I was camping over the weekend, and after finally getting everything setup, I made some bio-char in the fire. I got an old empty paint type can, made sure it was clean , filled it with wood chunks that I split and cut with a hatchet, threw it in the fire and watched. I took a bunch of pictures with my phone , so I will have to put together a slide show type video and post when I can. Thanks for the how to in your fourth how to vid. It worked just like you said it would. Two gallons of wood made about one gallon of bio-char. As always , glad to see the updates. Looks great.
I forget who told me about that trick. Someone else mentioned it to me and it had nothing to do with gasifiers and that's the funny part. I think they were making home made charcoal for a water filtration system... Go figure.
I've been excited about gasifiers lately and have checked out a lot of videos and other info I could find. Your videos are top notch, thank you for sharing your work with us. It is my hope to build one that will power my Mazda 2200 pickup and be used to run a generator when it is sitting at home. Anyway, thanks again. Jim
nice to see alittle of america , the storms in kansas you would watch the storms for twisters , when it would get silent not even a chricket could be heard . then you knew the twister was near. enjoy your videos bill from the philippines.
Yeah, when I was a child I lived in Kansas because my father was in the service and stationed there so I am familiar with the weather there. I remember a lot of deep snows there too.
Nice plan for the shaker mechanism :) . I added one to mine recently. It's just a motor with an offset crank pin that drives a conrod into the shaker lever. This works really well, but I had to put a resistor in series with the 12V supply to reduce the current draw and slow the shaker down to a sensible speed. Due to the offset mass on the motor shaft, it rattles the gasser during a grate shaking run. This gave me an idea that I want to try soon: I plan to put a bigger offset weight directly onto the motor shaft, along with a reduction drive. This will let the motor run at full speed, thus breaking fuel bridges more aggressively, while shaking the grate more slowly. That way, a single motor can perform both tasks at the same time :) .
Just had an idea come to mind for a shaker actuator..chevy starters have that nice solinoid that kicks in the bendix and pulls them back with spring pressure....just a thought for you and anyone who reads the comments...thanks for all your time
I once used a windshield wiper motor as a way to turn a globe of the world on a float, which was part of the Rose Parade (Portland ,Ore)back in the mid 80's.... you can use sun gears from a auto trans if you need to use gear reduction. This would let you use this system as long as the gasification is in process.... A starter could work - but a small one from a lawnmower is where I would look - most auto starters - I believe may become a problem do to the torque.
I was just letting you know that I posted a 21 second vid of the automatic ashgrate shaker with the new reduction zone also completed. " Ash grate shaker / reduction zone completed " is the title. On the new reduction zone it's 2 1/4 " at the top and 2 1/2" at the bottom.
hello flash excellent video haven't heard from you for awhile i hope everything is all good for you and yours my computer died so I've been out of touch for awhile hopefully I'll be posting videos of my own build soon trailer mounted multi purpose gasifier
Very nice, I like the new cone especially. You can make that linkage much simpler, reduce for intermediate linkage, and let it ride on motor like piston linkage. Piston being the handle, crankshaft being eccentric link at the motor. Or You could take a vibrating element from the game pad, with the motor. Best Regards
Thank for sharing the upgrade I sure did enjoy it. Were you able to fill in some of the plaster and sand mix between the propane tank and the new wood hopper. That I think would increase the internal temperature. Good luck with the future work and upgrades. :)
No filling in with mixtures was unnecessary. I did however pack behind the hopper cone with fiberglass insulation just to remove any gas pockets that could be a possible issue.
I like your idea and love the way you made a working template to test your idea But with my luck and that many joints it would have me fighting constantly! I would have set up the wheel on the motor as you are but I would have used a cable from it to the shaker lever with a spring on the back side! Pull with the cable return with the spring! Less Joints and less trouble! Still could adjust length of pull according to where the pin is on the wheel or slack in the cable! Your way will look cooler though! Also I think the cable would give a moresudden jerk of the shaker giving more effect! I had been hoping for another vid from you as to progress because I like that you did not just quit when it worked but are constantly looking to make it better. Keep up the good work and doing all of the trouble shooting for me! lol
Hey Flash I am nearly done building my look a like gasifier but am having trouble getting any air flow through the unit. How critical is sealing all the PVC an other joints on the gasifier. There are a lot of Joints and openings that need to be sealed. How good of a seal is good enough. Does it need to be water tight? I have bought a number of fan units but none seem to give me the flow you have. Could you measure the inches of water column of your fan assembly and post it. Please I also have a concern My filter units are also not letting enough air pass through. How loose are the 6" filters packed. I just tossed in the filter media and didn't pack it. Just what would fit in the 6" inch tubes. I worry there are a lot of leaky joints. I have not glued any of the joints. What are the problems created by not having a well sealed Unit?
It doesn't have to be 100% air tight but it should still be somewhat air tight. If too much air mixes in the wrong places you are a candidate for bad flashbacks or even a small explosion. As far as the PVC pipes go they should be air tight The biochar clean out port on the gasifier should be air tight. A better way to explain this is you don't need it as air tight as a submarine but it should be sealed enough so that you aren't pulling too much stray air into the system especially where you don't need it. You mentioned water tight and anywhere water is captured needs to be water tight. If it leaks water it can also leak air into the wrong places too.
