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[Rob <becida AT comcast.net>]

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Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:56:04 -0400
From: tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT roanoke.infi.net>
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Keith Addison wrote:

> Tvo, you're psychic - I was looking everywhere for this previous
> posting. I'd just decided to go and scour the list archive. Thankyou!
>

tvoivozhd---where you been, and what's happening on the oriental front?

Since you obviously are suffering from Gene's Senior Moments, here is another
e-mail in the same time frame.


Subject:
            Re: Tvoivozhd -- I'm not sure about your oil predictions
       Date:
            Mon, 22 May 2000 18:22:29 -0400
      From:
            tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT roanoke.infi.net>
        To:
            Keith Addison <gruno AT attglobal.net>
 References:
            1




>
> Are you still interested in woodgas generators? Because I am, but I
> haven't managed to learn much. All I've found is a book: "Producer
> Gas for Motor Vehicles", by John D and Martin G Cash, 1943, reprinted
> by Lindsay Publications, which I haven't got yet, and a few pages
> from a Home Power magazine.

Tvoivozhd---yeah, I keep it in the back of my mind in case the oil crunch
reoccurs for any reason. My design was a little complex, a trade-off for
ease of use and efficiency.  It also had a small tank and compressor to
charge it sufficiently to start the engine without the usual wait for
combustible gas to build up.  The generator was an inclined screw with the
fire at the upper end, fixed in position by two heat detectors which
slowed or speeded up the screw in response to throttle demand.  Under the
inclined cylinder containing the screw was a small five hp woodchipper
(derated like the truck engine 50% because of low energy density of
uncompressed woodgas).  This too ran off the tank of compressed woodgas,
so dry limbs along most roads could be utilized as fuel, greatly extending
range.  I could not figure out a way to run a chainsaw on woodgas though.
To clean the gas, it ran through a centrifuge and spray over ceramic beads
(that could be taken out and cleaned with intense heat).  It then ran
through a drier and cooler.  To increase the hydrogen content of the gas,
the screw had catalyst buttons imbedded in the flights, and a water
injector.

There are many, many books on the subject, and several genuine experts on
the Gas-L list (to which you should subscribe).  Mother Earth News sells
plans for a good unit (I think by Clarence Goosen) used to run a pickup
truck cross-country, and it also did a good job on powering a sawmill in
North Carolina.  The plans include a dual-fuel carburetor, which can be a
great help in starting.

Most of my woodgas files are in a dead computer and previously deceased
hard dribe, but here are a few which may be of help.

Subject: Re: GAS-L:
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 09:47:25 EST
From: Reedtb2 AT cs.com
Reply-To: gasification AT crest.org
To: gasification AT crest.org

Dear Radoslav :

We are the center for information on gasification and I am appending a
list
of all our books.  In particular our new Survey...2000 brings it all up to

date.....

Yours truly,                    TOM REED                BEF

    ORDER LIST - Biomass Energy Books
            (Nicknames in Bold,  book descriptions follow)

1. A SURVEY OF BIOMASS GASIFICATION 2000:       $25

2. BIOMASS DOWNDRAFT GASIFIER ENGINE SYSTEMS HANDBOOK:  $25

3. CONTAMINANT TESTING FOR GASIFIER ENGINE SYSTEMS:     $10

4. BIOMASS GASIFIER "TARS": THEIR NATURE, FORMATION, AND CONVERSION:
$25

5. GENGAS: THE SWEDISH CLASSIC ON WOOD FUELED VEHICLES:     $30

6. SMALL SCALE GAS PRODUCER ENGINE SYSTEMS:     $30

7. PRODUCER-GAS: ANOTHER FUEL FOR MOTOR TRANSPORT:  $10

8. FUNDAMENTAL STUDY AND SCALEUP OF THE AIR-OXYGEN STRATIFIED
DOWNDRAFT GASIFIER:         $30

9. EVALUATION OF GASIFICATION AND NOVEL THERMAL PROCESSES
FOR THE TREATMENT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE - MSW    $25

10. DENSIFIED BIOMASS:  A NEW FORM OF SOLID FUEL:   $12

11. WOOD GAS GENERATORS FOR VEHICLES:     $4

12. CONSTRUCTION OF A SIMPLIFIED WOOD GAS GENERATOR:    $15

13. BIOMASS TO METHANOL SPECIALISTS' WORKSHOP:  $30

14. THE PEGASUS UNIT: THE LOST ART OF DRIVING WITHOUT GASOLINE:     $20

15. GASIFICATION OF RICE HULLS: THEORY AND PRAXIS:  $30

16. TREES:    $1

17. TREE CROPS FOR ENERGY CO-PRODUCTION ON FARMS:   $30

18. FROM THE FRYER TO THE FUEL TANK: HOW TO MAKE CHEAP,
CLEAN FUEL FROM FREE VEGETABLE OIL: $20

ORDER BLANK
-10% if 3 or more books ordered or to booksellers               + $3
handling
+ (US & Shipping, US and Canada $1.50 (bookrate, or request air, $3) or
(other foreign, $8/book air)
TOTAL ORDER                                     ___________
E-mail order to reedtb2 AT CS.com or Mail orders to The Biomass Energy
Foundation Press (BEFP), 1810 Smith Rd., Golden,  CO 80401; FAX 303-278
0560;
call 303 278 0558.  We'll send invoice with books.  Pay by postal order or

