Author Topic: Wood burning truck! (Read 80388 times)

Paul_H · « **Reply #180 on:** June 18, 2007, 10:32:12 pm »

I had been scratching my head trying to come up with a gas cooler.The cooler shown in the pic below uses water but that would cause freezing issues.

So I adapted another Mother Earth News design....

and came up with this,made from a 100# Propane tank

I filled the tank with water to get rid of any residual Propane and then cut the top off with the torch

Next move,because the weather turned cold and rainy was to move into the kitchen and draw up a template for the end plates.Once done,I clamped two 24" square 1/4" plate together and laid the template over and center punched the 23 holes and then drilled them out to 1" on the drill press

The tubes are 3/4" EMT cut into 24" lengths.The ends were dipped in muriatic acid to disolve the Galvanizing(is that right?

) where the welds will be.

These next two pics were taken through one of the holes in the endplates,Digital cameras are cool

I screwed up when I welded some of the tubes.The EMT is thinwalled and I had the setting on the Mig too high,It should have been cooler with a slower feed speed but it wasn't so I ended up with weeping when I filled the tank with water.
I ended up brazing the the leaks.

Last one here for now shows the top welded on.The opening is 10" and will have a lid in the same fashion as the Gasifier and it will allow access for rodding out any build up in the tubes.

Still have another day or two on the cooler to finish and hook it to the gasifier with a proper companion flange and condensate trap built into the 3 1/2" tube.

jpgreen · « **Reply #181 on:** June 19, 2007, 12:06:50 am »

That looks good Paul. I'm soakin' up your idea here whilst eatin' my Kentucky Fried Chicken dinner..

The digital shots are cool looking up the tank..

Fla._Deadheader · « **Reply #182 on:** June 19, 2007, 07:30:50 am »

Lookin Good. I can almost smell the smoke.

Paul_H · « **Reply #183 on:** June 19, 2007, 09:03:38 am »

Quote from: Fla._Deadheader on June 19, 2007, 07:30:50 am

I can almost smell the smoke.

Harold,
That's something like my dad used to say when I told him I'd been thinkin

JP

I get a craving for KFC twice a year but now a seed has been planted so I predict some take out in the near future

Quote

I bought the mother earth plans some time ago, and can't wait to get started on a unit. The only vehicle I have now that would be suitable is a 1971 International Scount 4WD with the little 314 V8. No room for a gasser, but maybe one could be built on a trailer to tow?

The trailer is a good way if you want to switch between vehicles but the engines must be similar in size.
For instance,my gasser is built for a 302 so it should be adequate for your engine,a 314 but too small for a 350.

I saw a photo of a trailer setup where they used 2" clear suction hose from a fire pump from the back of the car to the engine.I would think a camlock coupler would seal well enough too (?)

jpgreen · « **Reply #184 on:** June 19, 2007, 09:30:08 am »

Paul I blame it on TV,.

I haven't watched it for 8 years, and now I'm down in Sacramento doing a remolding job, watching TV and the commercials corrupt me..

But I gotts to say that KFC was screamin' off the plate it was so good. No more trans hydrogenated fat oils too..

Paul_H · « **Reply #185 on:** June 30, 2007, 09:54:50 pm »

I've had a few days off so it's been a good opportunity to get some work done on the cooler.The weather has been wet and soggy and the mosquitoes have been having a field day on anything warm blooded and breathing but a little bug dope on the face,ears and arms keeps me somewhat sane.

We loaded the cooler and gasifier into the box and set them where they'll stay.I was pleased to see that there was still a full 5 1/2 feet of box to spare in the back of the truck.I'll try to mount the filter housing between the gasifier and the cooler to leave the rearview mirror unobstructed.

I added a companion flange on the 3 1/2" pipe between the cooler and gasifier to make service or replacement on the two units simpler and easier.

The 2" pipe coupler in the bottom left is the gas outlet and the 1 1/2" nipple in the middle,bottom is the outlet for the condensate,which will be piped to a refitted 20# propane tank as a holding tank with a drain valve.

The 4" cap on the right is the cleanout port and the two 1 1/2" nipples on the left(welding ground in bottom nipple) are the coolant ports.

The lid allows access to the 23 heat exchanger tubes for rodding when things get too sooty.The lid const is the same as on the gasifier.

