For all the people commenting "where can I get one" or something along the lines of "revolutionary ". I would encourage you to check out the history of wood gas. These systems have been around for, if I remember correctly, the 1800s. They tend to pop back up during fuel shortages and are a great idea but you will either need a Fabricator to make one for you or be capable of building one. During the second Word war all of the taxis in Paris were required to run on woodgas due to fuel shortages. There was even a tank capable of running on wood gas I believe.
@@bonsang1073 thats cause as a whole society were beyond that. but. as burnheretic said. for when any kind of shtf event happens. this is one of the better options. theres lots of literature out there. plans and other stuff. u can even store the gas when not running the generator in a floating bell. (there were many of those in the late 1800´s early 1900. ) u could also compress the gas in a cilinder and run a vehicle out of that compressed cilinder.
*Listen to the incredible noise levels of everything in full operation ! This setup needs its own soundproof mini-building just to keep it as quiet as possible, and out of The Weather. @ 45 KiloWatts this is an enterprise level operation.*
Nice Stainless steel set up, i like those cam clamps on the connections - i'm going to copy that idea on my unit. I would note that since the energy density is lower on the producer gas it takes a larger engine (generally) to run the generator that was originally sized for that engine. my first run - i used a 9Hp honda engine to replace the 3.5Hp original on an old generator - this worked pretty well with the 9Hp actual output on wood-gas being about 3Hp - so close to the sizing for the original engine and generator set up. If you used the original engine sized for this 45Kw generator i suspect you would have difficulty making more than 15-20 kw on woodgas. A larger displacement engine may be the solution if you want to get 45Kw but nothing wrong with a 15-20 Kw set up. Just my bit. Thanks for posting.
How do you govern the fuel? This shown is runnong at no load then say 5 amps for drill. Say you load the genset to max It would stall unlrss you could increase the gas by a huge amount. How is this accomplished?
It pulls however much wood gas it needs through vacuum demand. If the engine needs more gas, the gasifier will cook the wood faster to supply the engine's needs.
Have you tried making bio diesel with that thing?.. if it can drive that generator it must put out some serious syn gas and if it's clean you should be able to flow the gas through a catalyst and then condense it into bio diesel. Victory Gasworks people claim they can do it but I can't find a video on it...would be fun to the yield and what catalyst work best at what pressure.
I would love to make biodiesel from my gasifier. I'll check with Victory, since I'm a valid customer to see if they will forward me any information. To date, there are a few people on youtube who claim that they are producing biofuels through the condensing process to clean the gas for engine consumption, but I don't have a lot of confidence that they know what they're doing. It would be awesome if we had an organic chemist out there from the petroleum industry to help us with what catalysts we need and what temperatures, etc. Unfortunately I think they might consider us the competition.
Well open source is gaining ground so there might be an engineer out there with some experience. I know several airlines are using bio jet fuel which is basically kerosene and it burns really cleanly. Kerosene and diesel is close to being the same thing. I know MIT and the RAND corp. did a report on alternative jet fuels and in the bibliography there's some pretty good scientific source listed. I'm going to way of a multi chambered gasifier with the reaction chamber from refractory cement so you can run continuously and scale the syngas output to match comsumption and not just have one big stainless steel reaction chamber.
I have a 50KVA generator. It is a diesel Ford engine as good as new. I am in a rural rain forest of Africa, technically the grid does not exist. Can I apply this gasification technique on my generator? I ask due to the fact that my engine is a diesel and not a gas type. Thanks
If your ford diesel has spark ignition, you can use pure gasifier gas. If not, you will have to combine the two. It will still take some diesel to get the cylinder to fire under compression and you can add gas from a gasifier to reduce your diesel requirements. I would add gasifier gas to the intake with air mixture, then reduce the amount diesel to the injectors until it runs rough, then add a little diesel back in until it runs smooth again.
@@markwerner8089 Thanks actually, I run the system as in fumigation mode with LPG gas. However, LPG gas is also becoming very expensive. I would like to switch over to biomass.
@@MrObi1canobi That’s interesting! One would think with all the cooking oils and oil changes in cars it would be abundant if you can collect it from nearby towns. I’d be weary of running woodgas in a diesel, let alone one of such size and cost. It’s going to create a lot of maintenance for you. If you really want to burn them for electricity I think you’d be better off selling your generator and getting something specifically made for the task. A generator that size is worth good money where I’m from.
wgc1444 Very nice. I did see the switch after I sent the ?. Mine on single phase is running at 240 volts and yours looked like 220. What is the open topped stainless drum on the gasifier?
engineer775 Practical Preppers I can run at 240v. It's adjustable. I figured at 220v I'd get an extra 15 amps. The open topped drum is a wood chunk drier. The radiator fan above it drives warm air down to a 4" port and using a clothes drier hose, it's hooked to the bottom of the chunk drier. Victory sent it with the gasifier. I'm not sure why they put the heavy duty flange on top with all the holes.
to all the haters commenting nonsense about the limits of the system. first of all the rpm of the motor can be calculated and they have a fixed torq. second of all : *THIS IS A HEFTY UNIT*
Fantastic build! I'm curious to know if the genny consumes more or less fuel when all loaded up from hungry devices, welders, ac units etc? What is an average wood consumption per hour? Another channel has it that a pound of wood equates to 1.3 miles in his gasifier/pickup truck. I'm wondering if similar ratios can be figured out in a gasifier to genny marriage? Any thoughts?
He could hook a couple of large hydrogen fuel cell generators up to it that would definitely put a load on it and if it worked he could produce an even cleaner burning and more combustible and more stable gas that he could actually compress then chill into a liquid state compressing it even further and using it for fuel later put in wood get out super high density highly efficient fuel 😀👍
Hi. First let me say I was blown away. Nice video all though some explanations would be helpful. Is heating not a factor? I mean engine overheating by the dryness of the gas itself. being a gas operating engine. I know gas converted cars usually don’t last that long.. is that a concern at all?
Would be interested to see a real load test by a load bank on this. Would see actual figures for power rather than a tiny drill. Does it actually produce the rated output of 45KW.