check on US Banks, or electronic deposit to Bank No. 10 20000 76, Acct.
No.
300800 2911.  (No foreign checks - can cost $25 to clear!)

BOOKS FROM THE BIOMASS ENERGY FOUNDATION  PRESS

PURPOSES OF THE BIOMASS ENERGY FOUNDATION PRESS:  Biomass energy and
particularly biomass gasification is a field where publications are often
difficult to find.  We make available information - sometimes old,
sometimes
new - on biomass at reasonable prices in attractive "lie flat" bindings.
See our webpage at www.webpan.com/bef or write us at Reedtb2 AT cs.com

Biomass Energy Books - Description and Order Blank

NEW:  A SURVEY OF BIOMASS GASIFICATION 2000:  T. Reed and S. Gaur have
surveyed the biomass gasification scene for the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory and the Biomass Energy Foundation.  180 pages of large
gasifiers
systems, small gasifiers and gasifier research institutions with
descriptions
of the major types of gasifiers and a list of most world gasifiers.  ISBN
1-890607-13-4       180 pp     $25    _________

NEW:  BIOMASS GASIFIER "TARS": THEIR NATURE, FORMATION, AND CONVERSION:
T.
Milne, N. Abatzoglou, & R. J. Evans.  Tars are the Achilles Heel of
gasification.  This thorough work explores the chemical nature of tars,
their
generation, and methods for testing and destroying them.
ISBN 1-890607-14-2      180 pp  $25________

NEW:  EVALUATION OF GASIFICATION AND NOVEL THERMAL PROCESSES FOR THE
TREATMENT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE - W. Niessen et al.  1996 NREL report
by
Camp Dresser and McKee on MSW conversion processes.  ISBN 1-890607-15-0
198
pp   $25_______

NEW:  FROM THE FRYER TO THE FUEL TANK: HOW TO MAKE CHEAP, CLEAN FUEL FROM
FREE VEGETABLE OIL:  J. & K. Tickell, (1998) Resale from Greenteach
Publishing Co.  Tickell has done an excellent job of collecting both
theory
and praxis on producing Biodiesel fuel from vegetable oils, particularly
used
oil.  Nice instructions for kitchen or large scale.  ISBN 0-9664616-0-6
90 pp          $20   __________

NEW/OLD:  DENSIFIED BIOMASS:  A NEW FORM OF SOLID FUEL: Tom Reed and Becky

Bryant, A "State of the Art evaluation of densified biomass fuels" with
documentation of processes, energy balance, economics and applications.
First published in 1978, & still good.  ISBN 1-890607-16-9       35 pp
  $12 __________

******
BIOMASS DOWNDRAFT GASIFIER ENGINE SYSTEMS HANDBOOK:     T. Reed and A.
Das,
(SERI-1988) Over a million wood gasifiers were used to power cars and
trucks
during World War II. Yet, after over two decades of interest, there are
only
a few companies manufacturing gasifier systems. The authors have spent
more
than 20 years working with various gasifier systems, In this book they
discuss ALL the factors that must be correct to have a successful
"gasifier
power system."  Our most popular book, the "new Testament" of gasification

 ISBN 1-890607-00-2     140 pp  $25  ________

GENGAS: THE SWEDISH CLASSIC ON WOOD FUELED VEHICLES: English translation,
(SERI-1979)  T.Reed, D. Jantzen and A. Das, with index.  This is the "Old
Testament" of gasification, written by the people involved in successfully

converting 90% of transportation of WW II Sweden to wood gasifiers.
ISBN 1-890607-01-0  340 pp. $30   ________

SMALL SCALE GAS PRODUCER-ENGINE SYSTEMS: A. Kaupp and J. Goss.
(Veiweg,1984)
Updates GENGAS and contains critical engineering data indispensable for
the
serious gasifier projects.  Ali Kaupp is thorough and knowledgeable.  ISBN