The vertical 3 1/2" pipe will be fitted with a blower which will mimic the suction of the engine to start the gasifier up without drawing the really dirty gas that comes with a cold start,through the cooler,filter and engine.

The blower is 120 VAC and the motor is separate from the gas.I'd love to have a DC blower but haven't been able to find such an animal.

After the pics were taken,Tom helped me disconnect the cooler and set it on the ground so I could finish welding the pipes.

Clean up and paint for the cooler is next and then the filter system will probably be next.

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #186 on:** July 01, 2007, 04:19:37 am »

Can't wait to see her blow some smoke.

jpgreen · « **Reply #187 on:** July 02, 2007, 08:09:49 pm »

THis is truly exciting. Are we sic or what?..

Paul_H · « **Reply #188 on:** July 02, 2007, 09:53:57 pm »

I know that I'm hooked

Nothing got done yesterday because July 1st is Canada day and our youngest girls rode their bikes in the parade then we went to the rec grounds and had a good visit with friends and nieghbours.Came home,napped,ate and then went back to hear some local bands and visit some more.Fireworks at 10 pm and then home by 11:30.

Today was finicky work cutting,grinding and drilling out a bunch of brackets to secure the gasifier and the cooler.Not much to show but it's necessary and now it's at least done.Tom or Jodi will sand and prep the cooler for paint while I'm at work and hopefully I can paint tomorrow night.

Here is a cool video of an old truck and gasifier from the 1940's

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/hSgL0Ie4zrI" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/hSgL0Ie4zrI</a>

OneWithWood · « **Reply #189 on:** July 03, 2007, 07:24:34 am »

Too cool vid

jpgreen · « **Reply #190 on:** July 03, 2007, 09:01:53 am »

Oh my lord. I want to fly over there right now and talk him into selling me that truck..

Is that a cooling/holding tank for the woodgas on the front bumper?

I have got to build one of those someday soon. Maybe a GM 4x4 since I/m a GM guy..

Paul_H · « **Reply #191 on:** September 04, 2007, 11:40:28 pm »

It's been a long Summer and I haven't had a chance to doo too much more on the truck until yesterday because I had been slacking on my responsibilities around the house,like firewood,lawn etc but now we're good to go!

I had been dreading and looking forward to doing the dual carb setup for the truck.Dreading because my knowledge of any auto carb other than the single bbl Rochesters on my old trucks is nil but after pouring over the MEN plans and scrounging at the wrecker I was ready.

The carb on the 302 is a 2 bbl Motorcraft and I was hoping to be able to modify it but the carb was too small to accept a 1 1/2" pipe so I decided on the 4bbl Quadrajet from a GMC pickup at the wrecker.It would require an adaptor and I was happy to see all I needed was in the steel scap pile out back.

I cut a 1.5" band from the 6" pipe and sandwiched it between the plates traced and cut from the 2bbl and the 4bbl,using the gaskets as templates and then welded it all up.

The carb will be a dual fuel carb,the primary side will run as normal on gasoline when needed for starting,or a boost under heavy load and the secondary side will deliver the woodgas to the engine.
The woodgas and gasoline throttle linkages will be independent and the choke flap on the woodgas side will become an air/fuel meter.

The parts that get removed are, the entire secondary linkage unit (and choke rod) . . . both secondary main discharge nozzles, main well air bleed tubes, and accelerator tubes (center: top and bottom) . . . the secondary metering rods, their two-part lever, and a mounting screw and hinge pin (middle center) . . . the secondary bore baffle . . . and a 1-1/2""-diameter section of the main body's rear wall. [14] With the air horn inverted, remove the brass air bleed and accelerator tubes from both sides of the secondary circuit.

The 6 holes from the nozzles and tubes were filled and sealed with a pliable epoxy(gas tank repair)

and then the main body was set in the drill press vise and using a 1-1/2"" hole saw with a 1/4"" pilot bit, carefully drilled into the rear wall of the carburetor's main body until the saw penetrated the divider between the two rear barrels to a depth of one inch.

Then the 1.5" brass pipe was fit,marked and cut some more with tin snips and finally riveted and epoxyed befor reassembing the whole shebang

After I took the last pic here,I noticed some parts behind the cardboard.It was the float assembly

jpgreen · « **Reply #192 on:** September 04, 2007, 11:45:35 pm »

WOo Hoo Paul..