Yes, that would be good info to know. From what I’ve seen - SynGas has roughly 35% lower power rating as opposed to fuels like gasoline, propane, nat gas, etc. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s generating somewhere in range of 24kw to 32kw.
@@jay90374all you have to do is provide the same rpm as when burning gasoline. This generator was originally set up for natural gas. All you have to do is provide whatever amount of syngas needed to maintain the target rpm to provide full power.
What type of fuel do you use in your gasifier. Also could you store the gas produced by the gasifier for use later on or would it be too flammable to compress since it would have an oxygen mixture with it. Or could you produce a hydrogen fuel cell plant with this technology producing a much more flammable and stable gas for storage. And the last question is how long will this run without adding any more fuel?
Wood gas is best produced on demand, not stored, as its energy density is quite low - about 1/10 of that of natural gas. While technically doable, there isn't much benefit to it; you're better off storing the energy by charging up a battery bank.
@@george.b. really a 1/10? i was reading and understanding they have major system in Kenya with the government and doing 3000 psi tanks... They stated 60-65%. I', have a tree removal business & small farm and 1/2 way researched these several years ago.. KW up to 13 cents and gas over $3 .No more procrastinating..
Clearly the best looking Gasifier made! The guy must work at a winery with all those pipe clamps and stainless that was used to build it. I wish he could send me the plans, so I can build one. I wonder how long it will supply fuel with a single burn of the wood put in it.
what amount of hours have you done with the new gasifier and 45KW generator? Maintenance on generator? Does the Victory gasifier have sufficient filter system in? Stefan from Namibia
Standard maintenance on the generator. The Victory Gasifier provides VERY clean gas. The flame is almost totally blue. You can't even see the flame during the day.
I haven't had a situation yet to do a heavy draw on the system. Been too busy. I am in the process of building a post building. I'm going to wire up the building, and before I hook it up to house power, I want to test the wiring system. I think I'm going to hook it up to the gasifier/generator and see how much load I can put on it.
Do you know engineer775? if so you are probably close to me. Would you mind if I came to see this? The last time I checked victory only made a 5kw unit. Is that what this one is?
Yes, Engineer775 and I are friends, although I live in Georgia, south of Atlanta. As I am running this particular generator, this is obviously a 45kw unit. What determines the capacity of the unit is the size of the hearth, which is based closely to the FEMA gasifier sizing chart. If you order a victory unit, simply tell them what engine hp you want to run.
What does the hose connecting the generator radiator to the gasifier do? Also, I couldn't read the label on the rotated switch you turned on the gasifier.
ok, I see what that hose is, that's not the generator radiator, that's another radiator being used as a condenser for the gasifier and the fan from the generator is forcing air thru it so it's more efficient.
It looks like the external radiator is being used as an intercooler of sorts to cool the wood gas. The radiator for the generator is between the fan and the external radiator at a guess, the fan drawing cold air through both.
Could somebody use the heat from the gasifier to dry the fuel? I'm thinking you could build a mild-steel shell around the gasifier that might stay pretty toasty and dry out the wood.
If the engine gets partly fouled from dirty wood gas, can it be cleaned up by running it with clean wood gas or other clean fuel? Or do you have to take it apart to clean it?
I can add some experience insight. I have ran the 240 CID 20&30 kW/ek Ford/Onans on three of the smaller version VictoryGasWorks units. These big Onan/Ford were designed to stay operational and belt driven fan cooled in ALL eviroments. So that engine fan just about knock you down. At least a 5-8 hp load just there. This BIG 300 CID (owed two) starts and run immediately at 1800 RPM. So another at least 8-10 hp fuel load on the gasifer for pistons and oil pumping and such. Point is this gasifer is being at least 15 kW/th loaded from the get go. These Victory model hearths have three internal insulation layers with an ultimate 22 to 1 turn down ratio. wgc1444 you have gold in stainless steel now as BenP sez he will no longer be manufacturing. Steve Unruh owner of Victory hearth #1 and the First SS GEK kit
roger adrian Hi RogerA. gasifier turndown ratio is the range of good gas effective minimum to maximum production rates. Is measured on produced gas volumes of M3 or cubic feet. Good motor fuel gas will have a maximum of the co2 converted to co and the maximum hydrogen and methane percentages. The gasifer does this primarily by a combination of internal heats, velocities and duration possible. My US EPA certified bulk wood stove is lab rated from 16.000 to 62,000 BTU's per hour capable. 3.8 to I turndown ratio. I've been able to internally modify it down to an hourly 10,000 per hort BTU clean burn out put. Now 6 to 1 turndown. This big Victory system with a good operator and fuel wood will be capable of a min of a 12 to I turn down ratio. Out of my smaller Victory system I can get 20 to I with raw Doug Fir fuel wood Cheatin'. Regards Steve Unruh
With a steam generator, you'll have to have a boiler, a steam turbine generator and a fuel source. I don't know the comparison. The two would just be different. The advantage of the gasifier is that you can use the gas to run other things
Could i use a smaller version, maybe 20kw, to make electricity for average size home? I could save about 100 euros per month electricity bill, i have a forest in backyard.
@@learningforsuccessk12andbeyond But why isnt this very common? I cant find anything about it on web, thats why i asked, i assumed there are some downsides...
@@beeqool Think of this setup as a mini power plant. The major downside is that, like the power companies, the power plant must be constantly manned to run efficiently. It's not just a flip a switch and walk away operation. Someone must be there to constantly monitor the operation, including preparing the wood chunks for the next batch to put in the hopper. The wood has to be split and chunked to the proper size, then dried, then added to the hopper about every four hours. If you use it along with batteries that charge during the day, you'll run the gasifier for about 12hours a day. That's 3 fills of the hopper and the prep of the wood for each load. That's a full time job.
Your best bet would be to run an oversized generator into a battery bank. Only run it for a few hours per day that way. It’ll take a good amount of battery and inverter to work properly.
