First test of our biogas converted electric generator.

Using the tri-fuel Type C kit from US Carburetion (west virginia company) I converted a new 2000 Watt Genset to run on kitchen-waste-produced-biogas on our porch. I regapped the sparkplug to 0.5 mm (0.02 inch) after installing the kit, and I put brasswool and cotton wool in a fitting in the gas hose as flashback arrestor and moisture remover. The engine started up after a few tries with the throttle closed and some priming with the regulator, but I needed to keep the regulator priming button fully depressed to keep it running. Perhaps the 6 bricks I was using for pressure on the gas collector wasn't quite enough. Or perhaps one can bypass the regulator altogether with a low pressure biogas system. In any event when I tried to restart the engine I had a lot of trouble until I broke the pull cord. Now I have to repair that before I do more experiments. What I need to know is, do I need to remove moisture from the gas line? The cotton wool is impeding gas flow so if I can remove it that would be great.

[@kadirunaloglu523]

Whenever I make a search about biogas or green energy, I come across one of your videos. Thank you for the underrated but awesome content, sir. Cheers.

[@cyraengines1913]

Running a small genset on biogas isn't an easy task. Good work Thomas and congratulations !! You may also visit our biogas genset to have a fair idea. We could generate 3 kW output from a 5 kW natural gas generator. Wish you all the best !!

[@rocker2713]

iv heard its best to run the bio gas through a pipe filled with steel wool and then bubbled through some water with a liming agent in it so it wont rust your pipes and engines.

[@GSS_94]

That's great to know.

[@JimboJitsu]

@tculhane just a tip from a fellow video maker... just happy you are sharing this, it is exactly the information I need for the Ecovillage project!

[@aterhsolsa.decv.9662]

How is this genius thing coming along Thomas? Great work maestro!

[@rocketspace75]

I got some info I hope this will be of help. To solution to remove hydrogen sulfide that can harms the engine, is to send the gas through a pipe that contains iron bits. I'm rely impressed with you work. Wish you all the best.

[@prayersfarmnigeria]

Cooking or heating is the most practical use for the gas. Using it for running a generator seems to be too expensive in the long run of things in the US. In Nigeria where we are wanting to use it we are hoping to do enough experiments to finally learn how to economically use it in a small scale. Large scale seems to make or save some $. The best free medium for filtration, and looks like what marketed professionally, is metal band saw cuttings from a local machine shop. FREE.

[@timmcneil1536]

This is very cool.

[@rolfheimann1102]

i saw one on pure o2. and they had to change the timeing to almost opposite, because it was not about compressing a fuel to vapore but lagre space to fit as much gass, very intersting. have you thought of compressing the collected gass before use. maybe even have tandum tag team between genny running compressor to run genny?

[@prayersfarmnigeria]

(continued from previous comment) If you are determined to generate electricity, as we are, you need to use the bio gas to supplement a diesel generator. You still have to neutralize the acid, but you don't have the endless problems you will with a gas engine. You send the supply line (after the bio gas has been cleaned) into the air intake. The governor will automatically (if it isn't a fixed 1800 rpm type) throttle down and you use less diesel. Cleaning it is still the problem!

[@TechMan-sl5gf]

I agree with the other post on pressurising the gas. My question that hasn't been clearly answer in all I have been seeing for a while is. Can you fill LPG tanks with this and thus making it portable. The obvious problem of over pressurisation of the tank would be a problem but am sure it can be done with the right setup and precautions.

[@dconklin58]

Found this online: "As for the corrosive nature of the gas, ... solved some of that by taking a piece of 2"PVC tube & filling it w/ industrial steel wool. By passing the gas through that, most of the elements corrosive to steel and iron attach to the steel wool. In addition, we pass the gas through a similar filter of aluminum filings. 3rdly, ... pass it through a solution of Limewater to remove the CO2."

[@Ihaveausernametoo]

Amazing. I'm doing it.