Hey Flash, it is a good idea. I have an add on idea that may help make it automate. use your vaccuum gauge and stick one wire going to the motor and the other a power , basically use your vaccuum gauge as a switch, just want to figure where you wanted the wires to be placed
Great minds think alike. I thought of adding a few drops of vinegar then using a needle to set the trigger this way the liquid would raise and complete the circuit. It probably would work. For now, I'll set it up on a timer but the option is there.
flash001USA I am an electrician at work and yes should all you need is couple of needles and no more than 3 ft of wire a battery or solar panel. by a estimation according to what you had said the set point should prob be 2 or .5 to your scaling
Hi Flash, In your opinion do you think this gasifier or a bigger version could be adapted to run a generator that could power heaters for a house or at least many of the items used in a house? Love your build videos! Well done!
Hey Flash I fired up the gasifier today and was very disappointed in that I could never get a flare ignition. I have a Door Leak and a significant ignition Port and barrel Leak. Would this prevent a gas that is ignitable. I used FIR and Pine Wood from 2X4 Cut off Ends as my wood. I cut them up in small pieces for the fuel. I produced a great deal of Tar, but no burnable Gas on the output. Any Suggestions.
You have to address the leaks first-most. A door leak can lead to a bad flashback or small explosion. Do you know what biochar is? This is the charcoal byproduct produced from running the gasifier. It's not like BBQ briquettes that are hard and compact. You need to save any of the biochar you had from your run if you had any and use this as the starter. Your best bet is to upload a video (fail or not) and let others see what you have so we can help you. As far as starting up goes here is a video on the best way to fire up the gasifier. ua-cam.com/video/Si05qJppeUQ/v-deo.html
Here is a Self Review of what have done. I believe it is a fair replication of what flash has done with a few small changes. Please view these 6 vids and tell me what you think. Thanks AA
Any progress on the electronics and automation you talked about in this video? Also I was thinking today that if the gasifier is needed it's because of a lightning storm and that it would be a good idea for all of us to drive a copper ground rod next to the gasifier with a piece of heavy ground wire and a jumper cable to ground it. I would hate to see a gasifier full of un-burnt fuel that gets hit by lightning!
I really wish I could tell you yes. I have the control board designed and I know that it will work as I showed but right now I'm working days and playing nights so all of my time has evaporated. I'm also waiting on a break in the weather here too.
flash001USA I understand completely, Life is what happens while we are busy making other plans (John Lennon) We only get so much time here on earth and we must choose daily how we spend that time
Hey Flash I am almost done with the gasifier unit and am working on the filters, I never saw any info on how many steel wool pads it takes to fill the new larger filters and where you can get them for a reasonable price. I figure it will cost over a $100 bucks to fill the larger filter. Also there is little info on the fan unit you are using. It looks like a " (Marine Boat 12v Electric in Line Bilge Air Blower 130cfm 3") " . am I right on the fan? Amazon has it under the above name. and you say in one of your vids you run it at 6 Volts Do you use a PWM to control the speed and voltage? I figured that you only need about 14 Cu feet per minute flow for a 210 CC engine at 1800 rpm. Hopefully i'll have time to get some of my own vid's up on UA-cam in the near future. Thanks for all that you have shared. Thanks so Much
Thomas Allgood Thomas I got my stainless steel wool pads from Sams club because you can get big boxes of them at a good price. It will not cost you $100 to fill a tube. Do not pack them in either. Just drop them in and loose them into the tube. I don't use a PWM but I was using a mechanical variac to control the fan speed. You can also use a piece of stainless steel wool in the flare tube to slow the air down so you can forget the speed control and save yourself some money plus it aids in flashbacks on the flare tube. My blower fan was a lucky find. I found it at a dump right as the bulldozer was getting ready to scoop it up for the recycle process. It was used to blow up a float like you would see for a Christmas float in someones yard. It had no numbers or identification codes on it.
Flash I am slowly aquiring my parts for my gassifier, do you have any pdf's I could use for putting together my unit. If not I will just review your videos and take notes. Great work, enjoy watching vids!
The only thing I have is for the tri-filters and they have been upgraded to what I have now. If you are good with your hands just watch my "how to" videos and you will be able to knock off the build and even add your own ideas to it too. If you have any questions, shoot me an email through the miniwoodgas site and I'll try to either answer them or I'll point you in a direction for you to find them.
Hey Flash, I had a question for you about the reduction zone upgrade. I decided on a generator for my setup and would like to know what your educated guess is for restriction diameters ( at the top and bottom going with the slight inverted bell ). I will be purchasing a 13 hp, 420 cc generator from harbor freight. I did a lot of research on volumetric efficiency and if I did the math right this engine draws 26.7 scfm ( sea-level-standard-day cubic feet per minute). I will be trying to simulate this airflow for testing , but that's still down the road. Anyway, your understanding of the throat diameters is better than mine and I will be machining this part from a solid chunk of steel ( so the archeologists will find the reduction zone with the hearth) . Anyway It's almost been a year since I started this project, an I will be posting a video to mark the progress to date by then. I sat down and made a new hitlist of to do's. This thing is really starting to take shape, and the more I look at it the more things I see that still need to be done. I am working as fast as life will allow, and staying at it. Thanks for all the help so far and I look forward to seeing your grate shaker assembly as I'm sure you are too. Keep us posted , Joe Papa
mazdalorean I just experimented until I found out what worked the best. I can tell you that anywhere from a 2-1/4 up to a 2-1/2 restriction zone would work good. Experiment with that and you'll know when you when you get the right restriction. Have you not fired up your gasifier yet? I thought that you did some test runs but maybe I'm mistaken. As far as finding free time, welcome to my world. I understand the time issues too. Good luck.