Looks real good. Even a cleaner job then MEN plans. I can't wait to see that baby purr..

Mike_Barcaskey · « **Reply #193 on:** September 05, 2007, 07:16:31 am »

amazing work there, thanks for sharing

"After I took the last pic here,I noticed some parts behind the cardboard.It was the float assembly"
what did Aldo Leopold say? Something to the effect of "The most important part of intelligent tinkering is saving all the pieces"

Paul_H · « **Reply #194 on:** September 06, 2007, 01:37:41 pm »

Thanks,and now I'll share an amazing amount of stupidity

$:-\$

Yesterday I mounted the carb on the engine and hooked everything up including the throttle linkage and wiring and then started the engine.It ran for a few seconds and quit so I kept turning it over but it wouldn't go.I looked under the hood and saw gasoline pouring out the top of the carb and realised the float wasn't working properly.

I took the carb apart on the bench and saw that the needle was off to the side of the seat even though I had set it in place so I set it all back up but by then it was too dark to work outside.
This morning I set the carb on top of the manifold but didn't bolt it down,then I hooked the gas line up.I debated on whether to disconnect the coil wire but decided it was okay to leave it connected.I turned the engine over and the gas poured out of the carb again and enough drained out to start the engine long enough for it to backfire out the manifold.

Poof! It was flame on under the hood and I took my shirt of and tried to smother the flames but there was too much as well as the shirt made a great wick for the gasoline.I ran to my truck and grabbed another work shirt and threw it on top of the flames to but it wasn't enough so I ran to the Motorhome and grabbed a fire extinguisher.It was discharged and useless and the flames were thoroughly enjoying the two cotton shirts I fed them so I ran across the yard and turned on the garden hose(praying outloud the whole time)

Thankfully I had layed out the 100' of garden hose to the truck yesterday to fill the cooler so it was right there.I sprayed down the top of the engine and soaked the shirts and the flames died down and finally quit.........for a few seconds and then....POOF

That happened twice more because the shirt was still smouldering down by the exhaust manifold but finally all was quiet.

I had visions of losing the truck,gasifier and who knows what else.I had the heavy shirts even though the weather is warm because of the bloody mosquitoes this year.

Once everything cooled down,I unhooked the carb and got the numbers off of it to order a rebuild kit and I'm taking it to a good mechanic I know that lives up the valley and he'll go over it with me while I rebuild it.

While I wait for parts,there are some little things that I can do to get the gasifier ready to hook up.The 2" suction hose that will deliver the woodgas from the gasifier to the carb should be here by Saturday and I'm hoping that inside of two weeks I'll have the engine running on woodgas.

Boy oh boy am I thankfull! Still stupid mind you but thankfull just the same

Fla._Deadheader · « **Reply #195 on:** September 06, 2007, 02:26:03 pm »

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Nothing like a little excitement to keep the blood flowing. EH

Paul_H · « **Reply #196 on:** September 06, 2007, 03:05:43 pm »

Yessir the blood was pumping pretty good for sure and the sinuses opened up quite nicely too.I had always pictures that the fire would burn inside the gasifier not under the hood

I need to do some more coagitatin

farmerdoug · « **Reply #197 on:** September 06, 2007, 03:25:19 pm »

Paul,

Looks great, except the fire.

I am wondering if you could change out the 120V blower for a vehicle heater blower motor. They are 12V.

Farmerdoug

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #198 on:** September 06, 2007, 03:27:24 pm »

I remember when I was 10 years old and poured gas into a running push lawn mower. It was hard to start when shut off as I recall. Well now I had a flaming lawn mower.

Grabbed the fire extinguisher out of the shed and had her out. Yup the extinguisher was charged.

jpgreen · « **Reply #199 on:** September 06, 2007, 09:17:57 pm »

I've done that with a Rochester..

I was able to smother it with the first shirt though.

Probably a good idea to have an experienced guy work over the tricky Q-jet. The butterfly (throttle plate) shaft bushings always leak and wear (suck air at the side entrance to the case) so have him check that whilst he's at it.

News:

Author Topic: Wood burning truck! (Read 80388 times)