73 cord of wood to run it for a year... we used to get cord of mixed hardwood for $150 cut split and seasoned. buying that much in bulk you prob could get a discount of 10% maybe. call it 9900 with delivery. $825 a month not bad if you split it between 3-4 families. We would get a grabble load for $100 and usually ended up being about 2-2.5 cord. but for the sake of highballin it... That is also a shtf scenario with pre collapse prices. Having that kind of wood banked up for both this and general heating/cooking would be a massive value in the end of the world...
The big bin with the flange is a wood chunk dryer. So you wouldn't have to store 73 cord of wood. Probably 10 cord would do it. That's what I have. Shtf, the chore for two guys every week is to fell a tree and slice and dice it into chunks. Since this outfit will support several houses, getting help to provide electricity, syngas for the furnaces, stoves, grills, and small generators shouldn't be a problem.
@@wgc1444 yeh we put up between 10-12 cord for the winter and just dad and I would process 3-5 grapple loads every summer a few hours after work or a couple good weekends. Was a chore but went pretty quick once you got into the rhythm. I think the biggest downfall for this system would be eventually near buy wood would be consumed and you would have to start exerting lots of energy into pushing out further to bring in usable wood. and/or if you live in a place like where I grew up in northern Maine deciduous forests tend to be less common and often a valued commodity of land owners. none the less this is one of the coolest generating systems I have seen
Thanks. But the real thanks goes to Mr. Peterson at what used to be Victory Gasifier when he made this for me. Now he helps people build their own through his new website: woodgasifierplans.com An excerpt from the bottom of his lead page below applies to this unit as well. QUICK FACTS Charcoal (carbon) is the catalyst for distilling wood oils into fuel gas Wood chunks make the best charcoal Use a bandsaw to quickly make chunks from branches/kindling 2.5 -3 lbs of bone dry wood = 1 kw/h @ peak engine output The system is run in batch loads of up to 4-6 hours with a hopper Ideal engine is 1-5 liters spark ignited (mine is 5 liters, a 300ci Ford straight six)
@@wgc1444 if you live near an industrial area, like wood work shops or manufacturers of pick-handels there is a lot of waste materials to be collected for free, even a trip to the saw mill once a week to load up off cuts and waste
So to the laymen is that running the house power & or is the power going back into the grid as credits or just running the drill cause it looks to me that maybe the grid power might be cheaper to run that drill, than all that stainless and engines etc and that noise.
Actually, the cost of wood is very close to the cost of the grid, with the exception of my time to prepare the wood and feed the hopper. For me, this is for emergency backup use. For a farmer or others who work from home, this could easily be the main power source for them.
I wonder how much wood per hour this thing would consume and how well it would run at 80% of the 45kW design. That gasifier looks pretty solid. Most I see on videos look kind of unrefined. I wonder the quality of the gas that is output. I hear the FEMA designs are dirty.
This is a great accomplishment How often do you refill wood into the gasifier? Would you dismount the engine of the generator ,replace it with a turbine that will be rotated by the steam then it (Turbine) rotates the generator ? Would such a set up work? Thank you in advance.
+my self - The hopper will hold about 4 hours worth of wood. I imagine that's possible, but you are adding layers of processes to the system. I prefer to keep it simple.
How many lbs of material per hour burned to capacitate this set up!!! Beautiful parts by the way ...some one has a lathe or access to damn good millwright! Well done man!
That question was asked and answered somewhere in these comments. I believe 4 or 5 18 inch long sticks about 6 inxhes in diameter will burn for at least 4 hours.
@@wgc1444 find charcoal, as in buy? u just make it in a retort. oi have seen both wood fired and charcoal fired gassafiyers and the advantage of charcoal is you don't get ANY tar or other nasty deposits in you engine.
@@kazadori164 the idea here is simplicity without waste. The more complicated you make it, the more people you need to run it. This gasifier is heavily filtered and cooled to reduce tar as much as possible. Choice of wood helps as well.
@@wgc1444thanks for your reply. Nice to see you are still active. How did you determine the air to fuel ratio? Did you use any air/fuel sensors? Or did you just play it by ear? Thanks
There are sooo many things I can do with this gasifier: I can run a 45KW generator as seen here and power a whole neighborhood. I can load it up onto my truck and drive on wood. I can pump it into a 10K gallon bladder tank and store it for later. From the bladder tank, I can use an air compressor and fill mine and other's LP tanks. I can also pipe it to my hot water heater and furnace, power my wood miser saw mill, and also use it to fuel an ethanol still for producing liquid fuel! Some people say I can even make bio-gasoline and bio-diesel directly from the gas, but I haven't seen a reliable simple process for that yet. Can anyone provide some intelligent input on this?
The gas coming off that setup will be mostly CO (carbon monoxide) with a bit of hydrogen and a hint of methane - along with nitrogen from the air it consumes. Since it appears pretty well designed I'd assume most of the hydrocarbon chains are being 'cracked' in the extremely hot hearth - therefore, you'd struggle to get any liquid fuels from the gas without a very expensive setup and a complicated process. If you want liquid fuels from wood in a DIY fashion you need to condense 'dirty' wood gas from zero oxygen pyrolysis, then further refine/distil the produced sticky sludge. The zero oxygen (air-free) environment prevents CO production (fire) and pretty much eliminates the nitrogen content - you'll get some surplus hydrogen/methane that you can redirect and use in the heating process. With zero oxygen pyrolysis most of the 'C' (of the 'CO') will remain as charcoal when the process is complete, because you didn't allow it to 'burn' and combine with the 'O'. The rest of the 'C' will remain bonded to 'H' (in chains of varying lengths) in the sticky sludge. You can burn the 'C' (charcoal) later to pyrolyse the next batch of wood. BTW, this method is great for turning waste plastic into liquid fuels.
wgc1444 I'm a natural gas refinery...Phaaarrtt! See,told ya so.lol Maybe...hmmm...you could mount a refueling chamber on top, an air lock chamber like in the Hollywood in space movies. Another chamber on top; Add fuel,equalize pressure,release dump valve to add fuel,close valve without interupting gas production... So; thanks for your reply,God Bless.
as you say, ''The generator is driven by a Ford 300 cubic inch straight six engine that was originally set up to run on natural gas.'' does this mean it is driven at low idle on diesel and ignite the gas with the diesel at load? or does it has spark plugs? thanks
@@wgc1444 thanks! my first thought when I saw that big gen and the name Ford was -Diesel :) do you know anything about diesel-woodgas engines? my 'issue' is I already have a diesel generator so either sell if for a petrol one or convert it in some way. I have to ask :) thanks mate
@@mekefalk As far as I know there is only two ways you can run a diesel engine off of wood gas. The first, is by using an old diesel that has spark ignition. The second, is by running the engine with less diesel and supplementing with wood gas.
looks pretty but lets put the gen-set under a full load for a few hours and see if things can keep up? i am thinking not so much. i know the amount of fuel a 45KW will chew threw on even a 1 hour full load test.
