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Post by thereth on Jul 21, 2015 18:10:39 GMT 10
Hey guys,
so I have been watching the TV series "The Colony" again and paid closer attention tot he wood gasified generator they made in season 1. I was thinking about it and it seems like making one of these out of an old generator may be a decent way to get power.
Now I know I am an advocate of solar but the old 2 is 1 and 1 is none comes into play here as I think that making this 12v means I can charge the solar batteries when the solar is unavailable.
Now solar is great, in every way, but in winter it can be pretty useless, here for example we have had overcast for the last week with maybe an hour of decent sunlight a day on average, this would severely limit the effectiveness of any solar system. Using a gasified generator means I could charge this system in the meantime. Now I can see you all going "DUH Reth, we all know we should have an alternate charging source" but bear with me, the thing that makes a wood gasified generator better than a petrol or diesel one is its extra use... HEAT... this would predominantly be used in winter to charge solar and therefore can be positioned in such a way that it can weither boil water, cook food or just provide heat to stop our dangly bits breaking off or shrinking to far.
Also wood is far safer than petrol when it comes to storage and in all bar the most remote or urban areas is plentiful, renewable and easily scavenged without concern of it being useless. Also I think it is a far safer thing to be hunting for, I would much rather be seen pushing a wheelbarrow of wood as opposed to carrying a couple of jerrycans of fuel
So what do you guys think? Has anyone made one of these before or seen one in use? Can you foresee any dangers or issues I may have overlooked?
Cheers Reth
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Post by Paul on Jul 21, 2015 20:03:49 GMT 10
hey thereth, I have this on my to do list, I have watched yeps of clips of the on youtube, I have made a rocket stove out of an old gas bottle and want to redesign it to make a gasifier. While I was starting out and doing some testing I gasifired some wood and I got a flame to come out the end of the pipe I had connected to it but it was in just in a drum like on the show colony. I even got onto a gasifier forum and did a bit of reading there is lots of info out there, when I finish renovating the house it is on the to finish list but it is a big list of odd projects I have going. (the gasifie,the windmill) I will get there.
But I am in the same boat I love my solar especially being in QLD I have my off grid system up and running now but I still want a back up so a gasifier will be in. this bloke has some good info he has even started his own forum.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-um6oiSNOY&ab_channel=flash001USA
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Post by Paul on Jul 21, 2015 20:05:45 GMT 10
be prepared to lose a lot of time if you start watching this guys clips, they are good.
Paul
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Post by milspec on Apr 4, 2021 20:22:46 GMT 10
malewithatail recently brought up the topic of wood gasifiers and it prompted me to do a bit of homework on the topic. Wood gasifier are a pretty neat system for producing gas that can run spark fired engines and nowadays you can buy domestic "wood boiler" systems that provide hot water and slab heating systems. I kinda like the idea of building one of these systems because we actually have plenty of quality wood to burn. Personally I like the system referred to in the video I've linked here ... I've ordered the book, I'm reasonably tooled up but it will be a back burner project (no pun intended) with a number of more pressing projects ahead of it.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Apr 5, 2021 9:56:26 GMT 10
It works, I built one but it destroyed when the tractor battery shorted out and burned down the shed. You will only get about 2/3 the energy from a generator connected to the gas generator as wood doesn't have the same amount of fuel value as petrol. Wood is 100% renewable, but a gas generator can run on anything that burns, munched old tires, coal, coke, brickets etc. Even newspapers. Mine was connected to a 3.5 kva honda generator, which also was destroyed. The show you refer to wasn't a true generator as there was a chimney sticking out of the car, and it had smoke coming from it. You use the smoke, that's what the gas is in, so it was a stage prop, but originally got me thinking about producer gas. There are several different types of designs, vertical downdraft, updraft, side draft etc. There is lots of info on the net. The basic principle is to burn wood in the absence of air, creating lots of smoke, which contains the mixture of hydrogen, co2 etc. Then u cool the gas, filter it and feed it into a 4 stroke combustion engine. If u design it right, using a stainless steel retort like an old hot water urn, and a cooling system made from old powder coated bed pipes (thin walled so lots of heat conduction). It was naturally cooled, no fan needed, then fed into a filter made with wood chips and finally a old caterpillar bulldozer filter. Then u need a mixing valve t mix air with yr gas and connect to the engine carby. Turn off the petrol, but I cheated in starting my unit and started the generator on petrol and used the vacuum created to suck the gas through. Once the engine starts to cough and splutter, turn off the petrol and adjust the mixing valve according to the loading. Good filtering is necessary as there is still some tar in the gas and that will gum up the engine eventually. I wonder if the range of inverter/generators that are now appearing at the tips would work? Seems as if the inverter would smooth the power delivery a bit. Unfortunately, most/all are Chinese origin and seem to suffer from failed ignition coils, even the Aldi ones. Fortunately, scrapped Holden coil packs work, if a bit cumbersome.
Exceptions prove the rule, but wreck the budget.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Apr 5, 2021 9:59:44 GMT 10
Forgot, u need some form of suction fan to get the system going. I used an old heater fan motor.
Exceptions prove the rule, but wreck the budget.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Apr 5, 2021 10:03:15 GMT 10
Also, forgot u will need some sort of shaker to prevent wood bridging the exit hole, it isnt needed in a vehicle as the vehicles motion does it, but i used a stainless steel colander as a hearth, and hung it with springs with a leaver poking through the side. Give it a shake every so often dislodges the ash.
Exceptions prove the rule, but wreck the budget.
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bear508
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Post by bear508 on Apr 11, 2021 12:32:56 GMT 10
Is a steam engine a viable option as well? There use to be a mob in SA making them, primarily for boats, until a few years ago. My understanding is the owner retired and nobody wanted to take over the business. I know they used to use one to generate electricity for sustainability fairs etc. I imagine one would be fairly difficult to find though. This one was apparently quite efficient with wood and also could supply hot water too. A train whistle was an optional accessory too!
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Apr 11, 2021 13:33:14 GMT 10
There was a mob called Strath steam in South Aus some years ago. Don't know if they are still around. Steam needs high pressures, and possibly regular inspections by the authorities, perhaps not for private use though. Steam engines offer a very long life, but do need maintenance though. Went to the tip this morning and picked up an old vacuum cleaner stainless steel housing that will make a good filter unit, as the gas has to be thorally filtered to remove all ash otherwise engine damage will occur. Couldn't find an old 100lb gas bottle, but will eventually. Also picked up a 18 volt blower/vac that will work ok on 12 volts to pull the gas through on the initial start up from cold. (when the engine is running, engine vacuum pulls it through).
Exceptions always outnumber the rules.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Apr 11, 2021 13:34:20 GMT 10
The steam engine itself, over 30 years ago, was $5 K, plus a flash boiler added another $3 K. You can build a gasifier for almost nothing if you can scrounge the bits.
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