Thread: Gasifier's???.

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This topic was brought up in another forum.Because of you guys vast fabrication skills and vast membership and knowledge is the logic of why I am posting here.I am curious by nature about anything I haven't heard of before.What you guys think??.Have you ever hear of it before??.

Build It « Gasifier Experimenters Kit

http://www.driveonwood.com/

i can not see the link but i think its old news the Germans or was it the Soviets? did it when fuel was hard to come by and powered some stuff in world war 2

It would never be practical, can it be done? Sure.. but the labor and physical exertion don't make sense.

Then there's the emission(s) to deal with. As a one off, you might fly under the radar.. but then the tree huggers would kill that idea too!

Back in the 80's I played with the quart of gas in a small can idea. Could we make it run, sure. But it was a chore and problematic.

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

i can not see the link but i think its old news the Germans or was it the Soviets? did it when fuel was hard to come by and powered some stuff in world war 2

Yes Pat.It is from what I have found out world war II tech.I think it was the Germans.

Originally Posted by 34_40

It would never be practical, can it be done? Sure.. but the labor and physical exertion don't make sense.

Then there's the emission(s) to deal with. As a one off, you might fly under the radar.. but then the tree huggers would kill that idea too!

Back in the 80's I played with the quart of gas in a small can idea. Could we make it run, sure. But it was a chore and problematic.

The second link is a testimony about it working and those I always question.

Originally Posted by 1gary

Yes Pat.It is from what I have found out world war II tech.I think it was the Germans.

hard to think it wood work that good first you need to chop a tree up then dry it out then cut it up in smaller parts so you can burn it. so your buying gas for the chain saw ? hell alot of work to just drive,it can not be that clean?? now some were in my DNA i know i could be a moonshiner you know... what the hell you have to make a boiler anyways

It takes too much 'energy' - and that's a big word in this case - for a dinky one vehicle gasifier.
As Pat said, chop a tree down first and after you chop it into little pieces dry it out for a few weeks or months (chain saw gas, your personal bowl of Cheerios just to begin with). When it's all nice and dry, put it into the top chamber of a furnace (which of course you had to build, using electricity, MIG gas, etc) then light the fire below it so it gets nice and hot, driving the combustible out. Now, to be 'really efficient'(), you need to produce some quantity of that gas and store it under some pressure - so that's a compressor and a tank. OK, next, we not only have burned some fuel, we have made a little fuel - now we have some waste - that's the burned fuel ash and the top chamber leftovers, which, if efficient, is dust. Back to you and your morning Cheerios along with a shovel then off to where you can dump this leftover 'stuff'.

If you are lucky enough to own a saw mill, millwork shop or even a wood lot and supply firewood, then you might be able to make it (kinda) worthwhile.

If you really want to see the tech on this and feel the need, do a search with this as the set of terms: 'ge syngas technology' where GE actually did gas turbine power plants, plus have others that I have heard are being built and, in this case, proved that technology for large scale use http://www.ge-energy.com/content/mul...Technology.pdf

Like Dave says, the process it much too complex to pay off for a one vehicle, mobile gasifier. About all one could say about it is that it would get attention, and not all positive I'd bet. Even in those large scale, synthetic gas applications the economics are very, very complex. The DOE spent a bundle of tax money promoting syngas technologies, but even with the government money many of their proposed plants didn't get built because of the cost/benefit ratio being out of balance. Nearly all of those DOE plants were co-generation units, where you combine two or more processes to 1) generate power, and 2) generate a useful product line, like fertilizer, steam for a nearby process plant, heat for a chemical process, or......
One of the key points to Dave's explanation above is "...drying out the little pieces" of that tree. That takes some type of dryer using energy, even if it's just a solar kiln; and several steps of material handling (your shovel & back??). You spend a few thousand building a gasifier, have a truck that now has no room to haul anything, and you get to work full time processing your fuel for your "free energy".

Hummm.Got me wondering "if" wood pellets would be a better answer??.They are at good pricing $198 a ton.But then would you get enough out that to save any money??.Don't know.

Originally Posted by 1gary

Hummm.Got me wondering "if" wood pellets would be a better answer??.They are at good pricing $198 a ton.But then would you get enough out that to save any money??.Don't know.

NO !!!! Add at least the NY + county sales tax - then your gasifier (a few hundred/thousand bucks) and you for sure can buy lots of gasohol

IMO, No. Run the numbers.

No sales tax on wood pellets.That I have sold and know.Being neutral on this topic and just curious,it a whole lot like so many other alternative fuel game plans.Seems most don't work.Here is another link:

Video: Finnish politician converts 1987 El Camino to run on wood gas

Just think if everybody had gassifiers & somebody came up with an idea to refine crude oil so all you'd have to do is pump it in a tank installed on the vehicle.

Add would read....

Enjoy the convenience of Gasoline.
No more chopping down trees.
No More trips to the ER
No more calloused hands
No more 2nd & 3rd degree burns
Just drive in to one of our modern new filing stations along your route, fill up your tank & be on your way.
No muss no fuss.

Originally Posted by pro70z28

Just think if everybody had gassifiers & somebody came up with an idea to refine crude oil so all you'd have to do is pump it in a tank installed on the vehicle.

Add would read....

Enjoy the convenience of Gasoline.
No more chopping down trees.
No More trips to the ER
No more calloused hands
No more 2nd & 3rd degree burns
Just drive in to one of our modern new filing stations along your route, fill up your tank & be on your way.
No muss no fuss.

That's funny as all hell.