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Wood burning truck!

Started by ellmoe, April 28, 2005, 08:18:40 PM

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SwampDonkey

Looks like he had to seek a coadjutor, while he's cogitating.  ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

GF

Years ago I worked putting on propane systems on pickups, the company I worked created a propane dominator carburator and had it patented.  The process was that is had an aluminum plate about 2" think that went under the carburator, it was machined out to match the holes in four barrel carburators.  A brass pipe with holes went from front to back we called it a spray bar.  There was a valve on the back and one on the front for the propane to enter, these valves then had adjustable linkages that connected to the ping outside the carburator where the primary and secondarys were. 

This allowed the existing throttle linkage that power the carb with gas to also power when on propane, it was very simple and worked great.  When you put your foot down and opened up the secondarys the back valve opened and dumped more propane in.  I think this same item could be used for wood gas real easy, thought about it many of times.  For some reason the company quit doing these systems and went on to other things, I know they still have alot of these parts around since they were mass machined.

Gary

Paul_H

Gary,

I went googling for the dominator carb and found some info but none related to the linkage.It sounds interesting and I would be interested in any info you can find.
Mother Earth news built a dual linkage for woodgas and gasoline too but it was complicated(but apparently worked well) so they set up a motorcycle type on the steering column.
Others have rigged up a second pedal on the left hand side.I haven't decided which way to go yet.

farmerdoug,


I think the 12vdc heater motor may be under powered and this blower has a cooling fan for the motor too which may be a good thing because it'll get pretty hot for 5 minutes or so when the gasifier heats up.I read where some guys were running 110 vac with a inverter but the type needed to run this blower are expensive.(?)

While the carb was getting rebuilt today,I worked on getting the blower mounted and wired.I wasn't sure how to hook the blower itself to the pipe but it turned out that with a bit of messing around,I could thread a 2" pipe nipple iinto the fan housing and then tack weld and silicone it.
To start the gasifier,the gate valve is opened and the blower plugged in  for a few minutes and then the gate valve is closed and the engine is ready to start.I had read that having the blower before the cooler and filter saves them from clogging with dirty gas.

The tank between the gasifier and gas cooler is the filter canister,built from a 18" HW tank with the same lid const as the others.





The gas comes in the bottom pipe and passes up through black fibreglass filter cloth,up through a 1/3 of a bale of loose straw and finally through another layer of filter cloth and then piped out from the tank to the carb.
There is a condensate drain in the bottom of the tank.







I got the carb back this afternoon and hooked it all back up and ran the engine on gasoline,just have to work on the idle a bit.
Tomorrow,I'm hoping the 2" hose arrives on the bus and I can finish hooking the unit up completely.If not,I have to make some charcol and finish sealing the lids.


Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

jpgreen

How many watts is that blower motor Paul?  Shouldn't need to big of an inverter.
All depends on the start up surge too which can be as much as 50 percent. Square wave
inverters are pretty darn cheap nowadays.

DanG I wish I had time to build one of these gassers right now. That unit looks outstanding..  8)

-95 Wood-Mizer LT40HD 27 Hp Kawasaki water cooled engine-

Paul_H

Today was a little frustrating because I was expecting to have the 2"suction hose arrive on the bus by today but a call to the depot made me a little suspicious so I called the Princess Auto store in Langley and they told me they would try to ship it out today sometime  ???
I had that issue with their shipping dept before and the store manager told me to let him know if it ever happened again so when I asked for him,people started hopping.I had ordered the hose on Tuesday morning and was assured they had it in stock and would be sent out by Wednesday at the latest.I really like Princess Auto,I think it is great for tinkerers and farmer/fabricator types like us and I hate complaining but the upshot is that I have no suction hose  :-\

Because I couldn't source any charcoal locally,I decided to cook some up as I worked on the truck today.I cut up some chunks of Birch endcuts left over from a floor I did for a customer in the spring and put them in a 25 gallon barrel that had a lid and lock ring.



I had cut a hole in the lid and screwed in a 3/4" nipple to let the smoke and water vapour out and once the smoke built up some pressure and turned white,I got a chunk of heater hose and set it against the nipple and routed the gas down to the flames.
It lit on fire and came out as a blow torch but then the hose filled with brown condensate and it slowed the flow.When I tipped the hose to let the condensate out,I was surprised at how much formed in the short time .



