In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Gasification Vehicle?

Discussion in 'OWB's and Gasification Boilers' started by XXL, Apr 30, 2017.

  1. XXL

    XXL

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    A co-worker spotted this pickup last week in northern Ontario and couldn't figure out what was going on. I have only seen the photos. Could this be a wood fired gasification system?

    [​IMG]
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  2. fuelrod

    fuelrod

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    Either that or a still disguised as a pick up. :D
     
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  3. HDRock

    HDRock

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    I bet it is , sure looks like it, notice the blower
     
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  4. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    I saw one of these on a show, cant remember the name of it but two guys picked a way to earn by doing milling the old way and a small truck was outfitted with a simple barrel and that was hooked up to the carb through the side of the truck and ran on just simple bark and scraps outside. Cant argue with free can ya?
     
  5. milleo

    milleo

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    wonder how many miles per cord he gets...:)
     
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  6. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    Me too. I mean how much of this world could benefit from a sustainable resource? Burn oak in a car. Nobody wants to load it all but it is a feasible representation that folks would load wood into a car to fuel it. Fuel for end times. I also wonder if the conversion still brings similar power as gas.
     
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  7. yooperdave

    yooperdave

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    [​IMG]

    Kinda the same thing! :rofl: :lol:
     
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  8. XXL

    XXL

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    That gases the driver, not the vehicle :drunk:;)
     
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  9. NortheastAl

    NortheastAl

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    Mountain Men on the History channel.
     
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  10. HDRock

    HDRock

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    :yes:
     
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  11. NortheastAl

    NortheastAl

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    Did you hear that Preston died?
     
  12. HDRock

    HDRock

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    No o_O
    Looked it up, Cancer bum deal
     
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  13. NortheastAl

    NortheastAl

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    I know. Eustace raised over $83,000 so far on go fund me for his family.
     
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  14. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    damm those two worked really well together, managed to stick it out and handled it.
     
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  15. chris

    chris

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    You can still get the us Govt. publication on gasification that was printed during WWII, its dated but the principals haven't changed. Bunch of U tube vids on this as well as other info. Wood gas much lower power factor than dino fuel- Don't know if it is possible to run it through injector systems on newer vehicles. I do know that you need a pretty decent method of filtering it before introducing it to an engine. There is a company up Alaska way that whole systems including storage.
     
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  16. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    Seems like this could be used to run more sedentary systems. Like anything from a splitter or a generator for the use of it maintaining what looks to be a a "large" system for production.
     
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  17. chris

    chris

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    low pressure makes for large containment vessels
     
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  18. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    The production of wood alcohol sounds feasible, They allow you to produce 10,000 proof gallons a year by your own with a standard permit. By this standard you can have some 5,000 gallons of premium fuel and that's more than enough to run my car all year times 5 if I factored filling up every week. Seems feasible but best if If you have the space and the large capacities. Where I live, this wouldnt likely hold well unless I lived out in the boonies. Still worth looking at for small amounts: 20 gallons seems fair.
     
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  19. chris

    chris

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    Fat boy - the low pressure is refering to wood gas not ethanol , different systems. easy enough and relatively cheap the build a still for alcohol. premix or injection for automotive use, won't replace gas completely but can reduce you pump cost . either way it is going to drive the computer crazy- Non computerized units is where this will work the best. many have messed with the bio diesel. the new regs and the computers really make it a pia. I am not a fan of of the tier 3 and 4 systems. both will work against ya in a home brew fuel attempt. likely take some 20 or more years before the bugs are worked out same progression as gas engines went through. biggest problem with any of this gas or diesel is the proprietary bull roar of the manufactures (ref. GM civil suit about computer program in automotive units and John Dear in their ag. equipment. ) in my humble thought process this should all be open source.
     
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  20. BDF

    BDF

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    I just saw this thread, and might have a comment or two to add.

    The fuel is actually low yield gas, essentially the combustibles in smoke from a fire that is not allowed enough oxygen to actually burn. The wood pyrolyses, the combustion products are siphoned off and fed to the engine, usually before the carburator. On the one hand, it is amazing that it works at all, never mind not too terribly badly. On the other hand, the gas is corrosive, and the solids in the woodsmoke will absolutely destroy and engine if not filtered out, and that is not easy or cheap to do. In the end, if or when there is no other fuel and yet there are vehicles, such as occupied Europe in WWII, then it is workable but otherwise, not worth the effort IMO.

    On the other hand, large scale gassification (think power plant) works really well and will consume almost anything that will burn, from sawdust all the way to wood and coal as well as the debris from both. The underlying problem with all these systems is that we still have a lot of fossil fuel and it is still very inexpensive; we like to think it is expensive when we buy it but really, it is cheap, plentiful and wonderful as a fuel.

    But all the way back to wood / charcoal powered vehicles: they are a fantastic novelty, just like steam powered cars. Beyond the practicality, they are simply cool. Wood gas does have a little danger to it because now and again it will ignite before it is in the engine but generally this only results in relatively minor damage to the pyrolysing vessel. Also, it is almost impossible to actually start an I/C engine on wood gas so they are started using gasoline then 'switched' over once running and a bit warm. Throttling is also a problem because the amount of gas generated is not instantly changeable or readily controllable as gasoline or diesel fuel is. But like a Stanley Steemer, it has an extremely high 'coolocity' factor. :)

    Brian
     
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