Thanks Jerry mine was a down draft gasifier. The size depends on the size of engine to use. RUclipsr Flash001USA has great videos and I believe specific drawings on a website that he gives out freely. Lots of great info on the web. As far as I know most work just fine 👍
The configuration I’m gonna use has the grate nearer to the heat affected burn zone . I’m hoping it will help have a more complete burn. 4” -5” from jets to the grate . We shall see.
me too.. been researching a long time and haven't gotten back to it yet.. but this is re-inspiring! i have a pile of materials.. now i just need time... unfortunately it burns faster than wood.. :)
just read all the comments and i like your idea on grate design, i have made mine with a small 1/2 lip and it seems ok does get a little cranky at times,, i might even pull it out and cut the lip off come to think of it,,,,,, the main thing i found is since i run a 5 nozzle set-up and have the burner tubes running down the inside of the gasifier wall then popping into the reduction zone,,and hence getting preheated air ,,,,the size of my bio-char is very small,, half the size of a cigarette butt so i would say the temp in the reaction zone will melt steel and i know this because inside the hopper i run a coiled agitator for the fuel and it protrudes past the nozzles into the reduction zone and after the last run it was 2 inches shorter at the end,, now that tells me i would be getting well over iron forging temps down there so pre-heated air is a must for cracking tar.
sorry didn't get back to you man but you are absolutely right about heating the air first I got the idea from here (kaspar.rammo.net/puugaas/gekveeb/gasification/gek/index.html) I wouldn't doubt it can melt metal lol, some of the guys said to me too you shouldn't get rid of the lip but I tried it and it worked better for me, I didn't shake the grate that much most people were worried about the wood falling right out, but in my case I needed it because of it sometimes being plugged up all the time. let me know how it works out for you man, I noticed too that elevation can be a factor as well were I am there is less air at 4000 ft then at sea level so I used a little bigger bell and I needed to have a greater flow of air not by much also with the nozzles its great that you can control it like in your design. Have a great new year friend.
I'll probably try this myself. I was aware of the issue you described but part of my logic was the charcoals (biochar) building up in the grate would help keep any sudden ember bed collapse issues (major foops) with the ember bed in the hearth. I was seeing that issue with some of my earlier builds even with the old grate that you replaced but that was due to the inverted bell spreading out too much. You're onto something no doubt. This is where I wanted the original build to go because I knew others would find weaknesses in the build and construct a better mousetrap.
+flash001USA Mike your absolutely right man this is what I was worried about too. with the flat spread grate I just barely have to move it around to make a difference, if I did to much there would be a collapse issue. couple of little taps did the trick. I found if I got too much air going through the hearth Id get the foops. I tested different types of air inlet sizes to see and yours was the best. More air gave me foops, too small tar issues. lol gasifiers are so finicky sons of a guns.
+Josefppaz My thought is a compromise between what you have done and the standard setup. I'm thinking of a setup with a 1/2 or even a 3/4 lip to hold the biochar in place but open enough to allow it to displace a bit more easily. What do you think of that idea?
+flash001USA Mike I have seen guys use the flat grate even on there trucks. I thought also how the heck does it not allow that amber bed to completely fall out. Even with mine I was very carful not to shake the grate drastically. So when the trucks driving how does this work. Then of course its all about wood size. More smaller wood means don't go crazy on that grate. But the guys who drive with wood have big chunks which go through a 5 inch bell to a flat grate and even with the vibration with the road no problems with collapse issue. Its all very interesting how it works. I was told flat was best, but this was for big chunks. I just wanted to see if it worked on my little pieces of wood. The 1/2 or 3/4 lip try her out man I am curious too. Even Steve said a good point lip or no lip where the space between the bell and the grate from 1/2 to 2 inches can create collapse issues. lol all these factors eh. Its nice to hear from you bud without your videos I don't think I would have done this. Mike even though you may not know me to well I heard about your wifes passing and I am very sorry for your loss. I am getting married next April. My lady has some problems with hyperthyroid, I thought maybe I would use that vitamin c that you used to help her out.