I have been working in wood gasification for 12 years, with a power of 2MW, on jenbacher v16 engine. the problem is not to maintain the load, because the motor will create more suction, which will simply consume more wood. but the problem with this type of single-stage gasifier is the production of tar which in the medium term clogs the engine.
I took the equivalent of one 8" log about 18" long and split and cubed it for the gasifier. I was able to run the generator about 30 minutes on this much wood. When I get some time, I'll fill the hopper and run it to see how long it lasts. I'll post it here to let everyone know.
Do you sell your plans? I have an old 300 sitting behind my garage, would love to make good use of it to power the homestead. Now I just need some batteries... Haha
thres no answer coz thees no peramiters........ steam fuel and atmosphiric conditions will change the day to day running its just like using a fire place to heat house...... realy dont mater cause enough free stuff to burn to not even worry
About 8 8x18 logs sliced and cubed to about the size of your thumb to run the gasifier and generator for 4 hours, which is enough to keep your freezers and refrigerators cold if you don't open the doors a lot.
This is a gasoline engine adapted for natural gas, and further adapted for syngas by me. You can't run diesel in this engine. If you mean 'can you do this with a diesel generator', then yes, with exceptions. If your diesel motor has spark ignition, then yes, you can run it just like mine here. If it does not, then you must start it with diesel and gently back off the diesel until rough, feathering the diesel until smooth. This will be a diesel/syngas mixture.
@@amkazan7821when the video shows the pipe going into the engine, you see the throttle body just before the pipe goes into the engine. That's where the mixture is set.
that's the nicest gasifier I have ever seen
I have to say the workmanship is top notch professional...nice job!.
For all the people commenting "where can I get one" or something along the lines of "revolutionary ". I would encourage you to check out the history of wood gas. These systems have been around for, if I remember correctly, the 1800s. They tend to pop back up during fuel shortages and are a great idea but you will either need a Fabricator to make one for you or be capable of building one.
During the second Word war all of the taxis in Paris were required to run on woodgas due to fuel shortages. There was even a tank capable of running on wood gas I believe.
personally im *SHOCKED* that this was never mentionned in any of my school books. i doubt everything now.
@@bonsang1073 thats cause as a whole society were beyond that. but. as burnheretic said. for when any kind of shtf event happens. this is one of the better options. theres lots of literature out there. plans and other stuff. u can even store the gas when not running the generator in a floating bell. (there were many of those in the late 1800´s early 1900. ) u could also compress the gas in a cilinder and run a vehicle out of that compressed cilinder.
most professional setup i have ever seen
As a metal fabricator/ welder/ mechanic/ inventor. I really love this. Great job
That's one of the most beautiful setups I've ever seen!
Thank you!
*Listen to the incredible noise levels of everything in full operation ! This setup needs its own soundproof mini-building just to keep it as quiet as possible, and out of The Weather. @ 45 KiloWatts this is an enterprise level operation.*
that would be the best sound in the world during a prolonged power outage!
Unreal set up, very nice job indeed! Love the radiator to cool the gas 😃
The noise of its operation can easily be almost eliminated with a sturdy wall around it open at the top.
Beautiful! A work of art!
That's some nice work there guys !!!
Thanks 👍
this is an awsome setup, love how this could be using waste wood material from old fallen trees to run it
I can't stand when people upload videos without any speech what so ever. I like a little explanation
Nice Stainless steel set up, i like those cam clamps on the connections - i'm going to copy that idea on my unit.
I would note that since the energy density is lower on the producer gas it takes a larger engine (generally) to run the generator that was originally sized for that engine. my first run - i used a 9Hp honda engine to replace the 3.5Hp original on an old generator - this worked pretty well with the 9Hp actual output on wood-gas being about 3Hp - so close to the sizing for the original engine and generator set up. If you used the original engine sized for this 45Kw generator i suspect you would have difficulty making more than 15-20 kw on woodgas. A larger displacement engine may be the solution if you want to get 45Kw but nothing wrong with a 15-20 Kw set up. Just my bit.
Thanks for posting.
this is absolutely incredible! i would love a system like this.
what a pleasure to have this running 24/7 in your backyard
I would love an over look of how everything works and is connected
Awesome, thanks for posting sir, shoutout from Va!
Wow....you just did it sir! You really did!
Thank you for sharing!!!
I am so amazed at this.
Una instalación fantástica muy inspirador un ejemplo de como podemos librarlos de los hidrocarburos felicidades saludos desde México!!!
It's a 300...you could skip the gasifier and just feed 'er the pellets!
Pellets don't burn fast enough, and are solid.
@@giovannicesaramorim9adigan961 You must be fun at parties.
@@giovannicesaramorim9adigan961 ...
😂😂😂
You ain't shuttering buddy. Sucker mite just run on dirt and eggs lmfao!!
Can you show it running a big load on the generator?
Wow.. This makes the gasifier I built out of scrap metal look like shit lmao
Indeed it makes everything i build look like shit..
Doesnt have to look good ..
Just has to work.
Very nice looking build!!
Super clean build man. Good job
Great workmanship.... Great design....
How do you govern the fuel? This shown is runnong at no load then say 5 amps for drill. Say you load the genset to max It would stall unlrss you could increase the gas by a huge amount. How is this accomplished?
It pulls however much wood gas it needs through vacuum demand. If the engine needs more gas, the gasifier will cook the wood faster to supply the engine's needs.
I am interested to build one gasifier like this. Do you sell the blueprints?
