Gasification issues with my gasifier ???

[ashtweth]

Dave good to see you in bro check these open source systems

Planet Green Solutions - Videos & Photos

Build It « Gasifier Experimenters Kit

YouTube - ‪Trash Powered Honda - DIY - www.gekgasifier.com‬‏

YouTube - ‪allpowerlabs's Channel‬‏

[dave_cahoon]

Hi Ash,

The people over at GEK are not fooling around. I spent many hours with the owner JM last year at a workshop. I helped build a GEK then we all ran it for hours. There was one minor interruption, but for the most part we were free to do the workshop unimpeded. We finished construction and it ran. And started up quickly.

Hopefully the now/future fuels will be converted to nitrogen based so the Zero carbon claim can be made in full honor. NH3 being one of the best. Solid (like wood) urea is another. Farmer see nitrogen fixed by hydrogen. I see hydrogen fixed by nitrogen. Look up energy density of NH3, it is greater than liquid hydrogen.

Keep the info flowing Ash.
Dave

[smoke]

@ Dave- Dave, thanks again for the addidtional information, I am printing it out and saving all of it including AC's stuff for reference. When you say "a chunk of vinyl" do you mean a short piece of clear vinyl hose inline with the intake hose to the engine ?. Also if you see my pics, I have a 6" ring welded to the bottom of the G3I in order for me to stuff some type of insulation, any ideas as to what I could use. To date, I have been dumping silica blasting medium in there until I could find a replacement material. As for fuel, just plain wood pellets. As I do n ot have a pellet making machine, I saw somwhere on youtube where a guy makes small "Fireballs" by mixing organics with other bonding materials into a small concrete mixer and then lets them dry to use in a gasifier. Coffee grounds and switch-grass are on my menu also.

[smoke]

smoke,

Blue with red tops is what your looking for.
Now even if you cant sustain a flare (things moving to fast and no air forced to the burner too) if you have the right colors with your torch as the pilot lite. it should still run an engine. Just make sure that you consistently get the colors.

You have to have electric start on the engine and start your mixture at 50:50. You can put the mix valve on the air side so as to not restrict the vacuum on the gaser. Use a 1.5 inch line to connect the filter to the breather on the engine. Try to find a chunk of vinyl so you can see if tar starts to darken your inlet line. A shroud around the producer will preheat the air going it the radial holes. I suppose I could go on and on. Just keep playing with it. The manometer and outlet temp measure will really help make things repeatable.

yes thanks its portable so i can pull it out to the well with a small tractor and run a geny to fill the bladder tanks up.

Smoke; What are you using for fuel?

Dave

@ Dave, Dave, when I finally got the flare in the video, I was forcing a small amount of air down through the top of the gasifier. When I used the fan for suction, I could not get a flare. Will I run into problems using an IC engine as far as getting the gas to go into the firing chamber of the engine by turning the engine over with a starter creating vacume ? I hope I am making sense here.

[dave_cahoon]

Smoke,

The vinyl;
You can use a short piece like your thinking or make the whole connection from filter to breather out of 1.5 inch Vinyl tubing $$$$. spendy if you cant find some in a scrap pile. Watch out for thin walled tubing that collapses during the intake stroke.

Suction;
Achieving the flare by forcing in air means your vacuum start-up blower/sucker is not making enough vacuum. Its here where you need the manometer. And a better suction system. When the engine runs you can read the Manometer to see real consumption.

I'm currently looking into using 2 blowers in series. For cooking with gas..

The engine will pull/vacuum what it needs, once you get the Fuel to Air mixture right. You will have to readjust the mix when you return an air filter to the engine. The engine vacuum will be greater than your current blower.

Using the forced air method to start the gaser is ok, just wait until you get good colors (up to temp) disconnect the pressure and open the valve to the engine and crank..

Insulation;
I believe the people at GEK "All Power Labs" are using perlite or something similar from the gardening industry for space filling insulation. Furnace wool is what Luc used and what I plan on using.

Tar;
Engine's will run great on that yellow flare BUT yellow-orange means there is, engine valve sticking tar in the gas. Lots of power in the yellow stuff and lots of "glue". If you can figure out a way to keep the intake valves from sticking up running tarry gas. You wood have solved one of the biggest problems in biomass gasification. I am not encouraging you to run on tar just letting you know it will work/run.

In an emergency get it running on tar and then don't stop until your where you want to be or run out of fuel. After that, once the engine cools down you will bend push rods trying to turn it over again. That is true in most cases.

The tar you get that is difficult to wash of your hands finger ect ect is poisonous. Acetone and methanol will cut it for you. Its called Stockton tar.

Hope I got all of your questions if not. Feel free to rephrase em and try again!

On to great gas and real cheap power.
Dave

[smoke]

Dave, thanks for a well worded and understandable reply. Makes good sense. Getting ready to take off for a week with my wife and girls. Till I return, I will have plenty to rake over. Thanks again, I'm sure that I will have more questions and I am glad that I have the knowledge on this site to seek it out.

[smoke]

Dave, on the G3I , what is the purpose for insulating at the bottom of the gasifier . I realize its for retaining heat. Is the hotter temps used for cracking the tars or actually needed in the making of burnable gas that is used to run an engine. Also if so, what minimum temp is needed. Thanks

[dave_cahoon]

Smoke,

You ask, why insulate the hearth area.

The magic in a gaser happens as the Smoke, tars and "stuff?" ALL, pass through the white hot charcoal bed.

Think of the hot char bed as a very active charcoal filter.

Its in the hot charcoal bed that the carbon monoxide reactions happen.

We want all the gasses to pass thru the hot char, and, near the walls of the container heat is lost. If its cooler there, or in larger systems a channel forms, tar and stuff can slip by the char.

If red hot iron is there, and white hot char straight across the path of the evolving gasses the best conversion happens. I think the red hot iron plays a semi catalytic role here as well, so, in perfect reaction nothing slips past without getting cooked.

The temps are around 1200c in the white hot carbon. A thermometer on the outlet can show you at glance if something is off and, (like a manometer) is another way of getting to know your gasser. Outlet gas temps vary from system to system.

Hope this helps
Dave

[clueless]

I was reading about methanol production

and the understanding I got was that methanol is produced in a gassifier. To get that methanol you have to cool it like a still does with alcohol. So I'm wondering if the vapors contains methanol too and if it does can they be separated? And if you would even want to.
As far as the tar buildup I read where ethanol is very good at removing carbon deposits. If you could mix in a little ethanol with it you should be able to tell. A quick easy source is the liquor store buy a pint of 190 grain Everclear. I know from experience that an empty bottle will burn when lit and that you better not be holding when you do or it will burn your hand before you can get rid of it. That is some hot flame!
-Clueless

[smoke]

Thanks Dave, apprieciate the information. I will try some insulation and see if I can get a hotter temp. Currently I was getting about 350 F. Thanks

[Wade]

very nice

Thanks for your info

[diesel]

We are looking at building a gasifier, and we are trying to find a suitable fuel. Has anyone used wheaten or oil seed rape straw as a fuel for their gasifier ?