1-890607-06-1   278 pp  $30  __________

PRODUCER-GAS: ANOTHER FUEL FOR MOTOR TRANSPORT: Ed. Noel Vietmeyer (The
U.S.
National Academy of Sciences-1985)  A  seeing-is-believing primer with
historical and modern pictures of gasifiers.  An outstanding  text for any

introductory program. ISBN 1-890607-02-6    80 pp   $10  _________

FUNDAMENTAL STUDY AND SCALEUP OF THE AIR-OXYGEN STRATIFIED DOWNDRAFT
GASIFIER: T. Reed, M. Graboski and B. Levie (SERI 1988). In 1980 the Solar

Energy Research Institute initiated a program to develop an oxygen
gasifier
to make methanol from biomass.  A novel air/oxygen low tar gasifier was
designed and studied for five years at SERI at 1 ton/d and for 4 years at
Syn-Gas Inc. in a 25 ton/day gasifier.  This book describes the theory and

operation of the two gasifiers in detail and also discusses the principles

and application of gasification as learned over eight years by the
author-gasifier team.
ISBN 1-890607-03-7      290 pp  $30  ________


CONTAMINANT TESTING FOR GASIFIER ENGINE SYSTEMS: A. Das (TIPI 1989).
Test
that gas for tar!  Long engine life and reliable operation requires a gas
with less than 30 mg of tar and particulates per cubic meter (30 ppm).
The
simplified test methods described here are adapted from standard ASTM and
EPA
test procedures for sampling and analyzing char, tar and ash in the gas.
Suitable for raw and cleaned gas.  New edition & figures, 1999.  ISBN
1-890607-04-5     32 pp $10  _________

TREE CROPS FOR ENERGY CO-PRODUCTION ON FARMS:  Tom Milne (SERI 1980)
Evaluation of the energy potential to grow trees for energy.  ISBN
1-890607-05-3   260 pp  $30  _________

WOOD GAS GENERATORS FOR VEHICLES: Nils Nygards (1973). Translation of
recent
results of Swedish Agricultural Testing Institute. ISBN 1-890607-08-8
50
pp. $4_________

CONSTRUCTION OF A SIMPLIFIED WOOD GAS GENERATOR:  H. LaFontaine (1989) -
Over
25 drawings and photographs on building a gasifier for fueling IC engines
in
a Petroleum Emergency (FEMA RR28). ISBN 1-890607-11-8    68 pp
$15________

BIOMASS TO METHANOL SPECIALISTS' WORKSHOP: Ed. T. Reed and M. Graboski,
1982.
 Expert articles on conversion of biomass to methanol.     ISBN
1-890607-10-X
    331 pp  $30_________

THE PEGASUS UNIT: THE LOST ART OF DRIVING WITHOUT GASOLINE:  N. Skov and
M.
Papworth, (1974).  Description and beautiful detailed drawings of various
gasifiers and systems from World War II.
ISBN 1-890607-09-6   80 pp  $20________

GASIFICATION OF RICE HULLS: THEORY AND PRAXIS: A. Kaupp. (Veiweg, 1984)
Applies gasification to rice hulls, since rice hulls are potentially a
major
energy source - yet have unique problems in gasification.   ISBN
1-890607-07-X    303 pp $30_________

TREES:  by Jean Giono, 1953. While we strongly support using biomass for
energy, we are also very concerned about forest destruction.  This
delightful
 story says more than any sermon on the benefits and methods of
reforestation. ISBN 1-89060712-6        8 pp    $1_________

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>


In a message dated 3/28/00 11:51:37 PM Mountain Standard Time,
rlepur AT greatwestdev.com writes:

<<
 Hello,

 I was given you as a contact by Mr. Kinoshita from the University of
Hawaii
gasification department.  I am hoping that you may be able to provide me
with
information on the "gasification" process and on companies that are doing
research on gasification.  I would be thankful for a reply.


 Radoslav Lepur
  >>
The Gasification List is sponsored by
USDOE BioPower Program http://www.eren.doe.gov/biopower/
and PRM Energy Systems http://www.prmenergy.com
Other Sponsors, Archives and Information
http://www.crest.org/renewables/gasification-list-archive
http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/gasref.shtml
http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/
http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/carbon.shtml




THE GAS PRODUCER - SCIENCE AND CONSTRUCTION

The gas producer should operate on any solid fuel. We have even tried
using old tyre treads and dry sugar cane. We are
told that cattle dung will work. We have used charcoal but not used coal.
No doubt it would provide more KM's per
tonne than wood.

Just as you would choose the best burning wood for your fireplace or slow
combustion heater, you naturally choose the
best available wood for the firebox. A fill of pine offcuts would only
make 40% of the KM as a fill of yellow box or
redgum. We reckoned on about 2,000 km per tonne of wood (2km/kg). This
should be improved by the addition of
steam to an expected 2,500-3,000 km per tonne. The amount of water used is
about the same as the gallonage of petrol
that would be consumed.