Hey Flash I shot a quick vid of the completed reduction zone and ash grate shaker assembly. You don't have to post it on the site, but I figured you would like to see it. As always any input is appreciated.
Hey Joe, you already know that on mine I reduced all the way down to 2 inches so with the engine you have you could try a 2-1/2 inch restriction and the inverted bell would expand out to 3 inches at the bottom where it meets the grate. If you go a larger diameter restriction you may not need the inverted bell and you may be able to just use a 2-1/2 inch piece of straight pipe and be done with it. The main reason that I did the "bell" (ice cube tray idea) mod on mine was because I was reduced down to a Mickey Mouse sized restriction opening of only 2 inches so I was really concerned that the fire cone may get jammed or clogged at the bottom but with a larger diameter it may not be an issue especially if you are mindful of your wood fuel that it is not too big. I hope that helps.
Hey flash, how much water do you normally get in your cyclon filter, I just finished building my gasifier, ran it for 2 hrs, flame is blue, but when I pulled the plug on the cyclone filter, I bet there was a liter of water in there, dint seem like tar, it ran out like water, what's your thoughts, thanks Steve
That's normal and depending where you live and the relative humidity in the air you can see a little as a quart or even as much as a gallon. The water will almost have a purple black hue to it.
Greetings, Flash. I have watched all your Gasifier vids and I think your model equals many good models on UA-cam. It is a bit of a challenge, though, to put all your video information into a design format, such as a working plan. Do you have the plans and diagrams, material lists etc? Have you thought about producing complete plans and making them available for a reasonable fee? I would very much appreciate having that in my hands. Keep up the great work!
Hi Flash001USA Im in Australia and some of the fittings you use are no longer available 😣 I think I can get around most of it substituting fittings for bending. Any how I was wondering if you have tried water as a filter ? Or carbon, working on an orchard they have Devices called scrubbers that are tanks filled with carbon rocks around the size of the blue stone used on roads. I was wondering weather charcoal in a filter tube would be any advantage. I'm a way of starting my build gathering materials atm
Hey When Are You Going to post about the electrostatic Fuel filter design. I have started my build collecting the materials. Hope I am not a day late and dollar short.
Thomas I am in the middle of a big clean-up project here at the house plus I am going to build me a shop so I'm not working on stuff on the kitchen counters and annoying my better half so for now my upgrades and projects are on hold. I'll get back on the ball as soon as I get my house and my yard back in order.
Hey you have to keep the boss happy or things won't go so well. Nice Job on your vid's and research. I have many of the components to build the main unit and still need to get all the pipe and fittings. what was your biggest problem to overcome building yours. Your videos make it look so easy.
Thomas Allgood Believe it or not my biggest hurdle was teaching myself how to work with metal and to use the MIG welder. This was a slow process of just doing a lot of video watching of others builds and then experimenting with my own ideas.
+Rebel James That's very dangerous. You don't want to take that route. The reason is if you don't get a perfect burn you can get a mixture of oxygen in with the woodgas and what you have is a possible bomb.
@@flash001USA I tried the same "sprinkler config" on my nozzle and tried it yesterday. 3 times the system created a "flashback" and twice blew my lid off. Could I have done something wrong when I changed my nozzle or could it be something else? It's the first "flashbacks" I've had to date.
have u done any thing lately on ur gasifier im sill learning things not to do like i just learned u dont want to storage ur gasifier with fuel in it it ends up re-moisturizing it self and u get a mess when u go to restart after storage i may have asked this b4 but what type of wood have u used im going to try a mix of fast burning cedar with slow burning oak theroie is that the cedar will burn up faster and create holes in the burning coal mass aiding in a few things like plugging and creates holes for tar cracking =3-
xoxoXoieoxox Hey long time no hear! Right now I'm just trying to get back on my feet and find the time to work on my projects again. I never subscribed to storing woodgas in tanks and I also think it's dangerous but that's just my personal opinion. If someone is going to store it I would do it in large tractor inner tubes or large plastic bags and use weight on the tubes or bags to pressurize the gas then use it for rainy days only. There is a real deal process to refining woodgas for storage and the truth is most of us are back yard builders doing this so I want to keep this simple and as safe as possible! You were asking about the fuel I use and at least for now I mainly use dried dead branches and sticks that I harvest from the side of the road after storms or even from my woods which is a mixture oak and popular. I cut that into chunks anywhere from 1/2 in x 1/2 in on up to a maximum of 1 in x 1 in. You already know that I'm only running small engines with my build so my hearth (fire cone) won't handle large chunks like Dan's (docdex) build or something that Wayne Keith would use on his truck.
