, pyrolysis accelerator, and condensation collect shell.
A week or so ago DOW comment was received from one of our European members saying when critiquing other members designs or builds, we are not being honest. We say such things as “nice build”, “good idea”, or some other complimentary statement which we really don’t mean. I believe that is because many of us have been taught to “say nothing, if we can’t say something good”. But, the fact that I paid around $50 for this books, I think gives me the right to say what I feel. " This book was a total waste of my time and money".
I feel it would be impolite for me to continue pointing out things that I found that brought me to this conclusion. I pointed out the computer design drawings as an example and I will let the subject lay there. TomC

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Good Morning JeffD
You know I got up super early this morning and did a fiveth read through on BenP’s new book lloking for these quotes you refer to . . . . ??
Oh-o-o-o, me, MattR, Permacuterist Yukon BrianG and others!! I see now. BenP did move our his-site, and Amazon reviews into his intro.
How embarrasing on mine. Way, way, too wordy. This was the full text I had under much arm-twisting and weeks delay summitied to him way back after the first addition was released. I’d told him to pick, choose and edit this down. He did on his site. In this latest book . . . .the whole-nine-yards of SteveU-isms.
Oh. Well. lessons fellows is what you hit “enter” and send out is never “lost in the wind”, but capable of rattling around forever.
J-I-C Steve Unruh

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Well TomC insted of just a cripic f’you that you deserve for trashing DOW member B.G who started this topic I will consider your book critique to be a valid warning off.

ANYBODY still locked into a 1980’s Back-To-The-Future “Doc Smith” DeLorean Mr Fusion gasifier-that-will-eat-ALL Urban crap-trash for an energy, “I’m an American! I can g.d. drive anywhere, any time that I want. It is my right” cheap-rich life like 60 millions of years of accumulated Dino-bliss has provided - - - - -
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!!
And you “all bio-mass” wanna-be Believers?
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!!

Page 9 quote;
"Gratitude for Wood
Everything we have achieved as a human species can be traced back to wood. Wood gave us . . . "
Finishes on page 10; “Plant trees because it’s in out own self-interest and that of future generations to have fresh air and abundant wood.”
Why wood narrow focused?
page 12 quote;
“CHARCOAL (wood charcoal) is the secret sauce that makes gasifiers work. Wood chunks makes the best charcoal. Read this twice.” end quote.

Later in this 2nd book edition he does then show/tell how to make charcoal out of site obtained woods, outside of a gasifier. Won’t be all-seasons, all-times, totally smoke free. For THAT he says use the book designed gasifier.
Why the extra charcoal needs?
In his engine use selection for small engines like lawn mowers, walk-behind rototillers, and such he say you will find it better to use a straight charcoal gasifer set up with a bit of H2O injection. Sounfs familiar to much of the non-onroad DOW activities?
His Mustang vehicle conversion IS a very complex, advanced updraft charcoal fueled system to be no-see’em discrete. Kristian is on the right track for his specialized-use needs.
AND, in this book BenP does details out his modern-plactics into fuels WasteBot system. This must have charcoal as the heat source and super important “catalist” to make the relevnet solid plastics into gasses and liquids.

I defer from page by page quoting the activities he pictures and word by word spells out above due to authorship rights. HIS.

Honestly Tom Collins, if Jesus Christ himself who created fishes and loafs from near nothing did this today, you’d complain he was a rip-off charlatan for nor hand-in hand showing you each and every how he did it. And hand holding you until you could no-think do it yourself.

And I DID out of my own pocket pay for my THREE copies of the Ist book edition.
And I DID good-faith manufactured metals trade BenP for the ~23 printers-pictures-pixtil-poor-rejected copies that I have gifted out - MAILED an my own cost - to friends. Some here on the DOW. Some not. I owe them for conversations and exchanges. Those with make-to-sell intents I even put in a lot of hand written suggestions for upgrading.
Ha! BenP has now put most of these into this much expanded out 2nd edition book based on extensive first-book buyers requests and Q&A’s.

The first book version was a straight to-it step by step pictures HOW-to-build a wood a gasfier that will work on the first firing up to engine run.
Something that 130 years of many, many books and publications has only been really address in two books:
Wayne&Chris’s
Vesa Mikonnens
And BOTH of these you DO have to pay for. Rightfully. “A workman is worthy his hire”
BenP in this 2nd addition book past focused HOW;
now adds WHAT and WHY you will want to do this HOW.

So thank you for helping me to compose and write a new Amazon book review for this 2nd edition revision. I paid the $47. USD for my print copy. My loose leaf $27 USD in paper and toner download review copy is driving me nuts to find quotes.
J-I-C Steve Unruh

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Hi Steve, you did fine with your writing. Ben must think so also.

With the world falling apart all around us it was comforting that a group of gassers all got along, wood, charcoal, roadsters, tractors, generators, small scale manufacturers and etc. I had a bit hope for humanity, but now I’m not sure there is any hope.

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Hi Tom, start with the Layout drawings on page 48 and 49. For some reason it is duplicated around page 27. So the hot gas goes out the bottom and right into the heat exchanger. The air enters this chamber an gets heated and enters the air manifold and out the nozzles. The hot gases next enter the pyrolysis accelerator. Next the hot gas enters the cooler.

If the book was for any main stream industry it would cost $300.00 on up and yes I am a supporter of DOW.

As Mr. Mike LaRose (spelling ?) would say “peace out”.

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I just got my paper copy in the mail! Date night with my wife will have to really look :eyes: at it tomorrow. As expected I feel it’s a great product!

Yes Jeff the world may be falling apart. But all I know is I got electricity, hot water and heat no matter which way you turn it!!!

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Agree with Jeff, Steve, your quote was concise, effectively perfect.

Congrats Steeve getting you name in bens patersons gasification book.Is this gasifier designed for stationary electric generator or moble variable engine rpm gasifier. Whats the weight and engine size design.? And what is the over all gain from the design change? Less wood drying required? More power in fuel? Steeve/ Tom/ terry tait/ Jeff. Thanks. Contomplating the book.

I think Ben is more into stationary applications but the turn down ratio MIGHT be 8 to 1 which ain’t bad.

The sizing chart goes up to five liter but the larger engines might force finding a larger tank. So between 1 and 4 liter might be the sweet spot.

I do not think it is lite weight.

Gotta run ! !

Thanks jeff, gess i will wait till i get the book and or others ask more Questains, , At least he uped his size chart from i think he was, sounds like he is a dark side dow’er next for car plans. Probbly good generator plans .That was a deal on the book.

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I have spent a lot of time in the book since I received it. I find the “construction” part and the “Mustang” part very interesting. In these two parts he has pictures which incidentally show his welds. His welds are works of art. They look like a roll of dimes laid out on a table. TomC

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