After several hours,when the smoke from the barrel slowed way down, I removed the barrel and let it cool and finally opened it up for a look.
Most all of it is charcoal with the exception of a few pieces but all in all I'm pleased with the results.





The charcoal will be the first added to the gasifier,followed by a 6" layer of domino sized chips and finally dry chunks around 1x3x4



I was hoping to maybe get the gasifier lit this weekend but it's looking like I'll have to wait a few more days till the hose comes but it'll be a good thing to do some tweaking and tuning in the mean time.

jpgreen,

I forgot to look at the specs on the blower,I'll check tomorrow,it would be good to know if an inverter would work.
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

jpgreen

That's a neat way to make charcoal. It is really amazing the flame off of the smoke like that, which is after all what the whole concept is about.

That wood looks like pine?

Get me the wattage or amps on that unit Paul and I'll track down an inverter.
-95 Wood-Mizer LT40HD 27 Hp Kawasaki water cooled engine-

SwampDonkey

Nice looking batch of charcoal. Someday I gotta tinker about and make some. Now if I only had an old fuel barrel or 2.  Should be easy enough for a non tinkering feller like myself to figure out. There have been enough threads on making it. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

GF

I did a rough drawing on the carburator, not good at using paint to draw with but I hope it helps out.  Using something like this would require to put a fuel solenoid in right before the gasoline carb.  This way you can flip a switch inside and you run on gasoline flip another and your running on woodgas, mush like using propane.  The picture of the inside valve body is what the valve looked like when machined out to allow the flow of the woodgas.  The linkages will connect to the existing carburator throttle body.  This way the woodgas valves are opened and closed using the existing throttle body of the gas carburator.  This system would require no major mods to the gas carb itself.  I am going to see if I can ahold of one.  One thing on the drawin that is not correct that I just remembered is where the linkage attaches to the carburator, it needs a lever also just like the one on the valve itself the linkage connects to lever on the valve and the lever on the carburator.  The adjustable linkage is used to set the woodgas fuel input for idling.  The linkage on secondary valve is used to adjust the woodgas fuel input when the secondary's are used.  Sorry for the poor drawing hopefully this helps picture what I'm trying to describe.

Gary


Paul_H

When Tom came home from work today,I enlisted him to give me a hand.I don't have throttle or choke/air-fuel cables so I had to operate the carb while Tom started the engine.We ran it on gasoline for awhile but it wouldn't run on woodgas only and I was getting a little discouraged and thought maybe the spark advance was too far out.
Then I looked down the carb and saw that the linkage wasn't letting the woodgas butterflys open at all so I did some bending with a screw driver and we tried it again.

What you see here is Tom operating the carb while I record with the video camera.It was running 100% woodgas.

8) 8) 8)
I still need to hook the carb up to the control cables and have the spark advance a little more so it runs smoother.

The exhaust smells like wood :)



http://www.youtube.com/v/gSifqTsde40
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

sawguy21

 8) 8) Congratulations, betcha can't get the grin off your face.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Paul_H

Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

beenthere

That be fantastic. Great to hear it running....Good on ya,  eh eh

Real nice to have that captured on video, and for all of us to hear it run.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

TexasTimbers

Yes is sounds great. No one appreciates a Don Garlitz rumble anymore than me but those are the prettiest welds I have ever laid eyes on and I am not kidding because they are harnessing that rumble!  8) 8) 8)

Hey if you stuff honey locust in her will the fumes smell like honey ???
The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

jpgreen

WoooHoooo....  8)

Congratulations are in order..  :)  How are you going to filter your oil?  I planned to run 2- Frantz toilet paper element filters in line via bypass.
-95 Wood-Mizer LT40HD 27 Hp Kawasaki water cooled engine-

Paul_H

Quote from: jpgreen on September 10, 2007, 11:55:05 PM

How are you going to filter your oil?  I planned to run 2- Frantz toilet paper element filters in line via bypass.


JP,

what oil did you mean,or were you refering to filtering the gas?
As far as I know,the motor oil should be okay with the standard filter.


Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

SwampDonkey

"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Norm

Cool!

Wish I could of been there to give you a big pat on the back. :)

Fla._Deadheader



   8) 8) 8)  Wooooo  Hoooooo,  EH ???  :D :D :D :D :D

  Another Frankenmonster is alive  8) 8) 8)

  Knew DanG well you would get it perfected.