if ur gona run small engines i suggest a onan 2 cyl CCK b\c these imbert reactors need a lot of CONSTANT draw the prob with a single is it creates like a chuffing effect on the reactor with can be BAD 2 or more cyl and u will see a BIG dif and ur reactor is big enor for a 2 cyl my reduction hole is only about 3" and i run a beetle off mine quite effectively if i do say so my self lol =3- i like ur inter tube idea for storing energy i like the compressed air method im working on a windmill with an air compressor on it and it will fill a tank in my basement and when needed i can release the air into my steam engine and get power i like it b\c there is no fuel degradation and no loss over distance on a side note it sounds scary but if u want to make GOOD "electricity" making u should really look into steam it is loads more efficient and it will eat more of a variety of fuels than a gasifier and there is little to no fuel prep =3- in my opinion wood gas is best suitable to transportation it solves alot of the problems with wood gas mainly when u drive a car with the reactor in the back bridging almost becomes a non issue b\c of all the bumps u hit secondly it adds in the cooling of the gasses these are common problems for stand alone sys =3-
xoxoXoieoxox On the chuffing effect that you mentioned before. It is readily apparent when you look at the pressure profiles near the engine, and virtually non existent when you look at it from the gasifier's viewpoint. What I am saying is that the tube filters are acting as a kind of flywheel. They smooth out the gas flow by combining back pressure with momentary gas storage. Well, that's what I 'think' is happening :) .
xoxoXoieoxox Yeah, that was pretty cool. I would like to try that. Perhaps the gas would be good for cooking and water heating too. A flashback arrestor would be a very good thing to have, just in case of potential mattress mayhem ;) .
I'm attempting to run a gasifier on rice husks in Thailand there's lots of rice farming and lots of free excess rice husk. to the thai electricity is expensive too expensive in some places to run washing machines so the women wash the clothes by hand this is very labor intensive I am thinking of fabricating up a washing machine that'll run on internal combustion engine your fabrication looks very professional I never thought of a simple vacuum gauge like yours. I was thinking of an automotive windshield wiper motor on a delay timer for my shaker and a diesel engine for the internal combustion running 20% diesel 80% gas eliminate sparkplug fouled up and eliminate vacuum startup suction fan my combustion chamber is very similar to yours downdraft but without a cone
Flash, tks for posting your vids. I have a thought i wanted to run by you. Tar and oils have always been an issue with gasification. The process of cracking the molecular chains requires heat as the process is endothermic. Carbon atoms sucks up oxygen atoms from H20 and C02 ( cracking ) thus resulting in Hydrogen and Carbon Monoxide gas ( your fuel ). If the thermal energy is not there for the carbon atoms, you get an incomplete process. In theory, you should get no moisture from your output gas if everything is burning properly, and very little oils. This is my thought. Every gasifier i have seen uses a metal reaction chamber, why not instead use clay or fire brick? It would insulate the heat inside your reaction zone, be immune to acid corrosion, and it should be fairly cheap/easy to make. Everything I have learned points to the ideal temperature as being around 2300-2500 deg F. Most gasifiers don't reach that high becouse of the design and materials. Just a thought. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
oh yes, this area of research would help in the tune of a gas gasification process - when you understand how carbs and exhaust system can be made in order to build horse power in a engine. yes, I know I'm not being clear on this - the science is Thermodynamics and this is the key - flow is not just size of a area;- it can be made by design. this was what flash learned with his design changes of his bell mod.
I do need to disclose - I have never build a gasification system, but the process I have been looking at for some time.... I do understand engines - had a design on a lap top that I lost a few years back when I was in contact with all power lab.... 5-6 years ago! Now if I was to be building a system today and money was not a issue - I would be looking at the following as vehicle engines; fords 2.7 gas - the 5.0 Cummins in the Titian. for a small 5-60hp motor - that one is still on the drawing board - maybe 3-5 years out yet.....
Hey Flash, just letting you know I posted Heart of the Flashifier Part 4. If your interested , you can post it on miniwoodgas.com. As always , I look forward to your opinions/ comments. Thanks, Joe
flash; thank you - You, as others have done a great service to this country.... I too ; in my heart of hearts know - the dog crap is about to hit the fan.... I'm hoping I'm wrong, but my mind tells me to get my ass in hi gear. Like most - Money or time are hard to come by at the same time.... That is why I thank you, The time you have saved others - not counting the hard luck and cash lost in the school known as the leaning bell curve - just may save a lot of lives if a crash of the market happens... That my friend is why you shall be on my "minds" wall of honor.
Fred sorry for the late reply. No I'm not a Ham operator. I worked on two way radios and CB's all through the late 70's into the 90's but now I work servicing cable headends and line gear and the radio stuff I have is just CB and I do like to work SSB when the conditions are good. I've actually talked all around the world into pretty much most of the countries in the free world on this little antenna.
I was camping over the weekend, and after finally getting everything setup, I made some bio-char in the fire. I got an old empty paint type can, made sure it was clean , filled it with wood chunks that I split and cut with a hatchet, threw it in the fire and watched. I took a bunch of pictures with my phone , so I will have to put together a slide show type video and post when I can. Thanks for the how to in your fourth how to vid. It worked just like you said it would. Two gallons of wood made about one gallon of bio-char. As always , glad to see the updates. Looks great.
I forget who told me about that trick. Someone else mentioned it to me and it had nothing to do with gasifiers and that's the funny part. I think they were making home made charcoal for a water filtration system... Go figure.
I've watched a few of your gasification videos, great job. Very informative. I truly appreciate your sharing of success and issues.
Thank you!
Real nice design work. I wish I could see it in real life so I might try to copy it and build one myself. Thank you for sharing your passion.
I've been excited about gasifiers lately and have checked out a lot of videos and other info I could find. Your videos are top notch, thank you for sharing your work with us. It is my hope to build one that will power my Mazda 2200 pickup and be used to run a generator when it is sitting at home.
Anyway, thanks again.
Jim
nice to see alittle of america , the storms in kansas you would watch the storms for twisters , when it would get silent not even a chricket could be heard . then you knew the twister was near. enjoy your videos bill from the philippines.