WASTE WOOD PLENTIFUL OUTBACK

Dry firewood was our fuel. We rarely cut down any dry standing wood except
a few 'snappy gum' sticks north of Alice
Springs, We mostly just beat the white ants to use dry sticks on the
roadside. We drove a small tungsten blade
sawbench off the engine and mounted on the edge of the front bumper bar.
Within three minutes of stopping we could be
sawing wood. We tried various lengths but found about 8" long was best. We
stored the wood in the trailer behind the
firebox with a well insulated gap to prevent the load catching fire. It
can easily occur in 40 degrees C heat.

GOOD EUCALYPT FAVOURED.

We favoured using eucalypt firewood because of its low tar content but
often had no alternative but to use acacia
(mulga, wattles and gidgee). It is essential to have a firebox temperature
exceeding 1000 degree C to ensure the
complete combustion of the tar and resin vapours. Gidgee is so full of
tar. It is very ant resistant; fence posts have
exceeded 100 years life. It gave us the longest run of all on a fill - 220
km between Camooweal and Tennant Creek.

Although we are told that five different chemical reactions take place in
the gas producer the most common one is the
simple reduction of steam by hot carbon. C + H2O -> Co + H2. The hydrogen
(H2) is the sought after ingredient with
Co (carbon monoxide) the biproduct, a sluggish fuel with little power. On
Co alone 60 km/hr speed was about our
maximum average. When we later added steam we readily attained 80-90
km/hr, even within two minutes of lighting up.

There is not such a thing as dry wood in nature. It never gets below about
8% water with dew replenishment at night so
we obtained a certain amount of steam from any wood used.

The equation used to produce hydrogen uses heat whereas the burning of
hydrogen gives out heat. The more heat
conserved means the more hydrogen. Hot carbon has a great affinity for
oxygen. Air being 4/5 nitrogen dilutes the end
product gas whereas the steam produces the hydrogen.

HYDROGEN THE GOAL.

To get optimum amount of hydrogen means to introduce the optimum amount of
steam at a given temperature. This
inevitably means at times a little more steam than necessary which
condenses in the resulting gas as moisture and makes it
almost impossible to operate a dry filtering system. My personal finding
is that a wet filtering system is the answer. It is of
paramount importance that a 100% clean gas be delivered to the engine.

>From this you will see that we need to aim at the highest temperature
possible to make the gas and the lowest
temperature possible to deliver it to the engine. Every 30 degrees C the
gas is cooled it occupies 10% less volume. The
cooler the gas the richer it is with more energy per litre.

EXTRA HEAT MEANS EXTRA HYDROGEN.

To get the maximum heat we must eliminate all possible heat escape. The
first way is to use a heat exchanger to
superheat all incoming steam and air. Secondly we have means today to
totally insulate the hopper. Relatively cheap
insulation materials are available today which were not around in World
War 2. In the war years nearly all units ran on
charcoal and I believe there was very little experience with wood. (Good
charcoal is pure carbon, totally free of tar,
resin and ash). Materials were very scarce and improvising was done. At
this stage we have yet to prove that enough
extra performance is obtained to warrant the extra cost of using stainless
steel to insulate the hopper.

CHOOSE PLENTY OF RESERVE ENGINE POWER

If you are choosing a vehicle aim for one with plenty of engine reserve
power. Six cylinder is ideal although with a good
gas many four cylinder cars should be OK (2 litre plus). Something ten
years old or over is much easier to fit things
under the bonnet.

In wartime the old cars had heavy chassis and often units were suspended
from the back. Some had single swivel wheel
trailers. I feel that for a car the best option is a 6'x4' box trailer as
it also provides room for wood storage. We used to
carry enough wood for 1000 km. A trailer can easily be unhooked to change
to another vehicle, say a traytop truck or
ute.

A TRAILER FAVOURED

It is very desirable to have the hopper and burner well behind the
vehicle. Besides being a distance from the petrol tank
you are less likely to get tar splash on the duco of your vehicle. It is
difficult to avoid some tar splash when opening the
lid to attend the fire. One must carefully watch if possible to park with
the right wind direction. My next construction will
involve a quick operating canvas blind to cover the rear of the vehicle.
We spent many hours trying to rub off tar marks
and found that the only real success came from using paint remover. A
trailer drawn behind also lessens the number of
ants and beetles entering the driver's cab from the wood.

VEHICLE MODIFICATION QUITE SIMPLE.

Modifications to the car are quite simple - quite the least of your
problems. The gas has a long explosion and so the
spark must be advanced a few degrees. A longer hold down stud for the
distributor is used with a tight spring to enable a
swivel to advance the spark. An arm is brased to a utilux clamp around the
distributor. A thin rod is pivotted to the arm
extending into the dash where a manual spark control is installed. It can
be adjusted by feel of horsepower and then two
settings established for gas and petrol.