[@wayneosmand7652]

I really would have expected it to run a lot smoother!

[@WJCTechyman]

sounds like the fuel:air ratio is way too rich. I mean I would rather pressurize it with a compressor and store it in a bank of tanks or cylinders and deliver it as opposed to the bagpipe/organ regulator/garden hose setup he has.

[@Annon89]

I am interested in your application using biogas to generate power. It appears that the kit you are using is for propane which is why you have a regulator with the type c kit. It looks like the biggas kit would work better for that application. Unless I’m mistaken Propane has lower power outputs so you normally need to inject more fuel(propane) than you would be injecting gasoline to achieve the proper fuel mixture and power output. And since you have a lower pressure system as well as potentially lower quality methane than say a standard natural gas line you may need larger jets in the engine to get your rpms up to the generators operating range. As far as your moisture removal methods and scrubbing I would experiment with doing that somewhere else in the system than at the end of your output line as you said it will limit flow significantly, not likely between your production and storage areas. Propane is a very clean fuel and usually hose engines last a long time because they burn so clean. Your biogas fuel will probably be burning relatively clean as well so I would be less inclined to try and filter things out unless you ran into engine issues because of moisture buildup.

[@d3adp001]

@tculhane your doing it, so yes indeed do what ya can with what ya have, and work towards what ya want. One idea, toss some more wieght on top, and use a 1/2psi barbque pressure regulator. Maybe?

[@RickGentle]

Most videos I see they crank it on gasoline first & then switch over to biogas. Just a suggestion.

[@ceb6854]

this is the way to go... you need a priming fuel to kick start it faster.

[@whorayful]

Another system that seems to work well is running a low speed diesel engine such as an old Lister CS type and 'drafting' your methane into the intake air, as the methane adds energy to combustion the engine governor will reduce the amount of fuel oil injected, this system will automatically adjust the amount of fuel oil, and if you add too much methane the engine just stops as there is no 'pilot oil' injected to light off the methane. I used to work with large spark ignition high compression lean burn bio-gas engines (Jenbacher), they take a lot of maintenance, plus the acidic combustion residue means you need to change the lube oil much more often.

[@JimboJitsu]

@tculhane depending on where the cord broke you should be able to tie a not at the end and re thread it? It defenitly sounded like carburator problems you might be right on the amount of pressure on the biogas tank, have a couple kids sit on it next time... kidding... but some extra weight might help if you are having to prime the pump yourself. I would wonder if biogas might be the same as propane or natural gas which are both used under pressure...??? thanks for sharing!

[@sakcheegii]

you need water bubbler or through water tank to reduce CO2 from biogas. Then it should run smoothly. Natural or biogas have much co2. Goodluck!

[@domyemjoyce7158]

Please how can you introduce it in your process

[@Ankit-wk7rx]

If I have 1 m^3 of biogas, then how long I can drive the generator, what is the inlet pressure?

[@CLMendoza]

How to make sure that the biogas will be converted to electricity? Does Installing conversion kits is a good choice or following the steps in the video above?

[@tculhane]

@d3adp001 Thanks for the tip d3ap, I'll try to test many different loads. The insinkerator issue is germane because we are trying to prove that it is worthwhile running an insinkerator to grind up the food waste despite its energy costs. What I observed today was that to run the gen for about 3 minutes I used about 75 liters of stored gas. My little system stores 200 liters a day, but the systems we build in Africa give us 750 to 1000 liters of gas a day.

[@KituiThings]

Where exactly bro? It's a huge continent with many countries

[@loserplatz4090]

Some other ppl have mentioned this, biogas also contains hydrogen sulfide, which is toxic & corrosive and will corrode your engine, I have heard you build a hydrogen sulfide scrubber with a chamber ( I think a thick pipe ) filled w/ steel wool & rusty iron to scrub it away

[@chokkan7]

Bruce Kramer There is a small percentage of H2S gas which can be dealt with as you mention, plus the CO2 would need to be cleansed by bubbling through an aqueous solution of slaked lime (the resulting CaCO3 will precipitate out); this will allow the purified methane to burn more cleanly.