Yeah, when I was a child I lived in Kansas because my father was in the service and stationed there so I am familiar with the weather there. I remember a lot of deep snows there too.
Nice plan for the shaker mechanism :) .
I added one to mine recently. It's just a motor with an offset crank pin that drives a conrod into the shaker lever.
This works really well, but I had to put a resistor in series with the 12V supply to reduce the current draw and slow the shaker down to a sensible speed.
Due to the offset mass on the motor shaft, it rattles the gasser during a grate shaking run.
This gave me an idea that I want to try soon: I plan to put a bigger offset weight directly onto the motor shaft, along with a reduction drive. This will let the motor run at full speed, thus breaking fuel bridges more aggressively, while shaking the grate more slowly.
That way, a single motor can perform both tasks at the same time :) .
On mine I want it fast but in a 1 or 2 second burst so this may work... I hope.
Thanks flash, that's what it looks like, this wood gas is addicting, I could sit for hrs and watch the flame, !
Just had an idea come to mind for a shaker actuator..chevy starters have that nice solinoid that kicks in the bendix and pulls them back with spring pressure....just a thought for you and anyone who reads the comments...thanks for all your time
Yes that would work good too. Many roads lead to Rome. Thanks for the input.
I once used a windshield wiper motor as a way to turn a globe of the world on a float, which was part of the Rose Parade (Portland ,Ore)back in the mid 80's.... you can use sun gears from a auto trans if you need to use gear reduction. This would let you use this system as long as the gasification is in process.... A starter could work - but a small one from a lawnmower is where I would look - most auto starters - I believe may become a problem do to the torque.
I was just letting you know that I posted a 21 second vid of the automatic ashgrate shaker with the new reduction zone also completed. " Ash grate shaker / reduction zone completed " is the title. On the new reduction zone it's 2 1/4 " at the top and 2 1/2" at the bottom.
I will check it out.
hello flash excellent video haven't heard from you for awhile i hope everything is all good for you and yours my computer died so I've been out of touch for awhile hopefully I'll be posting videos of my own build soon trailer mounted multi purpose gasifier
Very nice, I like the new cone especially. You can make that linkage much simpler, reduce for intermediate linkage, and let it ride on motor like piston linkage. Piston being the handle, crankshaft being eccentric link at the motor. Or You could take a vibrating element from the game pad, with the motor.
Best Regards
Great content thank you!
Thank you for your feedback. This gasifier has went through a lot of changes since this video along with being automated in the later videos.
Looking for guidance to make the right gasification unit for an 03’ GMC
Thank for sharing the upgrade I sure did enjoy it. Were you able to fill in some of the plaster and sand mix between the propane tank and the new wood hopper. That I think would increase the internal temperature. Good luck with the future work and upgrades. :)
No filling in with mixtures was unnecessary. I did however pack behind the hopper cone with fiberglass insulation just to remove any gas pockets that could be a possible issue.
More great stuff thanks flash and make sure to cover that fancy gasifier.
I like your idea and love the way you made a working template to test your idea But with my luck and that many joints it would have me fighting constantly! I would have set up the wheel on the motor as you are but I would have used a cable from it to the shaker lever with a spring on the back side! Pull with the cable return with the spring! Less Joints and less trouble! Still could adjust length of pull according to where the pin is on the wheel or slack in the cable! Your way will look cooler though! Also I think the cable would give a moresudden jerk of the shaker giving more effect!
I had been hoping for another vid from you as to progress because I like that you did not just quit when it worked but are constantly looking to make it better. Keep up the good work and doing all of the trouble shooting for me! lol
good to hear from you flash, I just recently started reverse engineering a imbert system close to yours.
Hey flash, when you have time check out this flame, let me know what you think
Hey Flash I am nearly done building my look a like gasifier but am having trouble getting any air flow through the unit. How critical is sealing all the PVC an other joints on the gasifier. There are a lot of Joints and openings that need to be sealed. How good of a seal is good enough. Does it need to be water tight? I have bought a number of fan units but none seem to give me the flow you have. Could you measure the inches of water column of your fan assembly and post it. Please
I also have a concern My filter units are also not letting enough air pass through.
How loose are the 6" filters packed. I just tossed in the filter media and didn't pack it. Just what would fit in the 6" inch tubes. I worry there are a lot of leaky joints. I have not glued any of the joints. What are the problems created by not having a well sealed Unit?
It doesn't have to be 100% air tight but it should still be somewhat air tight. If too much air mixes in the wrong places you are a candidate for bad flashbacks or even a small explosion. As far as the PVC pipes go they should be air tight The biochar clean out port on the gasifier should be air tight. A better way to explain this is you don't need it as air tight as a submarine but it should be sealed enough so that you aren't pulling too much stray air into the system especially where you don't need it. You mentioned water tight and anywhere water is captured needs to be water tight. If it leaks water it can also leak air into the wrong places too.
Hey Flash, it is a good idea. I have an add on idea that may help make it automate. use your vaccuum gauge and stick one wire going to the motor and the other a power , basically use your vaccuum gauge as a switch, just want to figure where you wanted the wires to be placed
Great minds think alike. I thought of adding a few drops of vinegar then using a needle to set the trigger this way the liquid would raise and complete the circuit.