A 50 mm exhaust tube must be brought from the back towbar underneath and
up to the carby. A boxed in channel
(about 2 cm thick) with a hole both sides to fit the carby flange is
bolted under the carby to provide an extension about
20 cm out from the carby. The gas is brought into the end of this and an
air inlet into the side. Both the gas and air are
controlled by butterfly valves. The gas butterfly is connected to a second
accelerator pedal and the air butterfly to a hand
operated lever on the dash. Except for changing gears, the gas pedal is
usually fully depressed and is also fixed so that
the engine idles fairly fast (say over 1200 RPM). This enables sufficient
engine vacuum to keep the gas flowing whilst
pausing at traffic lights. The fuel mixture is regulated by the manual
lever on the dash, using the feel of horsepower as a
guide. It soon becomes 'second nature' to close or open the air when
driving. We used a second air cleaner for this
purpose. Guages showing engine RPM and vacuum are useful to the operator.
I closed off the engine driven fuel pump
and replaced it with an electric pump so that I could switch off the
petrol on the dash as soon as the vehicle started on
gas.

START ON GAS IF POSSIBLE.

It is good to be able to start on gas with no petrol to assist. This can
be done by using a heater blower on high speed.
The gas must be drawn right up to the neck of the carby and drawn through
with the starter motor.

If one is to use gas alone certain modifications can be done such as the
angle of the valves and compression ratio. The
mixture can also be supercharged giving much more power. I believe,
however, that all the necessary power is available
through just engine vacuum and that the real challenge is to minimise
expenditure, improvising wherever possible.

Using engine vacuum to draw the gas also is an assurance against leaks of
the lethal carbon monoxide. Any leaks mean
air being drawn in instead of Co leaking out. There were enough tragedies
in World War 2 to treat this gas with much
caution.

                              THE FIREBOX AND HOPPER

There is nothing more suitable for the outside cylinder than a heavy duty
galvanised 44 gallon petrol drum. The heavy rim
makes an ideal flange for pulling apart for maintenance on the firebox. It
can easily be sealed with exhaust putty (see
diagram). The capacity of the hopper can be raised a foot or so above the
drum or the lid fitted to the top of the drum.
For long country runs it is desirable to have a larger 'fuel tank'.

The lid is best about half the diameter of the drum. Using a metal to
metal seal and a lid that 'dishes' slightly when pressed
down it also acts as a safety valve in the event of a small explosion in
the hopper. These should not occur but in the
process of learning and experimenting it happened to us a couple of times.

The inner cylinder should be of at least 16 gauge mild steel and about
2"-3" less diameter than the drum. It rises above
the height of the drum where it is attached with a flange. It is sealed at
the top with the lid at the centre. About 1/3 down
the petrol drum, the inner cylinder tapers down to a 6"-7" opening about
8" above the floor. The tapered or conical
portion is best made of stainless steel of at least about 1/8" thickness.
For ease of construction the stainless steel 'cone'
can be octagonal, being crim ped in two sections in a press. The top of
the 'octagonal cone' can be hammered into a true
circle and welded to the base of the inner cylinder. The air and steam
inlet is about a 1" hole half way down the side of
the cone. We used mild steel MIG wire to weld the stainless steel cone and
it has not shown any signs of cracking yet.
There are obviously different expansion rates between mild and stainless
steel and as the cone houses the 1000 degrees
C area we are watching and observing.

MILD STEEL WILL OXIDISE AROUND AN INLET.

We tried a mild steel firebox and found thatwhere the air entered the hole
through the red hot steel it cut open the hole
with an oxy torch cutting affect. We overcame it with a stainless steel
insert. This could be quite a satisfactory answer if
the welding does eventually crack as mild steel is probably a quarter the
price.

For the first part of the trip we had a ceramic fireclay lined fire box.
>From a temperature withstanding point of view this
would have to be the best material. Most wood contains a percentage of
silicon. In the north of Australia where white
ants are more prevalent, sand attaches to the half ant eaten sticks
increasing the silicon content more. This silicon forms
slag which adheres to the ceramic like epoxy resin. When chipped off with
a light crowbar it leaves a very rough surface.
This caused one of our major problems, namely wood jam. Sometimes a
pothole would cause a sufficient bump to break
the cavity in the firebox and a fresh surge of gas would come. We found
that a steel surface enables the wood to slide
down more effectively, provided the air and steam enter through a
stainless steel hole (see diagram). Even with a
stainless steel firebox we sometimes had a cavity develop in the charcoal.
Some of the highways in north W.A. have
nothing resembling a bump in 100 km. We have in mind a mechanical agitator
to solve the problem.