[@prayersfarmnigeria]

I've heard that compressing it to 2500 psi (or 2800), it liquefies and can be stored in a pressured small fuel cell. Much handier that a giant tank or balloon, but now you need a source of power to run a special "safe" compressor that will reach 2500 psi. Trade off?

[@tculhane]

@d3adp001 I would also say that I think for small scale use using the gas for cooking fuel is more efficient. But our neighbor, Imbrahm, has a company in Kettwig Germany that uses all the cafeteria and market waste and produces 4.5 million KwH per year for sale to the municipality, and he then sells 3.5 million KwH equivalent of hot water (70 C) to a local spa at a profit. That hot water he gets with heat exchangers from the waste heat of his massive generators. In his case he says "get both".

[@tculhane]

@JimboJitsu Thanks for the note about the water-- no I didn't notice any build up on the cotton. The moisture is never a problem when it is running. What I have trouble with is starting the thing (which is why I ripped the pull cord here and in Cairo Egypt when we tried this). I regapped the spark plug to .5 mm (.02") and I start with the throttle closed, but what you can't see me doing in those 2 minutes is pressing the primer button on the regulator.

[@tculhane]

@d3adp001 Also, yes, I need gas pressure regulation. I'm using 6 bricks on top of a tottering gas collector to provide the pressure. Thats about 20 kg. I've designed a different system that uses water pressure to force the gas out and is much more efficient but can't build it on our porch. We did build that system in California though. Works much better. But at home we do what we can, right?

[@d3adp001]

instead of the insinkeration can you use a more static load, like multiple 500 watt work lights? I guess the bottom line is this, how many KWHR per day does the bioreactor make. Is it better used in electrical production, or just for heat. BTW the engine sounds like maybe some gas pressure regulation is in order to stabilize the fuel delivery. But I dont know if you are regulating or not. Just suggesting. Great work, I would like very much to get to the bioreactor stuff, but first, solar.

[@tculhane]

Since we only need to run the insinkerator 3 to 5 minutes daily (which my watt meter says consumes about 16 watt-hrs -- the unit draws 475 watts when grinding, but over the 3 to 5 minutes I don't register over 20 watt hrs total) it seems that consuming 75 to 100 liters of gas (up to half my daily production in my little 200 liter unit in Germany, but only 1/10 of what we produce daily in the tropics) may be well worth it.

[@randacnam7321]

@JimboJitsu The water is the result of the oxidation of the hydrogen in the gasoline, not something that was originally in the fuel.

[@RakeshKumar-wr5kn]

Lpg bhi kam karega sir..

[@tculhane]

@prayersfarmnigeria Our Isreali colleague Yair Teller, building biogas systems with Palestinian colleagues of ours, bought an in-line canister from China that simply has beads of iron it to remove the H2SO4. I've also been told to use steel wool also; don't know if it removes all; we've never run the engines long enough to see how much damage might be done. I appreciate your experience with diesel gens!

[@demwa9208]

Wonderful! How can we reach you? kindly is it possible for you to visit our country for demonstrations? you can really bring hope to the poor people leaving in remote towns. jonn

[@hybriddyneguy]

What happens when you put a 2,000 watt load to the generator ???

[@tculhane]

@JimboJitsu Right you are on the camera score Jimbo; I wasn't sure what would happen so I just put the camera where it wouldn't fall and tried to start up the engine, wanting to capture the first attempt no matter what. I really posted this for archival purposes in case I need it when I get to Nigeria . But I make everything public for the heck of it, cause you never know .Now when I fix the pull cord and do it again, my wife will film and we will make sure people can see whats going on.