It probably would work. For now, I'll set it up on a timer but the option is there.
flash001USA
I am an electrician at work and yes should all you need is couple of needles and no more than 3 ft of wire a battery or solar panel. by a estimation according to what you had said the set point should prob be 2 or .5 to your scaling
Can u put a temperature gage on it when temperature drops you'll know it's getting low on wood
Hi Flash, In your opinion do you think this gasifier or a bigger version could be adapted to run a generator that could power heaters for a house or at least many of the items used in a house? Love your build videos! Well done!
Hey Flash I fired up the gasifier today and was very disappointed in that I could never get a flare ignition. I have a Door Leak and a significant ignition Port and barrel Leak.
Would this prevent a gas that is ignitable. I used FIR and Pine Wood from 2X4 Cut off Ends as my wood. I cut them up in small pieces for the fuel. I produced a great deal of Tar, but no burnable Gas on the output. Any Suggestions.
You have to address the leaks first-most. A door leak can lead to a bad flashback or small explosion. Do you know what biochar is? This is the charcoal byproduct produced from running the gasifier. It's not like BBQ briquettes that are hard and compact. You need to save any of the biochar you had from your run if you had any and use this as the starter. Your best bet is to upload a video (fail or not) and let others see what you have so we can help you. As far as starting up goes here is a video on the best way to fire up the gasifier. ua-cam.com/video/Si05qJppeUQ/v-deo.html
Here is a Self Review of what have done. I believe it is a fair replication of what flash has done with a few small changes.
Please view these 6 vids and tell me what you think.
Thanks AA
Any progress on the electronics and automation you talked about in this video? Also I was thinking today that if the gasifier is needed it's because of a lightning storm and that it would be a good idea for all of us to drive a copper ground rod next to the gasifier with a piece of heavy ground wire and a jumper cable to ground it. I would hate to see a gasifier full of un-burnt fuel that gets hit by lightning!
I really wish I could tell you yes. I have the control board designed and I know that it will work as I showed but right now I'm working days and playing nights so all of my time has evaporated. I'm also waiting on a break in the weather here too.
flash001USA I understand completely, Life is what happens while we are busy making other plans (John Lennon) We only get so much time here on earth and we must choose daily how we spend that time
Hey Flash I am almost done with the gasifier unit and am working on the filters, I never saw any info on how many steel wool pads it takes to fill the new larger filters and where you can get them for a reasonable price. I figure it will cost over a $100 bucks to fill the larger filter. Also there is little info on the fan unit you are using. It looks like a " (Marine Boat 12v Electric in Line Bilge Air Blower 130cfm 3") " . am I right on the fan?
Amazon has it under the above name. and you say in one of your vids you run it at 6 Volts Do you use a PWM to control the speed and voltage? I figured that you only need about 14 Cu feet per minute flow for a 210 CC engine at 1800 rpm.
Hopefully i'll have time to get some of my own vid's up on UA-cam in the near future.
Thanks for all that you have shared.
Thanks so Much
Thomas Allgood Thomas I got my stainless steel wool pads from Sams club because you can get big boxes of them at a good price. It will not cost you $100 to fill a tube. Do not pack them in either. Just drop them in and loose them into the tube. I don't use a PWM but I was using a mechanical variac to control the fan speed. You can also use a piece of stainless steel wool in the flare tube to slow the air down so you can forget the speed control and save yourself some money plus it aids in flashbacks on the flare tube. My blower fan was a lucky find. I found it at a dump right as the bulldozer was getting ready to scoop it up for the recycle process. It was used to blow up a float like you would see for a Christmas float in someones yard. It had no numbers or identification codes on it.
Flash I am slowly aquiring my parts for my gassifier, do you have any pdf's I could use for putting together my unit. If not I will just review your videos and take notes. Great work, enjoy watching vids!
The only thing I have is for the tri-filters and they have been upgraded to what I have now. If you are good with your hands just watch my "how to" videos and you will be able to knock off the build and even add your own ideas to it too.
If you have any questions, shoot me an email through the miniwoodgas site and I'll try to either answer them or I'll point you in a direction for you to find them.
Hey Flash, I had a question for you about the reduction zone upgrade. I decided on a generator for my setup and would like to know what your educated guess is for restriction diameters ( at the top and bottom going with the slight inverted bell ). I will be purchasing a 13 hp, 420 cc generator from harbor freight. I did a lot of research on volumetric efficiency and if I did the math right this engine draws 26.7 scfm ( sea-level-standard-day cubic feet per minute). I will be trying to simulate this airflow for testing , but that's still down the road. Anyway, your understanding of the throat diameters is better than mine and I will be machining this part from a solid chunk of steel ( so the archeologists will find the reduction zone with the hearth) . Anyway It's almost been a year since I started this project, an I will be posting a video to mark the progress to date by then. I sat down and made a new hitlist of to do's. This thing is really starting to take shape, and the more I look at it the more things I see that still need to be done. I am working as fast as life will allow, and staying at it. Thanks for all the help so far and I look forward to seeing your grate shaker assembly as I'm sure you are too. Keep us posted , Joe Papa
mazdalorean I just experimented until I found out what worked the best. I can tell you that anywhere from a 2-1/4 up to a 2-1/2 restriction zone would work good. Experiment with that and you'll know when you when you get the right restriction. Have you not fired up your gasifier yet? I thought that you did some test runs but maybe I'm mistaken. As far as finding free time, welcome to my world. I understand the time issues too. Good luck.
Hey Flash I shot a quick vid of the completed reduction zone and ash grate shaker assembly. You don't have to post it on the site, but I figured you would like to see it. As always any input is appreciated.