If it were not for cost I would recommend using stainless steel for the
whole interior cylinder and cone. With oxidation of
the mild steel and rust through moisture condensation when stopped one can
only expect a four year life.

STEAM GOVERNS TEMPERATURE.

If the firebox cone is allowed to get too hot (1300-1400 C) it will
distort. The automatic steam generator should govern
the temperature to 1000 C. The hotter the gas, the more steam is generated
which cools the hot carbon as it is reduced
to hydrogen. The cone is similar to that which Nazi Germany used in World
War 2.

Our hopper used to hold about two large wheelbarrow loads of wood cut to
about 8-12 inch lengths. By the time the
wood has dropped about half way down it becomes charcoal. When nearing our
destination for the day we planned to
be out of wood so as to enable an easier rake out next morning.

RAKING OUT.

When the rake out hatch is opened the mixture of charcoal (large and
fine), slag and ash is raked across a screen leaving
only the larger charcoal in the bucket. We used to recover about 2/3 of
the mixture by volume. We then closed the hatch
and returned the charcoal into the hopper. This would cover a few inches
above the steam and air inlet hole. Opposite
this opening is the lighting hole. With either the engine vacuum driving
(on petrol) or a heater fan a lighted taper is placed
in the lighting hole with the inward draft sucking the flame into the
charcoal which ignites instantly. Within about one
minute as you play the accelerator pedals and the gas/air mixture lever on
the dash the vehicle should take off on gas.
The petrol is switched off and you should reach 80 km/hr in another minute
or so. It may however take twenty starts
before you reach two minute takeoffs. There are many other factors which
require maintenance and attention. Only
experience will teach you accurate fault tracing.

Raking out when cold is best done with the vehicle parked so that the wind
blows the dust away from you. A handle
4-5ft. long will help keep you clean in this dirtiest operation of all. In
humid conditions the charcoal dust seems to embed
in the pores of the skin and take about three scrubs to clean.

                                       FILTRATION

The ash from wood contains fine silicon dust like carborundum grinding
powder. If not filtered out 100% it will convert
your sump oil to a grinding paste and bring quick disaster to the engine.
We realised only 20,000 km out of a
reconditioned Repco motor as we learned this important message.

WET FILTERING RECOMMENDED

As explained I very much favour wet filtering when chasing the optimum
hydrogen power. I can not see how any dry
filter method can cope with condensed moisture from excess steam. The wet
method simply involves a flow of say 15
gallons per minute of water through a 'shower rose' with 3/8" holes and
down through 1/2" diameter coke which is
supported on a non-ferrous mesh. The flow of water down through the coke
collects the dust from the gas as it proceeds
up. At the same time it cools the gas. The sludge collects in a sump below
the mesh (see diagram). A mechanically driven
pump then recirculates the water through a cooling system and back to the
'shower rose'.

An old tractor radiator (with 1/2" holes) would be ideal for cooling. The
drum used for the filter would best be
nonferrous and thick enough to stand the engine vacuum. If mild steel is
used sufficient thickness to allow for rust must be
considered. The sump floor would best slope towards the outlet plug (1
1/2"). At each end of your journey just undo the
plug and rake out the sludge as well and leave stand overnight and return
most of the water. This is a very clean way of
filtering as compared with the dry methods.

One possible disadvantage is that the gas becomes saturated with moisture.
This can be overcome by passing the gas
through a large inverted car radiator to cool the gas further and condense
the moisture which returns to the filter. This
radiator should ideally be located above the trailer to catch the breeze
as well as being augmented with a 12v. fan.
Eliminating moisture at this point also prevents water build up in low
spots in the exhaust tubing to the carby.

MECHANICALLY DRIVEN PUMP FAVOURED

We tried a 12v. marine submersible bilge pump for circulating the filter.
It only put out about half the flow the
manufacturers stated and I am a little suspect of these motors when
subject to runs of say 6-8 hours continuously. I
favour something mechanical. I once saw a trailer with an old diff and a
pump driven from the spline. Unfortunately this
would not allow filtering whilst stationary. Look around for a suitable
12v. motor say 1/4-1/3 hp and a pump which
would match the revs with direct coupling. Otherwise use a vee belt drive.
If a gas producer was mounted on a ute or a
traytop truck then a pump could be mechanically driven from the engine.