[@atoivan]

i have a LP gas generator can i use the BIogas to power it or the Biogas has it own generator set

[@aantayagiri2101]

what type of geneter does it run

[@Opticalgaze]

my biogas burns under a stainless steel container filled with water with a small pipe on the top . The pressurized steam spins a turbine that turns a small generator but i dont get alot of power .

[@tawandahomwe9912]

6 years late on your comment, but happen to have a newly installed biodigester. Wondering how much power you get/got from your generator and could you kindly send a picture of what the thing looks like(if you still have it). May want to look for one myself, but unsure what I'm looking for and doubt whether I can explain to someone satisfaction. Am in Zimbabwe (Africa) and this sort of thing can come in handy for some of my plot operations.

[@pannirbr]

Recirculating compressed gas can reduce c02 in biogas

[@JimboJitsu]

@tculhane depending on your fuel source in the states you might be able to make money letting yard companies dump their waste? Would grass clippings work for biogass? Or you could sell the idea to landscape companies and they could produce their own electricity and save money doing it... just a weird thought.

[@DarkPesco]

Biowaste that produces methane best would be rich kitchen scraps and green plants/leaves. Brown stuff such as wood and old dried leaves produce the least but keep the mixture and chemical process more balanced over time.

[@rwssenavirathna3023]

Very Easy firstly find Petroleum fuel oil .....then continue working after Bio Fuel use.

[@bassamsiraj2175]

I know I'm asking this question 10 years later.... but I was under 10 at that time.... Did u need to pressurize the gas before getting it to work, if so how did u do that?

[@johnlarrenceorigenes3186]

Where do i need to put my methane tube in the generator? On what part of generator? Thank you for replying. Just for my thesis 🙂

[@atticus2581]

so the way combustions engine works, in order, is fuel storage>filter>carburettor>combustion chamber>exhaust. If you are looking for a portable solution you would pump the gas into a pressurized storage tank with a pressure regulator valve (which would probably be more powerful than 6 bricks) you could even regulate refilling the storage unit with a smart sensor and electronic pressure valve.

[@aravindhanselvam2129]

Can i know the biogas pressure in the engine intake. Did u pressurize it? I am trying to test run a LPG run 1.5kVA generator with biogas.

[@bnanandagowdabnagowda2043]

Aravindhan Selvam ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಗುತ್ತೆ

[@arijitsen3621]

I'm interested to set up a unit.pls give details

[@wendellferrell4268]

Another thing you might try is installing a cool mist vaporizer. Available from: www.amazon.com. I suggest the one that has a small pointed top-you can connect a hose with duct tape to the top of it & have it sucked into the intake of any gasoline that does not use fuel injection with no trouble.

[@informationrapide4]

biogas purification?

[@joelyboyblue]

water shouldnt be an issue in the gas, you could run it through zeolite or tapioca dry pellets to absorb it.

[@ouncesounds6949]

you need to treat the biogas first, from water vapor and radical fumes. water in the engine can damage it! run the gas threw a bubbler to purify of any radicals then a water separator of some kind. any thoughts? I know it can be very simple to matter of time and errors

[@bryncomeaux]

@bryncomeaux THE WALLS FLOOR AND CEILING OF A 24'X24' HOUSE COST ABOUT $3700.00 US OR $8 A SQUARE FOOT. IT RESIST HIGH WIND. AND OTHER DISATERS LIKE FLOOD. I DESIGNED THE POST OF 2X10 PRESSUR TREATED LAYERED 4 BOARDS WIDE INTO AN BASIC L SHAPE AT THE CORNERS THE 2X4 REST ON THE TWO INNER BOARDS BUT THE 2 OUTER BOARDS EXTEND ALL THE WAY UP THE INNER AND ALSO THE OUTER WALL AND ARE THROUGH BOLTED ALL TOGETER. THIS AND A SIX FOOT DEPTH CREATE MASSIVE LATERAL BRACING. N MOTHER EARTH NEWS

[@tculhane]

If the pull cord hadn't snapped I could have run my experiment of how much gas it takes to run the insinkerator. Now I will have to wait a few days... but stay tuned.