Hey Joe, you already know that on mine I reduced all the way down to 2 inches so with the engine you have you could try a 2-1/2 inch restriction and the inverted bell would expand out to 3 inches at the bottom where it meets the grate.
If you go a larger diameter restriction you may not need the inverted bell and you may be able to just use a 2-1/2 inch piece of straight pipe and be done with it. The main reason that I did the "bell" (ice cube tray idea) mod on mine was because I was reduced down to a Mickey Mouse sized restriction opening of only 2 inches so I was really concerned that the fire cone may get jammed or clogged at the bottom but with a larger diameter it may not be an issue especially if you are mindful of your wood fuel that it is not too big. I hope that helps.
Hey Flash
If a Guy wanted to cook on the lid of the Wood hopper. Does it get hot enough.
AllgoodAutomation No the heat is pretty low on the hopper lid.
Hey flash, how much water do you normally get in your cyclon filter, I just finished building my gasifier, ran it for 2 hrs, flame is blue, but when I pulled the plug on the cyclone filter, I bet there was a liter of water in there, dint seem like tar, it ran out like water, what's your thoughts, thanks Steve
That's normal and depending where you live and the relative humidity in the air you can see a little as a quart or even as much as a gallon. The water will almost have a purple black hue to it.
Greetings, Flash. I have watched all your Gasifier vids and I think your model equals many good models on UA-cam. It is a bit of a challenge, though, to put all your video information into a design format, such as a working plan. Do you have the plans and diagrams, material lists etc? Have you thought about producing complete plans and making them available for a reasonable fee? I would very much appreciate having that in my hands. Keep up the great work!
Hi Flash001USA
Im in Australia and some of the fittings you use are no longer available 😣 I think I can get around most of it substituting fittings for bending. Any how I was wondering if you have tried water as a filter ? Or carbon, working on an orchard they have Devices called scrubbers that are tanks filled with carbon rocks around the size of the blue stone used on roads. I was wondering weather charcoal in a filter tube would be any advantage. I'm a way of starting my build gathering materials atm
Where about in Aus mate?
@@allanseagrave8132 Victoria
@@stuartashers righto, I'm in SE Qld
Hey When Are You Going to post about the electrostatic Fuel filter design.
I have started my build collecting the materials. Hope I am not a day late and dollar short.
Thomas I am in the middle of a big clean-up project here at the house plus I am going to build me a shop so I'm not working on stuff on the kitchen counters and annoying my better half so for now my upgrades and projects are on hold. I'll get back on the ball as soon as I get my house and my yard back in order.
Hey you have to keep the boss happy or things won't go so well. Nice Job on your vid's and research. I have many of the components to build the main unit and still need to get all the pipe and fittings. what was your biggest problem to overcome building yours. Your videos make it look so easy.
Thomas Allgood
Believe it or not my biggest hurdle was teaching myself how to work with metal and to use the MIG welder. This was a slow process of just doing a lot of video watching of others builds and then experimenting with my own ideas.
Have you ever tried to Bottle the gas using the fresh air inlet of an air compressor then filling recycled propane bottles ?
+Rebel James That's very dangerous. You don't want to take that route. The reason is if you don't get a perfect burn you can get a mixture of oxygen in with the woodgas and what you have is a possible bomb.
Oh Hell that's no good then I will keep it fresh from the tap...
Hey Flash, now you've ran it a while, how do you find the change to the nozzle?
Yes the nozzle will burn away over time. This is why some people use stainless steel or ceramics for their nozzles.
@@flash001USA I tried the same "sprinkler config" on my nozzle and tried it yesterday. 3 times the system created a "flashback" and twice blew my lid off. Could I have done something wrong when I changed my nozzle or could it be something else? It's the first "flashbacks" I've had to date.
Thanks flash ! Nice job . Did you get my phone mesg ?
Yeah man, I did. Did you lose my cell number? I'll try to give you a shout before the weekend ends man.
have u done any thing lately on ur gasifier im sill learning things not to do like i just learned u dont want to storage ur gasifier with fuel in it it ends up re-moisturizing it self and u get a mess when u go to restart after storage i may have asked this b4 but what type of wood have u used im going to try a mix of fast burning cedar with slow burning oak theroie is that the cedar will burn up faster and create holes in the burning coal mass aiding in a few things like plugging and creates holes for tar cracking =3-
xoxoXoieoxox Hey long time no hear! Right now I'm just trying to get back on my feet and find the time to work on my projects again. I never subscribed to storing woodgas in tanks and I also think it's dangerous but that's just my personal opinion. If someone is going to store it I would do it in large tractor inner tubes or large plastic bags and use weight on the tubes or bags to pressurize the gas then use it for rainy days only.
There is a real deal process to refining woodgas for storage and the truth is most of us are back yard builders doing this so I want to keep this simple and as safe as possible! You were asking about the fuel I use and at least for now I mainly use dried dead branches and sticks that I harvest from the side of the road after storms or even from my woods which is a mixture oak and popular. I cut that into chunks anywhere from 1/2 in x 1/2 in on up to a maximum of 1 in x 1 in.
