# My gassifier project



## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

Here is a link to my Gassifier project.
A few pics in a album on my farms Facebook page.


Sorry folks dont know what happen there, but heres the link

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.479884302032450.106814.442250052462542&type=1


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

I'd be interested in an explanation of the pics and a clearer understanding of what you're doing.


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## fantasymaker (Aug 28, 2005)

LOL Hope you dont mind me snooping around But I just loved your pictures!


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

Let me ask you TnAndy are you familiar with gasification ?
if you click the photos there is info.

Np Fantasymaker. I posted them to share.


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## janetn (Apr 26, 2012)

Im super interested in your project - told my husband all I want for Christmaw is a gasifier. Im really interested in your rubber meets the road experiences.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

thanks Janetn, just keep your eyes on that page. 
I don't move real fast.
It's mostly a money thing, lack there of.
So far I have not $1 dollar in material. 
Spent 10 on a hole saw for the Air jet pipes,a few grinding wheels. 
the welding rod I got with the welder.
All the steel was scrap I either had laying around or picked up curb side.
The engine came out of a old boat I was given.
was going to redo it but decided this was a better option.


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## janetn (Apr 26, 2012)

Sure do understand the no money thing. We have a list of things we would like to do but we have to wait on the funds becoming available. Like the fact that your using recycled parts. Im more interested in a gasifier than my husband - he hasnt seen enough rubber meets the road examples. He is a show me type of guy. Says that stuff always has hidden glicthes and usually never works as claimed. We are looking to become as self sufficient as possible. Solar is just to expensive and we dont have good winds to justify a wind turbine where we are.

We have a greenhouse attached to the house and are putting in a solar hot H2o system this year, along with some solar led grow lights. We havent had a problem with heating the greenhouse in the winter matter of fact it gets too hot on sunny days, and with it being attached to the house we just ran a heating duct to it and connected the fan to the furnace so it runs without the furnace itself running. Our woodstove bakes us out so the great thing is we are only blowing in the excess heat from the house. Our biggest problem with growing in the dead of winter was light and carbon dioxide. We got chickens to cure one of the problems and the LEDs for the other With the LEDs being connected to a small solar set up The greenhouse is neutral in cost. Im excited to see just what I can grow year round, this will be my experimental year with the new improvements. Im sure Im going to learn some things this winter. We do grow most of our vege needs and are working on the protien side - feed is a big concern with livestock and we too are looking at duckweed as a supplement feed. A pond is also on our wish list - its a long long list:happy2: One day Id like to come and see your opperation, we are on the other side of the state. Please keep all of us informed on your progress.
janet


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

there is a whole lot of stuff on youtube you could show him.
One guy you should check out, Wayne Keith.
he's a pioneer in the rediscovery of wood gas.
its also call syngas and producer gas.
its old technology really and tried and true.
the biggest two things are running your gasifier at correct temps.
by nature the gas is dirty but not as dirty as a bad "burn"
the cleaner it is the easier to filter and clean up.
the other is fuel. not as easy as going to the service station and filling a can.
But other wise doable.
as of yet plenty of free fuel.

you can build a gasifier from masonry. In fact the first ones where.
From my research they have advantages over the one used in mobile applications.
Again temp is critical. the masonry helps with that.
Mine will be getting a ceramic insulation to help in that regard.

if you start researching and looking at other peoples builds, no one insulates, its really a lot of monkey see,monkey do.
Don't get me wrong I stole most of my Ideas too.
but I look hard to find the problems and improve the idea.,rather then just imitate.

With my plan I also hope to harvest the heat from both the gas cooling and engine.

tonight though I was brainstorming using several engines to run the genhead.
that way I would not run just one into the ground running it all the time.
and could eliminate the need for a battery bank.
Still thinking on that one.
I fore see issues in stopping one and engaging another.

I've been researching a few processes for making synthetic crude from wood.
none of which are too easy.
the one though uses Iron oxide as a catalyst to change vaporous hydrocarbons (syngas) in to a syn oil. which can then be distilled in to various components much like the actual thing. if you use the same process but a different catalyst you actually get a gas substitute. 

the gasification of coal and this process helped to fuel Germany during ww2 and South Africa during their embargo.
I think this would be Ideal in the long run.


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## solidwoods (Dec 23, 2005)

Looks good.
What will you do for a filter?

I'm going with:
Water filter.
A casting of refractory cement for the walls of the reactor.
2 levels of Tablesaw blade with holes in it for the grate (lg. holes in top blade). 
Moving grate.
Auto fuel level detect and refill.
Good luck and keep pushing.
jim


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Since this has been done on a small and large scale already aren't there plans and operating information available?


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## solidwoods (Dec 23, 2005)

fishhead said:


> Since this has been done on a small and large scale already aren't there plans and operating information available?


Yep sure are. GEK offers free plans up to turn key packages 10kw, 20kw and a new 100kw pre packed in a shipping container.
I think the 20kw turn key is around $16,000.
jim


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I was thinking more along the lines of DOE free publications.


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## solidwoods (Dec 23, 2005)

Table of Contents
The Gengas Page
And if you want to make another product them gasgen from the leftovers
Home Distillation of Alcohol (Homemade Alcohol to Drink)


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

solidwoods said:


> Looks good.
> What will you do for a filter?
> 
> I'm going with:
> ...


Instead of refractory, and this just hit me today.
Sacrificial steel jacket, kind of like a cylinder sleeve...

I was also thinking of a manifold of sorts for the air intake jets. then I could
put smaller jets the the pipe I have around the circumference. as well as a manifold at the top to control the air flow.

But doing ya one better, auto start with a thermocouple control and timed relay for engine start.

And water jacketed cooling tubes and same with exhaust, and just a simple coil exchanger for the coolant.



fishhead said:


> Since this has been done on a small and large scale already aren't there plans and operating information available?


yes and no.

The fema design is lack luster in longevity and performance.
It was designed with emergency in mind. 

Most of the others including GEK have a bill of material.
and are somewhat cookie cutter generic.

Again most folks are monkey see monkey do, they don't try and think beyond just do what everyone else does. Yes it will work but will it be Ideal.

I think it best to choose your purpose, and design to the task.

In my case it was happy circumstance I could mostly make do with things at hand. 

I had already eyed some of the materials but was out the reactor until some nice person replaced their water softener and placed it at the road.

that gave me what I needed to start.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

I neglected to answer on the filtration. I've got a pressure tank and a 20lb propane tank,
thinking double cyclone filters. should get most of the moisture out. The condensate bottles will be the 1lb propane tanks with the valves tapped out. 
For the tar and creosote, ammo cans filled with what ever is handy.


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