its nice it might just waste a little bit of good still-burning char as it may be sucked out the now open sides of your fire grate before they have been fully burned, this may cause filters/water traps to fill more quickly and add more particulate to your gass output
It looks like you've clocked some hours on that gasifier. I would say the larger chunks of fuel really slowed down the flow through the hearth when they got to the grate. I would love to know more about your experience with the gas from the gasifier. Did you generate power with it? What size is your generator? how many hour runs did you do? how was the filter cleaning process? What would you improve on when you build your next gasifier? Thanks for taking the time to share your results, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with next. Joe
+mazdalorean You bet buddy lots of changes happening in my world, getting married and moving to a new place next year, lol so I have to save the money for that. This machine I learned a lot, so the next one I would like to make things a little more smaller. Sadly I didn't use the machine to power a generator, only that 5 1/5 hp engine which ran great. There is no doubt that the wet scrubber is the way to go for filtering on the next build. Cheep to make and less hassle to clean, its almost as easy as changing the oil out of your car. Again with the hours I had on this thing I could see how the filter does its job as the water changes color. I personally like the smaller wood chunks, it burns fasters but I find it moves through the system easier. I don't mind the wood pellets but as soon as they get any moisture they turn to sawdust and clog up the hearth which is a pain in the ass, followed by tar. One big change I would like to do is heating the air before it gets to the ambers like what all power labs did with there gek design, I guess they got a lot less tar issues due to air getting pre heated before it would hit the reactor. hope all is good buddy.
mazdalorean wow has it been three years already time flys fast Joe I haven’t done much of anything my friend lately it’s been work and more work but I have posted one of my new projects that pulse jet engine hahaha and still haven’t run that thing yet. Well last time I talked with you well now I’m married moved into a town house and have a little machine shop in the garage but no new gasification projects yet :( hope is all well with you guys for some reason this is the only way to message you back man. Anyways take care Joe
Ahhh, that's grate. Oops, sorry, couldn't resist ;). I guess each gasifier has different needs and characteristics where the grate and hearth are concerned. On mine, the grate is very deep indeed. It is about 9 inches deep. The result is that the charcoal comes out more like fine dust, or coffee grounds. No gasifier is perfect, but we can get a long way towards perfection by experimenting as you have done here. Just wondering, if you were to lower your bowl grate an extra inch or two, so that the charcoal would fill it up and then overflow the edges, would this create the same effect as you have achieved with your new plate grate?
+CNCmachiningisfun lol grate knowledge man. I noticed your grate was flat too, but I honestly didn't think of lowering the bowl to overflow the edges. sunofagun I will have to try this on my next build. buddy I don't have the machine anymore, there are lots of changes coming up for me. (marriage new place to live), so it will be a little while before I make my next machine. I learned a lot and was lots of fun. This thing was big and bulky so in the future I want to make something easy to follow for other people to learn and a bit smaller. I told some other guys I am interested in that all power labs gek design. I really like how they heat up the air before it gets to the ambers. Looks like they got far less tar this way. Canada no more pennies so I have to save some 5cents and slowly build the next one my friend.
+Josefppaz It's grate to know that you are experimenting with new ideas. On mine, the grates are either bowls or sauce pans, as I like the idea of having a ridiculously deep and circuitous charcoal gas path. Congrats on you new life directions. Such wonderful life changing events will surely allow you to resist the intoxicating effects of the woodgas bug venom for a while. Try not to bite your new wife, as she may also become a woodgas addict, especially during a full moon ;) . Yes, I like the GEK design too. It features the results that come from lots of learning and experimentation while under the influence of a serious woodgas addiction. For some of our gasifier builds, the GEK's method of air pre-heating may be overly difficult to implement, but I am thinking that we can use engine exhaust heat as a way to preheat the incoming air instead. There is a lot of waste heat to be had right there, so why not put it to use :) . Long may your addiction continue, and long may smiles and happiness be yours to share with friends and family.
+CNCmachiningisfun Thanks a bunch Steve. lol as I was saying to Dan maybe the new wife and I have a honey moon out were you are..... But then again I might get in trouble filling my brain with gasifiers and beer and not enough honey moon thoughts and romance..... But then again? there is romance in wood gasification, there is always chemistry going on there ha ha ha ha. Thanks again for the kind words my friend.