I don't know about this one. But, I'm told that on the FEMA website they have plans for different gasifiers, for free. 🙂✌🏽
Have you tried making bio diesel with that thing?.. if it can drive that generator it must put out some serious syn gas and if it's clean you should be able to flow the gas through a catalyst and then condense it into bio diesel. Victory Gasworks people claim they can do it but I can't find a video on it...would be fun to the yield and what catalyst work best at what pressure.
I would love to make biodiesel from my gasifier. I'll check with Victory, since I'm a valid customer to see if they will forward me any information.
To date, there are a few people on youtube who claim that they are producing biofuels through the condensing process to clean the gas for engine consumption, but I don't have a lot of confidence that they know what they're doing.
It would be awesome if we had an organic chemist out there from the petroleum industry to help us with what catalysts we need and what temperatures, etc. Unfortunately I think they might consider us the competition.
Well open source is gaining ground so there might be an engineer out there with some experience. I know several airlines are using bio jet fuel which is basically kerosene and it burns really cleanly. Kerosene and diesel is close to being the same thing. I know MIT and the RAND corp. did a report on alternative jet fuels and in the bibliography there's some pretty good scientific source listed.
I'm going to way of a multi chambered gasifier with the reaction chamber from refractory cement so you can run continuously and scale the syngas output to match comsumption and not just have one big stainless steel reaction chamber.
I have a 50KVA generator. It is a diesel Ford engine as good as new.
I am in a rural rain forest of Africa, technically the grid does not exist.
Can I apply this gasification technique on my generator?
I ask due to the fact that my engine is a diesel and not a gas type.
Thanks
If your ford diesel has spark ignition, you can use pure gasifier gas. If not, you will have to combine the two. It will still take some diesel to get the cylinder to fire under compression and you can add gas from a gasifier to reduce your diesel requirements. I would add gasifier gas to the intake with air mixture, then reduce the amount diesel to the injectors until it runs rough, then add a little diesel back in until it runs smooth again.
I think your time would be better spent using waste oil to fuel it. In some places people will even pay you to take their waste oil.
@@PinkFZeppelin
waste oil is not common here. However, I have abundantly palm kernel shells, infact, palm kernel shell is a nuisance here.
@@markwerner8089
Thanks
actually, I run the system as in fumigation mode with LPG gas. However, LPG gas is also becoming very expensive. I would like to switch over to biomass.
@@MrObi1canobi That’s interesting! One would think with all the cooking oils and oil changes in cars it would be abundant if you can collect it from nearby towns.
I’d be weary of running woodgas in a diesel, let alone one of such size and cost. It’s going to create a lot of maintenance for you.
If you really want to burn them for electricity I think you’d be better off selling your generator and getting something specifically made for the task. A generator that size is worth good money where I’m from.
Awesome Job Sir! IS the genny single phase or 3-phase? Sounds great!!! Nice Job
It is both. Currently have it set up for single phase, but imagine a small business running their 3-phase operation off of wood!
wgc1444 Very nice. I did see the switch after I sent the ?. Mine on single phase is running at 240 volts and yours looked like 220. What is the open topped stainless drum on the gasifier?
engineer775 Practical Preppers I can run at 240v. It's adjustable. I figured at 220v I'd get an extra 15 amps.
The open topped drum is a wood chunk drier. The radiator fan above it drives warm air down to a 4" port and using a clothes drier hose, it's hooked to the bottom of the chunk drier. Victory sent it with the gasifier. I'm not sure why they put the heavy duty flange on top with all the holes.
How many cost in dollars have it?
Which wood is used? I assume if you have carburetor engine, not all types will fit, pine or spruce tar will definitely kill it after getting cold.
Hard woods only. Pine is a nono
to all the haters commenting nonsense about the limits of the system. first of all the rpm of the motor can be calculated and they have a fixed torq.
second of all :
*THIS IS A HEFTY UNIT*
Fantastic build! I'm curious to know if the genny consumes more or less fuel when all loaded up from hungry devices, welders, ac units etc? What is an average wood consumption per hour? Another channel has it that a pound of wood equates to 1.3 miles in his gasifier/pickup truck. I'm wondering if similar ratios can be figured out in a gasifier to genny marriage? Any thoughts?
it would be interesting to see the gen run with a real load on it.
He could hook a couple of large hydrogen fuel cell generators up to it that would definitely put a load on it and if it worked he could produce an even cleaner burning and more combustible and more stable gas that he could actually compress then chill into a liquid state compressing it even further and using it for fuel later put in wood get out super high density highly efficient fuel 😀👍
is it possible to store the wood gas?
Moobs Mcgee please read all the comments
One word awesome...
do you have a build video?
OUTSTANDING !!!
I'd like to know what kind of load is on the generator. Any engine with no load doesn't use much fuel .....
How often does it need maintenance? Oil change?
Like you would do with any old points & condenser engine. 3000mi reg oil, 5-7000 mi synthetic.
Hi. First let me say I was blown away. Nice video all though some explanations would be helpful.
Is heating not a factor? I mean engine overheating by the dryness of the gas itself. being a gas operating engine. I know gas converted cars usually don’t last that long.. is that a concern at all?
This Genset was pre-configured for natural gas. I doubt woodgas is any drier.
Very nice construction. How long of a run time before having to add more wood fuel?
Depending on how much load I'm putting on it, 4 to 6 hours
Would be interested to see a real load test by a load bank on this. Would see actual figures for power rather than a tiny drill. Does it actually produce the rated output of 45KW.
Yes, that would be good info to know.
From what I’ve seen - SynGas has roughly 35% lower power rating as opposed to fuels like gasoline, propane, nat gas, etc.
If I had to guess, I’d say it’s generating somewhere in range of 24kw to 32kw.
You lose horsepower but if you were just going from point A to point B it's more efficient.
@@craigalexander288 Yea if octane gasoline is an 8 hydrocarbon chain molecule then this is definitely not that thus the loss in horsepower.
Been done many times, decent syngas is about same as natural gas, so approximately 25-30% power loss.
@@jay90374all you have to do is provide the same rpm as when burning gasoline. This generator was originally set up for natural gas. All you have to do is provide whatever amount of syngas needed to maintain the target rpm to provide full power.