You already know that I'm only running small engines with my build so my hearth (fire cone) won't handle large chunks like Dan's (docdex) build or something that Wayne Keith would use on his truck.
if ur gona run small engines i suggest a onan 2 cyl CCK b\c these imbert reactors need a lot of CONSTANT draw the prob with a single is it creates like a chuffing effect on the reactor with can be BAD 2 or more cyl and u will see a BIG dif and ur reactor is big enor for a 2 cyl my reduction hole is only about 3" and i run a beetle off mine quite effectively if i do say so my self lol =3-
i like ur inter tube idea for storing energy i like the compressed air method im working on a windmill with an air compressor on it and it will fill a tank in my basement and when needed i can release the air into my steam engine and get power i like it b\c there is no fuel degradation and no loss over distance
on a side note it sounds scary but if u want to make GOOD "electricity" making u should really look into steam it is loads more efficient and it will eat more of a variety of fuels than a gasifier and there is little to no fuel prep =3-
in my opinion wood gas is best suitable to transportation it solves alot of the problems with wood gas mainly when u drive a car with the reactor in the back bridging almost becomes a non issue b\c of all the bumps u hit secondly it adds in the cooling of the gasses these are common problems for stand alone sys =3-
xoxoXoieoxox
On the chuffing effect that you mentioned before.
It is readily apparent when you look at the pressure profiles near the engine, and virtually non existent when you look at it from the gasifier's viewpoint.
What I am saying is that the tube filters are acting as a kind of flywheel.
They smooth out the gas flow by combining back pressure with momentary gas storage.
Well, that's what I 'think' is happening :) .
***** a kind of GAS BAG lol did u see the guy running a small motor off wood gas in a air matres?
xoxoXoieoxox
Yeah, that was pretty cool.
I would like to try that. Perhaps the gas would be good for cooking and water heating too.
A flashback arrestor would be a very good thing to have, just in case of potential mattress mayhem ;) .
so whod of thought ipads have a manometer app!
I'm attempting to run a gasifier on rice husks
in Thailand there's lots of rice farming and lots of free excess rice husk.
to the thai electricity is expensive
too expensive in some places to run washing machines
so the women wash the clothes by hand
this is very labor intensive
I am thinking of fabricating up a
washing machine that'll run on internal combustion engine
your fabrication looks very professional
I never thought of a simple vacuum gauge like yours.
I was thinking of an automotive windshield wiper motor
on a delay timer
for my shaker
and a diesel engine for the internal combustion
running 20% diesel 80% gas
eliminate sparkplug fouled up
and eliminate vacuum startup suction fan
my combustion chamber is very similar to yours
downdraft
but without a cone
Rice husk should work as a fuel. I think I've seen that somewhere. Have you got your gasifier up and running now?
no unfortunately all the materials and the funds were stolen.
what I'm really looking for is a good micro hydro site.
Flash, tks for posting your vids. I have a thought i wanted to run by you. Tar and oils have always been an issue with gasification. The process of cracking the molecular chains requires heat as the process is endothermic. Carbon atoms sucks up oxygen atoms from H20 and C02 ( cracking ) thus resulting in Hydrogen and Carbon Monoxide gas ( your fuel ). If the thermal energy is not there for the carbon atoms, you get an incomplete process. In theory, you should get no moisture from your output gas if everything is burning properly, and very little oils. This is my thought. Every gasifier i have seen uses a metal reaction chamber, why not instead use clay or fire brick? It would insulate the heat inside your reaction zone, be immune to acid corrosion, and it should be fairly cheap/easy to make. Everything I have learned points to the ideal temperature as being around 2300-2500 deg F. Most gasifiers don't reach that high becouse of the design and materials. Just a thought. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
your on the right track - if weight is not a issue, how ever I would have it ceramic plated.... think along Hi -Po racing motors exhaust systems...
oh yes, this area of research would help in the tune of a gas gasification process - when you understand how carbs and exhaust system can be made in order to build horse power in a engine. yes, I know I'm not being clear on this - the science is Thermodynamics and this is the key - flow is not just size of a area;- it can be made by design. this was what flash learned with his design changes of his bell mod.
I do need to disclose - I have never build a gasification system, but the process I have been looking at for some time.... I do understand engines - had a design on a lap top that I lost a few years back when I was in contact with all power lab.... 5-6 years ago! Now if I was to be building a system today and money was not a issue - I would be looking at the following as vehicle engines; fords 2.7 gas - the 5.0 Cummins in the Titian. for a small 5-60hp motor - that one is still on the drawing board - maybe 3-5 years out yet.....
Greatest 👍
Hey Flash, just letting you know I posted Heart of the Flashifier Part 4. If your interested , you can post it on miniwoodgas.com. As always , I look forward to your opinions/ comments. Thanks, Joe
flash; thank you - You, as others have done a great service to this country.... I too ; in my heart of hearts know - the dog crap is about to hit the fan.... I'm hoping I'm wrong, but my mind tells me to get my ass in hi gear. Like most - Money or time are hard to come by at the same time.... That is why I thank you, The time you have saved others - not counting the hard luck and cash lost in the school known as the leaning bell curve - just may save a lot of lives if a crash of the market happens... That my friend is why you shall be on my "minds" wall of honor.
Nice video! Are you an Amateur?
Amateur radio operator?
flash001USA So sorry, yes amateur radio operator? The antenna looks like an all band HF antenna?
Fred sorry for the late reply. No I'm not a Ham operator. I worked on two way radios and CB's all through the late 70's into the 90's but now I work servicing cable headends and line gear and the radio stuff I have is just CB and I do like to work SSB when the conditions are good. I've actually talked all around the world into pretty much most of the countries in the free world on this little antenna.
Country thunderstorm lol