Hmmm thinks compromise.. equal ..use a 1/4 inch lip on edge .. idea is to burn all and burn it hot ! ...im got a 55 gal charcoal maker.. I don't need the xtras u got in wood gas maker/ I want more wood gas and better :>) - thinking on the heatsink- make it taller and able dry wood out more (prep wood ) before burn it!
Silly question time. When you are cleaning out your char, is it pure char or more ash? I ask as I would like to be able to use the charcoal for other applications. Love the videos. Good job.
Kai Casson I’d say a little of both bud. When it’s ash means it’s usually all burnt up with the use of oxygen. The char is there aswell mostly pure carbon like cooking the wood in a very low oxygen environment. When this thing is working you get a little of both. Most of the ash is more of a white texture and the char is black. Hope this helps
Hi, it could be that the problems are caused by the uniformity of your fuel. In flash001usa , is fuel is much more uniform than yours. You have a lot of little pieces even look like sawdust That could be you issue with the bridging
Larry about 2500.00 in that ball park bud. using new material the oil drum new was about 200 dollars you can make it a lot more less expensive, and smaller it was a great learning experience. Parts used in Canada place called princess auto, in the USA I think its like Harbor freight hope this helps
Matthew Lanning no man this was just a proof of concept I’m just one of those guys who builds something to see if it works and if I can make it better awesome. It was a great learning experience so if there ever was a time of no electricity I’m happy I have the knowledge. Steve on CNC machine is fun on you tube uses this for his place and flash001USA I think is the same just wants to see if this stuff actually works
Nice work. I’m not at that point yet in the build and I’m looking for the details of what works and what doesn’t. Thanks.
Thanks Jerry mine was a down draft gasifier. The size depends on the size of engine to use. RUclipsr Flash001USA has great videos and I believe specific drawings on a website that he gives out freely. Lots of great info on the web. As far as I know most work just fine 👍
The configuration I’m gonna use has the grate nearer to the heat affected burn zone . I’m hoping it will help have a more complete burn. 4” -5” from jets to the grate . We shall see.
Very nice. I love how you reuse the solid charcoal for restarting the machine. Im so anxious to start building my own system.
Dave Maxwell thanks man
me too.. been researching a long time and haven't gotten back to it yet.. but this is re-inspiring! i have a pile of materials.. now i just need time... unfortunately it burns faster than wood.. :)
New subscriber from🇵🇭👍
Thanks Allan
just read all the comments and i like your idea on grate design, i have made mine with a small 1/2 lip and it seems ok does get a little cranky at times,, i might even pull it out and cut the lip off come to think of it,,,,,, the main thing i found is since i run a 5 nozzle set-up and have the burner tubes running down the inside of the gasifier wall then popping into the reduction zone,,and hence getting preheated air ,,,,the size of my bio-char is very small,, half the size of a cigarette butt so i would say the temp in the reaction zone will melt steel and i know this because inside the hopper i run a coiled agitator for the fuel and it protrudes past the nozzles into the reduction zone and after the last run it was 2 inches shorter at the end,, now that tells me i would be getting well over iron forging temps down there so pre-heated air is a must for cracking tar.
sorry didn't get back to you man but you are absolutely right about heating the air first I got the idea from here (kaspar.rammo.net/puugaas/gekveeb/gasification/gek/index.html) I wouldn't doubt it can melt metal lol, some of the guys said to me too you shouldn't get rid of the lip but I tried it and it worked better for me, I didn't shake the grate that much most people were worried about the wood falling right out, but in my case I needed it because of it sometimes being plugged up all the time. let me know how it works out for you man, I noticed too that elevation can be a factor as well were I am there is less air at 4000 ft then at sea level so I used a little bigger bell and I needed to have a greater flow of air not by much also with the nozzles its great that you can control it like in your design. Have a great new year friend.
I'll probably try this myself. I was aware of the issue you described but part of my logic was the charcoals (biochar) building up in the grate would help keep any sudden ember bed collapse issues (major foops) with the ember bed in the hearth. I was seeing that issue with some of my earlier builds even with the old grate that you replaced but that was due to the inverted bell spreading out too much. You're onto something no doubt. This is where I wanted the original build to go because I knew others would find weaknesses in the build and construct a better mousetrap.