What type of fuel do you use in your gasifier. Also could you store the gas produced by the gasifier for use later on or would it be too flammable to compress since it would have an oxygen mixture with it. Or could you produce a hydrogen fuel cell plant with this technology producing a much more flammable and stable gas for storage. And the last question is how long will this run without adding any more fuel?
Wood gas is best produced on demand, not stored, as its energy density is quite low - about 1/10 of that of natural gas. While technically doable, there isn't much benefit to it; you're better off storing the energy by charging up a battery bank.
@@george.b. really a 1/10? i was reading and understanding they have major system in Kenya with the government and doing 3000 psi tanks... They stated 60-65%. I', have a tree removal business & small farm and 1/2 way researched these several years ago.. KW up to 13 cents and gas over $3 .No more procrastinating..
Clearly the best looking Gasifier made! The guy must work at a winery with all those pipe clamps and stainless that was used to build it. I wish he could send me the plans, so I can build one. I wonder how long it will supply fuel with a single burn of the wood put in it.
You can buy the plans..wood gas bible
what amount of hours have you done with the new gasifier and 45KW generator?
Maintenance on generator?
Does the Victory gasifier have sufficient filter system in?
Stefan from Namibia
Standard maintenance on the generator.
The Victory Gasifier provides VERY clean gas.
The flame is almost totally blue. You can't even see the flame during the day.
man you got some big money in this! all stainless steel...shit!
No kidding
Whats the biggest load you've run and for how long?
I haven't had a situation yet to do a heavy draw on the system. Been too busy. I am in the process of building a post building. I'm going to wire up the building, and before I hook it up to house power, I want to test the wiring system. I think I'm going to hook it up to the gasifier/generator and see how much load I can put on it.
If and when you do please post an update! I am very much interested in the feasibility of such a system. Thank you! And nice build!
How much wood would this burn in a day?
Curious is that a commercial gasifier or is that something you built and would you be willing to share some of the schematics?
Victory Gas built it for me,
time running ??
what is the run time in hours before having to refuel?
4 to 6 hours
Do you have the plans of your project. If you do let me know what I can do to get a copy to build my own. Thank You/
Felix Torres - woodgasifierplans.com
Do you know engineer775? if so you are probably close to me. Would you mind if I came to see this? The last time I checked victory only made a 5kw unit. Is that what this one is?
Yes, Engineer775 and I are friends, although I live in Georgia, south of Atlanta.
As I am running this particular generator, this is obviously a 45kw unit. What determines the capacity of the unit is the size of the hearth, which is based closely to the FEMA gasifier sizing chart. If you order a victory unit, simply tell them what engine hp you want to run.
What does the hose connecting the generator radiator to the gasifier do? Also, I couldn't read the label on the rotated switch you turned on the gasifier.
ok, I see what that hose is, that's not the generator radiator, that's another radiator being used as a condenser for the gasifier and the fan from the generator is forcing air thru it so it's more efficient.
It looks like the external radiator is being used as an intercooler of sorts to cool the wood gas. The radiator for the generator is between the fan and the external radiator at a guess, the fan drawing cold air through both.
At least you stayed with a ford throttle body.. lol. Pretty cool...
Where did you buy this?
can you store the gas you make?
that's the question, because it you can you could potentially run an LPG cooking hob or oven or heater off of it.
no and yes sort of decomposes into carbon and co2 if left to its ownfor too long
You can. Look up a device called a gasometer.
How is it to get going in the middle of a snowstorm blizzard
No more difficult than in the summer
Could somebody use the heat from the gasifier to dry the fuel? I'm thinking you could build a mild-steel shell around the gasifier that might stay pretty toasty and dry out the wood.
The stainless bin in the middle of the gasifier, if you look closely, has a duct going to it. This is the dryer for the wood chunks
pretty cool man. Thanks for sharing
how much wood do you need to power it 24 hours?
how much does it cost?
If the engine gets partly fouled from dirty wood gas, can it be cleaned up by running it with clean wood gas or other clean fuel? Or do you have to take it apart to clean it?
Just clean the filters
I can add some experience insight. I have ran the 240 CID 20&30 kW/ek Ford/Onans on three of the smaller version VictoryGasWorks units. These big Onan/Ford were designed to stay operational and belt driven fan cooled in ALL eviroments. So that engine fan just about knock you down. At least a 5-8 hp load just there. This BIG 300 CID (owed two) starts and run immediately at 1800 RPM. So another at least 8-10 hp fuel load on the gasifer for pistons and oil pumping and such. Point is this gasifer is being at least 15 kW/th loaded from the get go. These Victory model hearths have three internal insulation layers with an ultimate 22 to 1 turn down ratio.
wgc1444 you have gold in stainless steel now as BenP sez he will no longer be manufacturing.
Steve Unruh owner of Victory hearth #1 and the First SS GEK kit
what is turn down ratio?
roger adrian
Hi RogerA. gasifier turndown ratio is the range of good gas effective minimum to maximum production rates. Is measured on produced gas volumes of M3 or cubic feet.
Good motor fuel gas will have a maximum of the co2 converted to co and the maximum hydrogen and methane percentages. The gasifer does this primarily by a combination of internal heats, velocities and duration possible.
My US EPA certified bulk wood stove is lab rated from 16.000 to 62,000 BTU's per hour capable. 3.8 to I turndown ratio. I've been able to internally modify it down to an hourly 10,000 per hort BTU clean burn out put. Now 6 to 1 turndown.
This big Victory system with a good operator and fuel wood will be capable of a min of a 12 to I turn down ratio.
Out of my smaller Victory system I can get 20 to I with raw Doug Fir fuel wood Cheatin'.
Regards
Steve Unruh
What is the running cost diffrancs as compairsion steam power plant
With a steam generator, you'll have to have a boiler, a steam turbine generator and a fuel source. I don't know the comparison. The two would just be different. The advantage of the gasifier is that you can use the gas to run other things
How many hours have you done on the generator with the gasifier?
Price paid for gasifier?
did u ever get an answer?
