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Wood burning truck!

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

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Timburr

Paul, here's your ratio conversion formula:-

Current ratio  x 100%  = 1/4.11  x 100 % =          0.2433  x 100% =  86.62%         
Original ratio              1/3.56                        0.2809

So your final mph is 70 x 86.62% = 60.63mph.

Have you installed the lower diff. ratio because of the extra weight of the gasifier or the lower BMEP (less power) of woodgas, or both?
Sense is not common

SwampDonkey

Gear Design Equations and Formulas Calculator


Timburr got to it before me.  Just a simple x  =  1
                                                       3.59  4.11
                                                        x    = 0.8735 works. ;D

or

3.59-4.11 + 1  = 0.8735
    4.11
"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)))

Paul_H



Thank you for the conversions,Gentlemen 8)


Quote from: Timburr on March 02, 2008, 01:55:54 PM


Have you installed the lower diff. ratio because of the extra weight of the gasifier or the lower BMEP (less power) of woodgas, or both?


Timburr,

The truck was too high geared for the hills here even with gasoline but yes,it was the lower power of woodgas that caused me to change gearing.
When I chose the truck to convert,I was still in the dark regarding woodgas.It would be great to have another gear between 2nd and 3rd on this truck but we'll make do.
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

twobears


PAUL:over the winter i have done alot of websufing on woodgas.one thing i found was that adding steam to the woodgas gives it more power.some woodgas gen,s are setup with a steam generator.it was just a tank that had hot coolant lines ran thur it or it was hooked to the side of the woodgas generator then,a line was ran into the woodgas gen just like the airlines.i also found one woodgas generator that used the monorator water to make steam.the water boiled away and left just the solids.the tank had a cleanout on it to get the solids out.if you use that water to make steam you have alot less waste to get rid of.
just thought i,de pass that on.

delbert

Paul_H

Hi Delbert,

I've heard if the steam injection too but my understanding of it was that it applied more to coal or charcoal systems although Wayne Keith from Alabama(mentioned in this thread) injects water in his stratified downdraft system.

From what I've read,there is already more than enough moisture in the wood,even at a low MC of 10% to produce Hydrogen and the rest is condensate.If the wood MC is to high,it lowers the temp in the gasifier and the result is tar production whereas Charcoal needs the addition of water.
It might be worth messing with sometime though,I could rig up a nozzle through the lighting port.

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

Corley5

Quote from: Paul_H on March 02, 2008, 12:47:07 PM
the tranny in the truck is a light one.Reverse is towards the driver and up,like a gravel truck and then there are 3 speeds and a OD,someone suggested that it was a car transmission and I might have trouble finding a speedo gear for the 4 11.

When I get back this afternoon I'll crawl under and take a pic where the cable meets the transmission.

It'd be worth a visit to your local auto parts store or an IM to Burlkraft  ;)  I bet Eggiman's could set you up with the right gear  8) 8)
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

pineywoods

Paul, got a couple questions

From the sound of the truck on the video, I assume it's a  V8.. which one, 302???
Reason I ask, I have in storage a 1976 ford with the 300 big six that I would love to convert to wood gas, should work out pretty close to yours. Even has 3.59 gears.
Carb would obviously be different.
What was your reasoning for picking the up-draft system as opposed to the down draft ?
Downdraft looks simpler to build, but I know looks can be deceiving.
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Paul_H

pineywoods,

yes,the engine in my truck is a 302 and my gasifier is sized to run your 300 too.In my plans there is a few pages on converting a 2 bbl Ford/Autolite Motorcraft 5200 which might be small for your engine or you could go with a Quadrajet and make a adapter plate.

My gasifier is a Downdraft Imbert style which has a closed lid and the air is delivered with nozzles  It is the style that was used in Europe during the war.

Imbert



The Statified Downdraft that you see in FEMA was built for emergencies out of materials that are readily available using simple tools but they tend to produce a lot of tar and the fire isn't always easy to control.

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

jpgreen

An inline 6 would be a great conversion because you would have the inherent torque of the inline configuration..  :P
-95 Wood-Mizer LT40HD 27 Hp Kawasaki water cooled engine-

dundee

With kyoto/carbon tax/ carbon foot prints, and all of the other lingo about global warming in our faces, this link of a wood fueld truck would be of interest to Paul H., ( and others I am guessing

Richard

www.sfws.auburn.edu/south/woodtruck.pdf

Paul_H

 Richard,

Wayne Keith,featured in that article lives in Springville Alabama and drives mostly with woodgas.He's a down to earth man but he's not afraid to speak at seminars around the country.The pic below was taken in Wisconsin last year when he drove from the Gulf of Mexico to Wisconsin and back on woodgas only and spoke at a conference (in WI).



The man I bought my old Ford from,was a New Zealander and he told me that after the War,NZ had real petrol shortages until the late 1950's and it was common to see woodgas and charcoal generators on the automobiles there(he is in his early 80's now)
Have you ever seen gasifiers from that era in your country?

Today I was out driving with a friend of mine and we had the truck up to around 85 mph(the gauge goes to 80 mph) which converts to 73 mph using Timburr's formula to convert the gear ratio change.
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

ohsoloco

So what about all of us not gifted with major mechanical abilities  ???  The only way I'd ever have a wood burning truck would be to buy one  :-\

Paul_H

There is this,by Jim Mason in San Francisco and there are are a couple others out there that are working on user freindly systems.Chips and augers,infared and computers will help the process along eventually.