+flash001USA Mike your absolutely right man this is what I was worried about too. with the flat spread grate I just barely have to move it around to make a difference, if I did to much there would be a collapse issue. couple of little taps did the trick. I found if I got too much air going through the hearth Id get the foops. I tested different types of air inlet sizes to see and yours was the best. More air gave me foops, too small tar issues. lol gasifiers are so finicky sons of a guns.
+Josefppaz My thought is a compromise between what you have done and the standard setup. I'm thinking of a setup with a 1/2 or even a 3/4 lip to hold the biochar in place but open enough to allow it to displace a bit more easily. What do you think of that idea?
+flash001USA Mike I have seen guys use the flat grate even on there trucks. I thought also how the heck does it not allow that amber bed to completely fall out. Even with mine I was very carful not to shake the grate drastically. So when the trucks driving how does this work. Then of course its all about wood size. More smaller wood means don't go crazy on that grate. But the guys who drive with wood have big chunks which go through a 5 inch bell to a flat grate and even with the vibration with the road no problems with collapse issue. Its all very interesting how it works. I was told flat was best, but this was for big chunks. I just wanted to see if it worked on my little pieces of wood. The 1/2 or 3/4 lip try her out man I am curious too. Even Steve said a good point lip or no lip where the space between the bell and the grate from 1/2 to 2 inches can create collapse issues. lol all these factors eh. Its nice to hear from you bud without your videos I don't think I would have done this. Mike even though you may not know me to well I heard about your wifes passing and I am very sorry for your loss. I am getting married next April. My lady has some problems with hyperthyroid, I thought maybe I would use that vitamin c that you used to help her out.
its nice it might just waste a little bit of good still-burning char as it may be sucked out the now open sides of your fire grate before they have been fully burned, this may cause filters/water traps to fill more quickly and add more particulate to your gass output
It looks like you've clocked some hours on that gasifier. I would say the larger chunks of fuel really slowed down the flow through the hearth when they got to the grate. I would love to know more about your experience with the gas from the gasifier. Did you generate power with it? What size is your generator? how many hour runs did you do? how was the filter cleaning process? What would you improve on when you build your next gasifier? Thanks for taking the time to share your results, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with next. Joe
+mazdalorean You bet buddy lots of changes happening in my world, getting married and moving to a new place next year, lol so I have to save the money for that. This machine I learned a lot, so the next one I would like to make things a little more smaller. Sadly I didn't use the machine to power a generator, only that 5 1/5 hp engine which ran great. There is no doubt that the wet scrubber is the way to go for filtering on the next build. Cheep to make and less hassle to clean, its almost as easy as changing the oil out of your car. Again with the hours I had on this thing I could see how the filter does its job as the water changes color. I personally like the smaller wood chunks, it burns fasters but I find it moves through the system easier. I don't mind the wood pellets but as soon as they get any moisture they turn to sawdust and clog up the hearth which is a pain in the ass, followed by tar. One big change I would like to do is heating the air before it gets to the ambers like what all power labs did with there gek design, I guess they got a lot less tar issues due to air getting pre heated before it would hit the reactor. hope all is good buddy.
mazdalorean wow has it been three years already time flys fast Joe I haven’t done much of anything my friend lately it’s been work and more work but I have posted one of my new projects that pulse jet engine hahaha and still haven’t run that thing yet. Well last time I talked with you well now I’m married moved into a town house and have a little machine shop in the garage but no new gasification projects yet :( hope is all well with you guys for some reason this is the only way to message you back man. Anyways take care Joe
Ahhh, that's grate. Oops, sorry, couldn't resist ;).
I guess each gasifier has different needs and characteristics where the grate and hearth are concerned.
On mine, the grate is very deep indeed. It is about 9 inches deep.
The result is that the charcoal comes out more like fine dust, or coffee grounds.
No gasifier is perfect, but we can get a long way towards perfection by experimenting as you have done here.
Just wondering, if you were to lower your bowl grate an extra inch or two, so that the charcoal would fill it up and then overflow the edges, would this create the same effect as you have achieved with your new plate grate?