How do you feed the fuel to it. The setup you have looks great
At the highest point on the gasifier, there is a clamped lid. Undo the clamps, lift the lid, and dump in the wood. Re-clamp the lid and you're done!
Could i use a smaller version, maybe 20kw, to make electricity for average size home? I could save about 100 euros per month electricity bill, i have a forest in backyard.
Yes, you could easily do that.
@@learningforsuccessk12andbeyond But why isnt this very common? I cant find anything about it on web, thats why i asked, i assumed there are some downsides...
@@beeqool Think of this setup as a mini power plant. The major downside is that, like the power companies, the power plant must be constantly manned to run efficiently. It's not just a flip a switch and walk away operation. Someone must be there to constantly monitor the operation, including preparing the wood chunks for the next batch to put in the hopper. The wood has to be split and chunked to the proper size, then dried, then added to the hopper about every four hours. If you use it along with batteries that charge during the day, you'll run the gasifier for about 12hours a day. That's 3 fills of the hopper and the prep of the wood for each load. That's a full time job.
Your best bet would be to run an oversized generator into a battery bank. Only run it for a few hours per day that way. It’ll take a good amount of battery and inverter to work properly.
@@learningforsuccessk12andbeyond I'd add to that fumes and noise.
So at 400v, whats the max load in amps you can pull with this setup
About 100 amps
73 cord of wood to run it for a year... we used to get cord of mixed hardwood for $150 cut split and seasoned. buying that much in bulk you prob could get a discount of 10% maybe. call it 9900 with delivery. $825 a month not bad if you split it between 3-4 families. We would get a grabble load for $100 and usually ended up being about 2-2.5 cord. but for the sake of highballin it...
That is also a shtf scenario with pre collapse prices. Having that kind of wood banked up for both this and general heating/cooking would be a massive value in the end of the world...
The big bin with the flange is a wood chunk dryer. So you wouldn't have to store 73 cord of wood. Probably 10 cord would do it. That's what I have.
Shtf, the chore for two guys every week is to fell a tree and slice and dice it into chunks.
Since this outfit will support several houses, getting help to provide electricity, syngas for the furnaces, stoves, grills, and small generators shouldn't be a problem.
@@wgc1444 yeh we put up between 10-12 cord for the winter and just dad and I would process 3-5 grapple loads every summer a few hours after work or a couple good weekends. Was a chore but went pretty quick once you got into the rhythm. I think the biggest downfall for this system would be eventually near buy wood would be consumed and you would have to start exerting lots of energy into pushing out further to bring in usable wood. and/or if you live in a place like where I grew up in northern Maine deciduous forests tend to be less common and often a valued commodity of land owners.
none the less this is one of the coolest generating systems I have seen
Thanks. But the real thanks goes to Mr. Peterson at what used to be Victory Gasifier when he made this for me. Now he helps people build their own through his new website: woodgasifierplans.com
An excerpt from the bottom of his lead page below applies to this unit as well.
QUICK FACTS
Charcoal (carbon) is the catalyst for distilling wood oils into fuel gas
Wood chunks make the best charcoal
Use a bandsaw to quickly make chunks from branches/kindling
2.5 -3 lbs of bone dry wood = 1 kw/h @ peak engine output
The system is run in batch loads of up to 4-6 hours with a hopper
Ideal engine is 1-5 liters spark ignited (mine is 5 liters, a 300ci Ford straight six)
@@wgc1444 if you live near an industrial area, like wood work shops or manufacturers of pick-handels there is a lot of waste materials to be collected for free, even a trip to the saw mill once a week to load up off cuts and waste
@@ashtonwright8807 absolutely right
So to the laymen is that running the house power & or is the power going back into the grid as credits or just running the drill cause it looks to me that maybe the grid power might be cheaper to run that drill, than all that stainless and engines etc and that noise.
Actually, the cost of wood is very close to the cost of the grid, with the exception of my time to prepare the wood and feed the hopper. For me, this is for emergency backup use. For a farmer or others who work from home, this could easily be the main power source for them.
I wonder how much wood per hour this thing would consume and how well it would run at 80% of the 45kW design. That gasifier looks pretty solid. Most I see on videos look kind of unrefined. I wonder the quality of the gas that is output. I hear the FEMA designs are dirty.
Hello,
I look for constrution plan for the burner could you m help thank you
I am also interested in a Coal Burning Gasifier.
This is a great accomplishment
How often do you refill wood into the gasifier?
Would you dismount the engine of the generator ,replace it with a turbine that will be rotated by the steam then it (Turbine) rotates the generator ? Would such a set up work?
Thank you in advance.
+my self - The hopper will hold about 4 hours worth of wood. I imagine that's possible, but you are adding layers of processes to the system. I prefer to keep it simple.
How many lbs of material per hour burned to capacitate this set up!!!
Beautiful parts by the way ...some one has a lathe or access to damn good millwright!
Well done man!
That question was asked and answered somewhere in these comments. I believe 4 or 5 18 inch long sticks about 6 inxhes in diameter will burn for at least 4 hours.
@@markwerner8089 thank you kindly!
AMAZING......
would you get more power/ smaller machine if you used charcoal as fuel instead of raw wood ??
The gasifier creates it's own charcoal out of the wood chunks by cooking it without oxygen. When shtf, you would be hard pressed to find charcoal.
@@wgc1444 find charcoal, as in buy? u just make it in a retort. oi have seen both wood fired and charcoal fired gassafiyers and the advantage of charcoal is you don't get ANY tar or other nasty deposits in you engine.
@@kazadori164 the idea here is simplicity without waste. The more complicated you make it, the more people you need to run it. This gasifier is heavily filtered and cooled to reduce tar as much as possible. Choice of wood helps as well.
Good job!What you used in filters?
Hi. How do you govern the air fuel ratio?
With the throttle body piece above the engine
@@wgc1444thanks for your reply. Nice to see you are still active.
How did you determine the air to fuel ratio? Did you use any air/fuel sensors? Or did you just play it by ear?
Thanks
@@devjono To tell you the truth, I got lucky on my first try. If it hadn't, I would have adjusted it by ear
@@wgc1444 😁 awesome luck.