  How many miles to the cord ya gonna get  ??? ::) ::) :D :D :D

  Congratulations Paul.  8) 8) 8)
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

jpgreen

Paul the way I understand it from reading in on the experts from time to time is the wood gas system is very hard on engine oil.  So much so that it will take out an engine much, much faster than running on gas with tars and other impurities.  So one solution is to run the Frantz bypass filtration system via toilet paper element.

You can find out more about this on    gasification@listserv.repp.org and the Fluidine website:
http://www.fluidynenz.250x.com/

Quote from: Paul_H on September 11, 2007, 12:00:33 AM
Quote from: jpgreen on September 10, 2007, 11:55:05 PM

How are you going to filter your oil?  I planned to run 2- Frantz toilet paper element filters in line via bypass.


JP,

what oil did you mean,or were you refering to filtering the gas?
As far as I know,the motor oil should be okay with the standard filter.



-95 Wood-Mizer LT40HD 27 Hp Kawasaki water cooled engine-

OneWithWood

Way to go, Paul  8) 8) 8) 8)

Can't wait to see the video of you toolin' down the road in it  :) move_it
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Stump Jumper

sweet  8) almost ready to take your wife out on the town in that fine ford  ;)
Jeff
May God Bless.
WM LT 40 SuperHDD42 HP Kubota walk & ride, WM Edger, JD Skidsteer 250, Farmi winch, Bri-Mar Dump Box Trailer, Black Powder

sprucebunny

Congratulations, Paul !

8) 8) 8)

I'm very impressed !
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

GF

Cool video, and cool wood gas truck, make sure you stop by here on your tour with it, I want to get a close look at it.  Nothing is more gratifying than when something you build comes together.  Congrats are in order. 

Gary

Paul_H

Thank you all for the encouragement,advice and prodding,it helped along the way and it held me accountable when I wanted to slack off. :)
I still have a ways to go before driving it but work is slow right now so I'll make the best of it.The woodgas throttle is hooked to the gas pedal right now and the air/fuel flap is connected properly to a control cable in the cab so I will try to fire it back up tomorrow morning and let it run an hour or so.

Maybe even move it across the yard. :)


Here is another video from the Swedes driving an old Forson on woodgas


http://www.youtube.com/v/xF_zFimqTXw


Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Archive retrieving test bunny

The Forestry Forum CRASH OF 2007 ARCHIVES
General Forestry => Alternative Methods and Solutions => Topic started by: Jeff on September 16, 2007, 05:10:50 PM


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Title: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: Jeff on September 16, 2007, 05:10:50 PM
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This is a thread I want to see here. One of the first things of hundreds I have thought of that we dont have at the moment. Also the Bio-Mizer thread. and on and on.  The photo thing will be another thing to tackle.

Paul, tell me the truck is still in yer yard eh?


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: Paul_H on September 16, 2007, 05:19:44 PM
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Yep,I had it running again Thurday for over an hour on 100% woodgas,I even moved it a few feet.I am in the process of connecting control cableschoke on the primary gasoline side and air/fuel flap and idle cable on the woodgas side so everything can be contolled from the cab.

I was crawling around the engine Friday but when I tried to start the engine on gasoline yesterday,it wouldn't quite go.The plugs are clean but the spark is really weak.When I had the engine fire last week,the wires to the coil got burned a little.
There is lots of gasoline at the carb and compression seems to be okay(according to my thumb test)  ::)


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: sawdust on September 16, 2007, 07:51:59 PM
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Evening Paul, I did not really follow this thread last trip around   "BC" Before Crash!

I have an old R130 International Harvester Truck that only makes 5 mpg with a 212 cid motor.
might be perfect for converting. So, did you start out with a particular book on converting?

I remember hearing my Grandmother talking about the guy nextdoor during the war, his taxi ran on smoke. They were Danish, I gather smoke was big there.

sawdust



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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: farmerdoug on September 16, 2007, 08:52:58 PM
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Paul,  I wonder what they would think of your truck at the US/Canadian border?  When you leave Michigan you would have throw out your extra fuel. :D

Farmerdoug


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: Paul_H on September 16, 2007, 08:58:04 PM
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farmerdoug,

is that on account of the EAB or do they need the firewood? It reminds me of the guy pulled over by the police and asked if he has any booze.