The lid of the filter must be flanged with a soft gasket as a seal. There
must be a valve on the lid also for topping up the
water level and another tap to check the sump level. It is possible that
the recondensed steam will maintain the sump
level without addition. The wet filter should trap 100% of the dust and
even small amounts of tar vapour. If the gas is
well cooled and dried to deliver to the engine I would recommend a
secondary filter like a vacuum cleaner bag principle.
Woollen blanket would be ideal material and sufficient to ensure a clean
gas. A second filter tells you how well the first
one is working. Preferably place it under the bonnet near the carby as the
gas is coolest there if not place it on the trailer
just before the flexible hose at the drawbar. With a quick clip on lid
this filter can be quickly inspected and replaced. It
would be simple to sew up half a dozen spare bags as they may block a
little with dampness.

We have tried bubbling the gas through diesel but it seemed to be too much
for the engine vacuum to handle and the
diesel finished up being atomised and passed through to the engine. An oil
bath filter like that used on the old tractors
could be a useful secondary filter if the blanket method fails through
dampness. A small amount of moisture in the gas can
actually assist engine performance.

I do not want to be dogmatic in ruling out dry filtering but slightly too
much steam or being caught with wet wood does
present problems.

                                THE STEAM GENERATOR

As the hot gas (600 degrees C) leaves the top of the hopper through a 2"
exhaust tube through the top of the hopper it
passes down through a vertical jacket made out of the next largest size
(see diagram). At the base of the jacket is 2-3" of
water, the level being adjusted by raising or lowering an enclosed trough
with a ball valve fed from a reserve at a higher
level. The trough and jacket are connected by a length of 1/2" water hose.
At the base of the jacket there is also an easy
release flange (1 1/2" diam.) so as to clean out any solids from the
jacket if brackish water is used. The hotter the gas,
the more steam produced. By trial and error one can discover the optimum
water level. As mentioned this acts as a
temperature governor for the firebox (1000 degrees C). With outback travel
a water storage of at least 20 gallons would
be desirable. Heavy things are best carried at low levels. Some varieties
of 12v. fuel pumps can handle water and pump
it to the ball valve.

The steam jacket and the 2" line to the firebox inlet would best be
insulated. Every degree of heat loss means less
hydrogen.

For the small extra cost involved it would be advisable to use stainless
steel exhaust tubing to avoid rust in the steam
generator.

                    COOLING THE GAS AND DELIVERY

After the cooling of the gas through the steam generator it is desirable
to cool it again as much as possible before entering
the wet filter. This can effectively be done by making the walls around
the firewood storage (on the trailer behind the
hopper) say 18" high by 1 1/2 wide. Air fins could be welded into the
sides to further assist in heat loss. Also the
reduced velocity of the gas would settle a deal of dust which could be
blown out periodically with an air hose. The whole
structure also has the advantage of drying out wet wood.

The gas system being drawn through engine vacuum must be well sealed at
all joints. Any leaks draw air in making a
potential explosion mixture. The position of the air mixture lever on the
dash will indicate a major air leak.



LOG ON EVENTS OF TRIP.

1.Left Canberra 14/2/87 Travelled via Dubbo, Tamworth, Inverell,
Goondiwindi. Set out with ceramic lined firebax.
2.0ver 300 km in a day from Goondiwindi to Roma,Qld. Completed over 1000
km on single stockup of ironbark from
Wee Waa (NSW).
3.Removed head at Bowen (May). Valves excellent, head clean but some
gumming of oil rings. Experimented with air
scoop - no improvement. Tried bubbling gas through water which evaporated
very quickly.
4.Dry wood very scarce near Innisfail. Used sugar cane spill.
5.Hughenden (June). A chronic problem of rsood jam due to slag build up on
ceramic firebox from grit due to white
ants. Had to stop every 10 km and break jams with light crowbar. Decided
to break up ceramic lining and try with 1/8"
guage' stainless steel cane only.
6.Performance now excellent - little wood jam.
7.Broke conrod at Camooweal,Qld (July). Replaced 200 Ford motor with 250
(4.1 Litre).Excellent speeds, some
stretches averaged 70 km/hr.
8.Completed 1000 km in two days (Camooweal to Alice Springs).
9.Installed saw bench on front bumper bar at Alice Springs.
10.Tried bubbling gas through sump oil and over sump oil but no
improvement.
11.Firebox failure at Darwin (Sept). Weld on stainless steel had cracked
open. Remade firebox with 3/16" mild steel.
Also added cooling system on trailer, installed torque converter fan.
12.Removed head at Katherine. Valves still good.
13.Firebox trouble - rebuilt at Halls Creek (Oct.).Hexagonal in 3/8" mild
steel. Air passing through red hot mild steel cut
like an oxy torch burn- ing out steel cone.
14.Continued down W.A. coast with moderate performance but burning out
problem was not solved.