+CNCmachiningisfun lol grate knowledge man. I noticed your grate was flat too, but I honestly didn't think of lowering the bowl to overflow the edges. sunofagun I will have to try this on my next build. buddy I don't have the machine anymore, there are lots of changes coming up for me. (marriage new place to live), so it will be a little while before I make my next machine. I learned a lot and was lots of fun. This thing was big and bulky so in the future I want to make something easy to follow for other people to learn and a bit smaller. I told some other guys I am interested in that all power labs gek design. I really like how they heat up the air before it gets to the ambers. Looks like they got far less tar this way. Canada no more pennies so I have to save some 5cents and slowly build the next one my friend.
+Josefppaz
It's grate to know that you are experimenting with new ideas.
On mine, the grates are either bowls or sauce pans, as I like the idea of having a ridiculously deep and circuitous charcoal gas path.
Congrats on you new life directions. Such wonderful life changing events will surely allow you to resist the intoxicating effects of the woodgas bug venom for a while. Try not to bite your new wife, as she may also become a woodgas addict, especially during a full moon ;) .
Yes, I like the GEK design too. It features the results that come from lots of learning and experimentation while under the influence of a serious woodgas addiction.
For some of our gasifier builds, the GEK's method of air pre-heating may be overly difficult to implement, but I am thinking that we can use engine exhaust heat as a way to preheat the incoming air instead. There is a lot of waste heat to be had right there, so why not put it to use :) .
Long may your addiction continue, and long may smiles and happiness be yours to share with friends and family.
+CNCmachiningisfun Thanks a bunch Steve. lol as I was saying to Dan maybe the new wife and I have a honey moon out were you are..... But then again I might get in trouble filling my brain with gasifiers and beer and not enough honey moon thoughts and romance..... But then again? there is romance in wood gasification, there is always chemistry going on there ha ha ha ha. Thanks again for the kind words my friend.
Hmmm thinks compromise.. equal ..use a 1/4 inch lip on edge .. idea is to burn all and burn it hot ! ...im got a 55 gal charcoal maker.. I don't need the xtras u got in wood gas maker/ I want more wood gas and better :>) - thinking on the heatsink- make it taller and able dry wood out more (prep wood ) before burn it!
good info... i reuse charcoal in my stove for next lightup.. easily 10x faster ignition from start to hot.
Good
Bravo de France !!!!!!
Lionel Roger Merci 😊
Silly question time. When you are cleaning out your char, is it pure char or more ash? I ask as I would like to be able to use the charcoal for other applications. Love the videos. Good job.
Kai Casson I’d say a little of both bud. When it’s ash means it’s usually all burnt up with the use of oxygen. The char is there aswell mostly pure carbon like cooking the wood in a very low oxygen environment. When this thing is working you get a little of both. Most of the ash is more of a white texture and the char is black. Hope this helps
Hi, it could be that the problems are caused by the uniformity of your fuel.
In flash001usa , is fuel is much more uniform than yours.
You have a lot of little pieces even look like sawdust
That could be you issue with the bridging
have you considered a moderate vibration device to stop bridging ?something that shakes the entire device
+YAHWEH WARRIOR absolutely my next design all I am going to do is use a electric motor put a cable clamp on the shaft to make the thing vibrate : )
About how much did it cost to build you're gasifier all together including your ideas?
Larry about 2500.00 in that ball park bud. using new material the oil drum new was about 200 dollars you can make it a lot more less expensive, and smaller it was a great learning experience. Parts used in Canada place called princess auto, in the USA I think its like Harbor freight hope this helps
Pretty sure the bowl design is to promote efficient use of the biomass. Have you noticed you use more fuel ?
Yes I have man but less clogging
@@Josefppaz ya. Guess it's just about finding that happy medium
Matthew Lanning absolutely bud
@@Josefppaz are you using this system on a daily basis to produce your electricity?
Matthew Lanning no man this was just a proof of concept I’m just one of those guys who builds something to see if it works and if I can make it better awesome. It was a great learning experience so if there ever was a time of no electricity I’m happy I have the knowledge. Steve on CNC machine is fun on you tube uses this for his place and flash001USA I think is the same just wants to see if this stuff actually works
Wok a great grate josefSpaz.
BuckSwashler hahahahaha 👍
Eye bolts every 120 degrees, not 90.... take from me, I'm an engineer....
Sounds good Ivan hhahaha should have said that