There are sooo many things I can do with this gasifier:
I can run a 45KW generator as seen here and power a whole neighborhood.
I can load it up onto my truck and drive on wood.
I can pump it into a 10K gallon bladder tank and store it for later.
From the bladder tank, I can use an air compressor and fill mine and other's LP tanks. I can also pipe it to my hot water heater and furnace, power my wood miser saw mill, and also use it to fuel an ethanol still for producing liquid fuel!
Some people say I can even make bio-gasoline and bio-diesel directly from the gas, but I haven't seen a reliable simple process for that yet. Can anyone provide some intelligent input on this?
The gas coming off that setup will be mostly CO (carbon monoxide) with a bit of hydrogen and a hint of methane - along with nitrogen from the air it consumes.
Since it appears pretty well designed I'd assume most of the hydrocarbon chains are being 'cracked' in the extremely hot hearth - therefore, you'd struggle to get any liquid fuels from the gas without a very expensive setup and a complicated process.
If you want liquid fuels from wood in a DIY fashion you need to condense 'dirty' wood gas from zero oxygen pyrolysis, then further refine/distil the produced sticky sludge.
The zero oxygen (air-free) environment prevents CO production (fire) and pretty much eliminates the nitrogen content - you'll get some surplus hydrogen/methane that you can redirect and use in the heating process.
With zero oxygen pyrolysis most of the 'C' (of the 'CO') will remain as charcoal when the process is complete, because you didn't allow it to 'burn' and combine with the 'O'.
The rest of the 'C' will remain bonded to 'H' (in chains of varying lengths) in the sticky sludge.
You can burn the 'C' (charcoal) later to pyrolyse the next batch of wood.
BTW, this method is great for turning waste plastic into liquid fuels.
Quality stuff right there!!
Hey,mister. Did you know there's an oil refinery in your backyard?" lol
Actually, that would be a natural gas production refinery ;-)
wgc1444
I'm a natural gas refinery...Phaaarrtt! See,told ya so.lol
Maybe...hmmm...you could mount a refueling chamber on top, an air lock chamber like in the Hollywood in space movies.
Another chamber on top;
Add fuel,equalize pressure,release dump valve to add fuel,close valve without interupting gas production...
So; thanks for your reply,God Bless.
How You build this gasificador? Excelente video form Colombia
google "victory gasworks"
as you say, ''The generator is driven by a Ford 300 cubic inch straight six engine that was originally set up to run on natural gas.'' does this mean it is driven at low idle on diesel and ignite the gas with the diesel at load? or does it has spark plugs? thanks
There is nothing diesel about it. The Ford 300 is a gasoline engine that can also run on propane or natural gas.
@@wgc1444 thanks! my first thought when I saw that big gen and the name Ford was -Diesel :) do you know anything about diesel-woodgas engines? my 'issue' is I already have a diesel generator so either sell if for a petrol one or convert it in some way. I have to ask :) thanks mate
@@mekefalk As far as I know there is only two ways you can run a diesel engine off of wood gas. The first, is by using an old diesel that has spark ignition. The second, is by running the engine with less diesel and supplementing with wood gas.
Did you buy or build this one. If you build it what is the price for it?
did u get an answer?
Você tem o esquema desse projeto para disponibilizar ?
looks pretty but lets put the gen-set under a full load for a few hours and see if things can keep up? i am thinking not so much. i know the amount of fuel a 45KW will chew threw on even a 1 hour full load test.
I have been working in wood gasification for 12 years, with a power of 2MW, on jenbacher v16 engine. the problem is not to maintain the load, because the motor will create more suction, which will simply consume more wood. but the problem with this type of single-stage gasifier is the production of tar which in the medium term clogs the engine.
@@arjo656 i can see that, and to make it hot enough to slow the creosote down you defeat the gas production.
This is awesome! I just wonder if you measured how much wood you used per hour on this 45 KW generator?
I took the equivalent of one 8" log about 18" long and split and cubed it for the gasifier. I was able to run the generator about 30 minutes on this much wood. When I get some time, I'll fill the hopper and run it to see how long it lasts. I'll post it here to let everyone know.
***** Thanks a lot Mark. It is really amazing! We planed to run on our 10K for the whole house. Hope to see your next vid soon.
Do you sell your plans? I have an old 300 sitting behind my garage, would love to make good use of it to power the homestead. Now I just need some batteries... Haha
That is one nice Gasifier, Great work, Is the Base the cooler for the Gas
The base is and the radiator in front of the generator
@@wgc1444 You did a Beautiful Build ,you should be Proud.
how much bio material will the generator consume in a day, maintaining a household?
fragwits i assume you mean kilowatt/hour right?
thres no answer coz thees no peramiters........
steam fuel and atmosphiric conditions will change the day to day running
its just like using a fire place to heat house......
realy dont mater cause enough free stuff to burn to not even worry
So, What would be the amount and the size of logs we can place in one single batch?
About 8 8x18 logs sliced and cubed to about the size of your thumb to run the gasifier and generator for 4 hours, which is enough to keep your freezers and refrigerators cold if you don't open the doors a lot.
@@BillWalters-kx8sw about the size of your thumb. They don't have to be perfect cubes either.
Great video well done 👍👍👍👍👍
The best!
How much of a load will the generator supply on wood gas? I don't see a load bank.
About 4 hours run time per load
@@markwerner8089 You misunderstand. What is the output in kW on wood gas?
Sir, Wood gas and disiel, which one is more safe for the Gen?
This is a gasoline engine adapted for natural gas, and further adapted for syngas by me. You can't run diesel in this engine.
If you mean 'can you do this with a diesel generator', then yes, with exceptions. If your diesel motor has spark ignition, then yes, you can run it just like mine here. If it does not, then you must start it with diesel and gently back off the diesel until rough, feathering the diesel until smooth. This will be a diesel/syngas mixture.
How do you control the mixture of gas and air before entering the engine manifold?
@@amkazan7821when the video shows the pipe going into the engine, you see the throttle body just before the pipe goes into the engine. That's where the mixture is set.
I have made one gasification plant
Sill improving