15.Flanged wood hopper at South Hedland (Nov). Repaired firebox. Flanging
meant firebox can be out in 20 minutes
for repairs.
16.Repaired firebox at Geraldton ,WA.
17.Perth. (Dec). New design of firebox.
18.Repairs at Albany.
19.Repaired firebox at Kalgoorlie.
20.Adelaide early Feb.88. New firebox did give as good a burn as the
original one.often had to clean plugs (possibly
needed tune up),
21.Rebuilt to original design a firebox at Mildura,Vic.,with stainless
steel inserts to overcome oxy torch cutting effect in
mild steel. Satisfied this is the best design.
22.Mildura - Canberra (900 km) in two days with little wood jam problem or
plugs carbonning up, which was excellent
as the vehicle was bad'ly in need of an electrical tune up. Arrived
Canberra 13/2/88.

                                 FAULT TRACING

LACK OF ENGINE POWER
1.Low in wood - pull'up and refill.
2.Air mixture lever needs adjusting.
3.Cavity due to wood jam - drive over bump on roadside or else raise the
lid and break with a light crowbar.
4.Cavity in charcoal same as for no.3.
5.Blocked filter put in a cleaner secondary filter bag (under bonnet?).
The wet filter system cannot block if cleaned daily.
6.Air leaks pressurise hopper with 12v. blower and smoke will reveal
leaks. Fix with sealant e.g. exhaust putty at very
hot areas or else selastic. Check that lid is properly sealed.
7.Condensed water vapour in 50mm tubing going to carby. Check low spots.
Undo joints and empty. It is good to have
plenty of radiator hose joints with clamps for easy cleaning of tubes.
8.Excess steam cooling fire box too much - adjust water level in steam
generator.
9.Lack of steam and thus lack of hydrogen - adjust steam generator and
check water level in storage tank.
10.Hole in firebox by elimination when all above have been checked loot
for more drastic problems such as this. When
fire box is cold reach in the rake out hatch and feel for any burn holes
in the steel. Look down from the top lid as well.
11.Wet wood. Empty hopper and replace with dry wood. Pack wet wood in
trailer behind fire box to dry out.
12.Clean spark plugs. Check coil and distributor points.
13.Clean air cleaner.

                             EXTRA POINTS TO CONSIDER

Inexpensive guages could be added to your dash such an old fuel guages to
indicate water levels on water filter and
storage tank.

A vacuum guage before and after the second filter could also be helpful.
If a temperature guage from a pottery furnace
could be fitted to show the firebox temperature (on the gas outlet) it
would be a helpful early warning device.

IGNITION

Any improvement in ignition is worth the trouble. The electronic systems
of the 80's give more reliable spark and do not
require the maintenance for peak efficiency.

INLET AND EXHAUST MANIFOLDSAnything that improves efficiency such as
extractors for petrol motors would
also improve it for producer gas.

OIL FILTERING

Although we emphasised the need for 100% effective gas filtering it is a
good safeguard to have the added insurance in
oil filtering. The 'toilet roll' bipass filters such as the 'Franz' could
be worth the expense.

UPPER CYLINDER LUBRICATION

Kits are now available for lubricating the upper cylinder. I understand
that they retail for about $40 and have proved
satisfactory in overcoming head wear in engines run on LP gas. These kits
should overcome for producer gas also which
is dry like LPG.



DIAGRAM 1



DIAGRAM 2



DIAGRAM 3



DIAGRAM 4



                              This page has been visited  times.


html by Hans Hochwald


>
> . Biogas is
> a possibility, but I think a troublesome one. And woodgas?
>
> In fact we don't aim to make all our own fuel, we're hoping to get
> supplies of biodiesel and ethanol as well (and bio-oils), from
> sponsors. But we think the more options we have the better - I'm sure
> we'll often have to take whatever we can get, and be glad of it. I
> don't even know how woodgas works, really, apart from the theory: is
> a vehicle with a woodgas generator able to switch easily between
> woodgas and gasoline or ethanol?
>
> Tvo, is there any reason why you shouldn't be able to sell woodgas
> generators now?

Tvoivozhd---two good ones, too damned old and the market is too thin---at
least until oil goes to a hundred dollars a barrel.

> Maybe woodgas is simply not feasible, I just don't know, but if it
> is, and if you'd be interested in working with us on this, or
> exploring it a bit further at least, we'd be very thrilled about that.

Tvoivozhd---the Gas-L list gurus, Tom Reed, Peter Singfeldt et. all would
do much better.  Take my word for it, for the ultimate in simplicity and
free fuel available almost everywhere, it is tough to beat woodgas.  A
pain in the butt to clean the woodgas filters daily, though it is
something anyone would put up with if the gasoline stations had no
gasoline to sell.

>
>

> Best wishes
>
> Keith Addison
> Handmade Projects
> Journey to Forever
> http://journeytoforever.org/