Here is the link to Jim Mason's creation GEK
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

dundee

Paul, No I have not seen any gasifiers where I am, but the interest is definatley here, if I see or here I will post on the Forum

Richard

pineywoods

Paul I went back and re-read this entire thread plus all the links you posted. Quite an education.  thanks. Based on what I learned, I'd probably go the same way you did, even though it is much more difficult to fabricate.  For starters, I'd like to build a smaller one tailored to run a welder/genset with a 25 hp onan. The ford truck is still a possibility. But first, I gotta finish up all the mods I have in the works for the woodmizer ;D
Thanks again for a very informative thread.
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Paul_H

You're welcome pineywoods,

It's been enjoyable researching,building and learning as we go along and I've tried to post as many links and photos as I can to make it easier for someone else to build one and also as notes that I can refer to for my next one.
My memory is flawed I found out here just the other day.I had posted the gear ratio in my truck as 3.56 and somehow in my mind it became 3.59,so I'm glad for this thread and go back through it once in awhile as an easy way to check data.

For an engine like the 25 hp Onan,a better way to go might be a charcoal gasifier.They seem to be a good way to go for smaller engines.The only problem might be getting access to good charcoal.If you want to go that way,I could probably find more info from a guy on my gasification list that has built and ran some if you're interested.


Here is a pic of a charcoal(or coal?) gasifier on a Motorcycle.I have more info on it somewhere,I'll look when I get home tonight.




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

Paul_H

Today was the first time out with the truck on "official business"  ;).
My daughter had a birthday party to attend and we opted for the woodgas mode of transportation.She was enthusiastic about it all.

When we arrived at the party and I dropped her off,I gave a ride to another child's mother who has been following my project since the beginning.She is a high school teacher and asked me to speak to her grade 10 class sometime in April and let them look the system over.

The pics below are getting ready to head out.



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

Fla._Deadheader


2nd photo is PRICELESS.  8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

  Good on ya, Paul. Love it when the kids think yer smart, after all, EH 
:D :D :D  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)

Paul_H

Harold,


Yeah,she's a sweetie.As we drove she was craning her neck to look in the back :D
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Fla._Deadheader


Perzacktically, how does the truck handle idling ??  Is there excessive build up and choking down of the engine, at first take off, from a signal light ??

  I know it's a smoky gas, but, doesn't it create tars when the heat is down, at idling ??
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)

Paul_H

Harold,

I doesn't like to idle too long and I notice if it's too long,maybe 10 minutes,it'll be sluggish when taking off from park to highway speed.I have to get used to reving the engine a little before taking off to let the gas "catch up" if you will.

The gasifier I built was designed to run at around 23- 2500 rpm so I would suppose idling below that could cause some tar.I set the idle with this Black lever and try to keep it up around 1500.

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

Paul_H

Sunday is getting to be the day to drive the woodgas truck and visit.

Last Sunday when I picked up my daughter from the birthday party,the grandfather of the birthday boy came out with a camera and asked if I was driving the biofuelled truck and did I mind if he took some pictures.I told him to go right ahead.
I collected my daughter and we walked back out to the truck and talked to Blaine,who was taking pictures.He was asking some really indepth questions and I realised he had a background in biofuels and was familiar with the process.

We looked the system over and then I took him for a ride in the truck up the valley a few miles and then returned back to his family's home.He was surprised how it travelled along at a good clip.
When I dropped him off,he gave me his card and I saw that he was from Sustainable Development Technology Canada and deals with renewable energy and industrial utilization.
SDTC link

Today,Carla and I took the truck and went out for a visit 25 miles North of here to Bruce and Celine's farm.We met them a couple of years ago when Bruce called to ask if I was interested in milling some Birch logs from their farm and making them a T&G floor for their log cabin.Carla and I liked them right away,they are hardworking people and are fixing up the homestead that originally belonged to Bruce's Grandfather.
They began to drop of 5 or 6 logs at a time whenever they came to town and a pile of logs began to grow out at the mill.I milled them up with the mobile dimension saw into cant's and then ran them through the resaw.Bruce gave me a hand to resaw and load the kiln.The whole process took a year and a half before I got around to straightline ripping and planing because I was working full time logging and was trying to build a gasifier in my spare time   :D

Celine has been the one who has layed the floor down at the house and has taken her time to sort through the boards and make a pattern with the white and chocolate coloured wood.They have a total of 1300 sq ft of flooring to lay down






Bruce built this Birch grate in the corner to let the warm air come up into the kitchen from the woodstove below.



After wandering around the property we had some fresh muffins and hot coffee and a good visit.



When it was time to go,Celine brought me a big box of Birch cutoffs from the floor to throw in the gasifier to help us get home :)

Bruce by the truck and Carla and Celine in the background.



The gasifier,still warm, fired up easily and we headed for home.The cool thing is,the wood we drove up there on was cut from the slabwood and cutoffs produced from milling and trimming their flooring before they got it.

A total of 50+ miles on the old truck today 8)
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

jpgreen

I'm in awe of you Paul..   ;D
-95 Wood-Mizer LT40HD 27 Hp Kawasaki water cooled engine-

Paul_H

Don't be Pat,nobody around here is :D
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

SwampDonkey

Pretty Dang cool stuff. That birch sure is versatile.  ;D

I like working with birch, I think it is very stable wood when put into flooring or other projects.  8) My experience is with yellow birch, but the grain looks the same as other native birch.
"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)))

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