He tells the cop to stop mooching and buy his own :)


Sawdust,

I started out with a design that was known to work.Mothewr Earth news designed and built a gasifier and drove it coast to coast with no major problems.The plans were $15 and they included 3 poster sized pages of drawings,diagrams,photos and instructions as well as an updated booklet with plans for building dual fuel carbs.
I haven't seen any other set of plans for a gasifier that is even close to being as comprehensive and put in laymens for the backyard tinkerer as these are.What I didn't understand,I asked about here on the forum and received excellent help.

There is a 30% power loss with woodgas so a larger engine for the cornbinder might be a good move.Jeff Davis built a system to drive a IH truck back in the early 1980's

Here are a couple links to the story of the MEN gasifier

Mother Earth News (http://www.motherearthnews.com/Homesteading-and-Self-Reliance/1981-05-01/Mothers-Woodburning-Truck.aspx)

and a link to order the plans

MEN plans (http://www.motherearthshopping.com/detail.aspx?ItemNumber=762)

here are some photos of the construction of my MEN gasifier on Yahoo.You may have to sign up.

Photos (http://tech.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/WoodGas/photos/browse/b4e7)


Here is a You Tube of the truck finally up and running on 100% woodgas.



http://www.youtube.com/v/gSifqTsde40






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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: jpgreen on September 18, 2007, 12:20:05 AM
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I've got a 1970 binder scout that I think will be my first gasser.  It's got the little V8 314 I believe industrail engine- posi all around, and 4 on the floor..  8)

I've got the engine out, heads rebuilt, and gonna put a ring and bearing kit. Probably install a receiver hitch and make a platform off of that for the woodgas.


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: MikeH on September 18, 2007, 10:05:09 PM
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O.K.   so what is woodgas?


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: sawdust on September 18, 2007, 11:04:38 PM
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My nontechnical knowledge of this. Heating (in this case) wood to a temperature that causes the wood to decompose into gas. This gas then can be drawn into an engine cylinder with sufficient oxygen and ignited. The gas is mostly carbon monoxide a bit of methane. If you search wood gasification there are some excellent resources.

I have some really technical books that I don't understand all that well!

sawdust


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: Jeff on September 25, 2007, 06:35:49 PM
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Paul, I'll see what I can do about coding back in a way for YOUTube videos to work within the forum. Not sure how to do it yet as this software code is quite different then the old.


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: Jeff on September 25, 2007, 07:49:44 PM
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You Tube Video of Pauls Truck Test
http://www.youtube.com/v/gSifqTsde40


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: jokers on September 30, 2007, 08:04:45 AM
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Quote from: farmerdoug on September 16, 2007, 08:52:58 PM
Paul,  I wonder what they would think of your truck at the US/Canadian border?  When you leave Michigan you would have throw out your extra fuel. :D

Farmerdoug

Only if his extra fuel had any bark on it.


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: Roxie on September 30, 2007, 08:40:37 AM
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That is awesome!   Wow!   :o


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: Noble on September 30, 2007, 10:56:38 AM
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That Paul is really something 8) 8) 8)  For some of the newer members that are just getting acquainted with Paul,  his posts on remodling his house and dressing up for work are worth reading ;D ;D  I'm gonna look them up again when they are available.

Paul,  your neighbors and I are really curious as to what your next project will be.  They may be a little nervous too :D :D :D


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: SwampDonkey on September 30, 2007, 11:15:08 AM
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We'll have her all back in time. We've got good men working on it.  ;D

Paul's just like an artist surrounding himself, or isolating himself, however you view it, with all that wide open space and scenery. Gives him inspiration to dream and get down to it, to make things happen as he envisions it, or at least give it a try. All the while making a living in the woods, and such, like a good many others.

I don't hardly know Paul, but that's my take on him.  ;D

Most of that stuff he's posted and tried to explain, I ain't even got a clue.  :D :D


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Title: Re: Paul's wood burning truck
Post by: sawdust on September 30, 2007, 11:17:03 AM
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Noble, You will have to add some pause and inflection to these words....

Mornin Paul,,,, whatcha building?,,, oh ,,,why?

:D :D :D

sawdust


Had yer shots?

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