[@3DCGdesign]

@prayersfarmnigeria I also read about a "precipitation" method of cleaning the gas that requires, believe it or not, that you force are to bubble up through the digester itself, oxidizing the iron oxide. Procede with caution, and do careful study before attempting this method, as it can lead to explosion if adding air incorrectly or too much.

[@aivinhenyoreghosa4128]

@prayersfarmnigeria I want to know if you can get something like this in Nigeria

[@tom3280]

hello from Germany i have two ideas maybee you can test a airfilter from car with paperfilter and you can maybee use a car compressor 12 V for some more pressure, only a few suggestions. sorry for my bad english. best regards Tom

[@tom3280]

@ tculhane hello from Germany i have two ideas maybee you can test a airfilter from car with paperfilter and you can maybee use a car compressor 12 V for some more pressure, only a few suggestions. sorry for my bad english. best regards Tom

[@clinttaylor4185]

I believe you would be better off using an external combustion/steam engine setup. While steam engines are hard to find, external combustion would nullify almost all your problems of water, sulfur, line pressure, and low BTU/cubic foot. Plus, it would be much quieter.

[@heybuddyguyfriendpal8281]

2020...... how long did it last?

[@3DCGdesign]

@prayersfarmnigeria just found this nice vid: aju_kNKNtXw "How to make a biogas filter" which is simple and clear and cheap. However, I don't know how to know for sure that it is "indeed" clean. The idea is simply to put in something that will rust that has a lot of surface area, forcing the gas to rust that thing instead of the engine parts. The baking soda in the water bubbler attempts to clean the rest missed by the wool. Replace filter parts as needed. I don't know more.

[@patmah254]

Am Patric from Kenya and i have a big company that produces bio gas.. PLS TELL ME WHERE I CAN GET IT FROM

[@arthurkamande1374]

pat mah I would like to see a converted gasoline engine with filter to remove impurities.

[@briancanterbury2795]

You can buy it from us....US Carburetion. Www.motorsnorkel.com

[@CLMendoza]

Brian Canterbury do the conversion kits in motorsnorkel.com is the only thing that I willl install and I will be assued that i can convert biogas into electricity?

[@bryncomeaux]

gasoline does NOT contain water ( at least it shouldn’t) it has hydrogen which when burned combines / air to produce water this happens in the combustion step and is expelled in the exhaust. the question is will a air gas like methane burn with water in it, probably will if not too much but probably reducing efficiency will it rust the engine somehow probably not since it is being turned to steam and ejected. a drier would probably mean more btus and and easier operation just my best guess

[@shivamseth4598]

How can I connect with you?

[@jimbeaver27]

keep yanking it like that and it'll break alright. After a pull, wait until everything stops spinning before yanking that cord again. Better still, give it a small shot of quickstart spray and it'll likely start first pull.

[@prayersfarmnigeria]

I didn't see any comment about this, so I'll add one. You will destroy your engine quickly if you don't neutralize the acid rich bio gas. We are doing a project in Africa and this is the big problem. The cost for the equipment to test the bio gas to make sure it is "good" gas is one thing, then the big cost of cleaning it from acid really becomes cost prohibitive. In other words you might as well buy gasoline. The best you can do is to cook or heat with it. (continued)

[@LightLadd]

Put it in "H"....or check the choke.

[@prayersfarmnigeria]

If anyone knows of a cheap way, not only to clean the acid out of the gas, but to know when the bio gas is indeed clean, and when the neutralizer is no longer working and time to replace it, let me know. Prayersfarm dot organization.

[@ZyberDon]

Hey, put electric motor on that: juneayasolDOTcom

[@MakeNoise280]

False is working on gasoline why didn't he show whats is being done.

[@mattdathew2794]

this is one of the worst demo i have seen

[@shineshadow407]

👎👎👎👎👎👎