WOOD POWER! Off Grid Electricity from Wood - Part 1

Turning wood into off grid electrical power might be the ultimate level of self-sufficiency. We build a wood gasifier from @steveoffgrid485 and fire it up!
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[@Gridlessness]

Part 2 -Electricity! WOOD POWER! Off Grid Electricity from Wood - Part 2 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmiXfpuDrN2NedE

[@TrueHelpTV]

In between uses, you'll probably want to cycle your generator with a small portion of gasoline (say half a cup/1cup) to flush it of moisture and carbon build up and prime it for easier ignition the next time it's used. Mix fuel with injector cleaner at a 4:1 higher ratio than instructed (I recommend using high mileage sea foam because it's rated to safely mix in the oil if you're having any gasket issues in a 4 stroke system so its a bit more aggressively robust and forgiving at the same time. (If cycling gasoline before a long seasonal storage, I suggest also mixing it with an ethanol conditioner like the product Lucas makes so the natural moisture in the gasoline doesn't strip and cause internal rust or deterioration. Love the build, once it's dialed in, your great grand children could still be using it.

[@kyzercube]

You know you could have just skipped the whole wood burning part in the generator and just made charcoal in a large, cheap makeshift closed barrel and put the processed charcoal into the generator 😆

[@user-cc9zr3wp1s]

Check out the "Liberty Engine 2.0" unlimited clean free magnetic 20kw generator. #FreeEnergy #CleanEnrergy #Unlimited energy. "Reclaim It"

[@lesthompson5907]

oh i still have to wait then for part 3, ! XXXX . love the program Les England I will check in from time to time & have a look see i must say you have done so well to get as far as you have but you will need to rethink the cost by reheating your gas? smock as it is puled through the vacuum i pulled it though a separate retort But you could redirect it in to your Bern camber after the filter as long as i s red hot say something like a 1/2 " coper pipe in side A 1" steel pipe the damp smock will burn of the oxygen inside the coper pipe as the coper gets red hot it will not melt that's how i did it i run the copper pipe down the centre of the 2"stel pipe filled with caracole.

[@lesthompson5907]

2000 at lest to Mack good gas

[@barrybegley5379]

As a retired someone who has worked with metal fabrication, welding, electronics of every description etc, I am VERY, VERY IMPRESSED with You and your wonderful family. Is there Anything these girls can not do? When this gasifier is finally tweaked and tuned, you family should be able to enjoy FREE electricity (albeit labour intensive) for years if not decades into the future. FANTASTIC. Greetings from Ontario, Canada.

[@thewhitedillard]

where are these ppl located do you know?

[@TheKlink]

well the woodgas genny could power a firewood processor, so less labour intensive as time goes on.

[@Dragon.Slayer.]

Free does not exist. Everything has a cost

[@kimnielsenthewordyvikingett159]

​@@thewhitedillardI don't think 💬🤔 this gentleman wants us to know there exact location!!! Did you notice he said we're now going to drive a long ways north????? That was after gathering the supplies for the build!!! So they could be anywhere!!! So that shows he's smart!!!

[@martinw9425]

@@thewhitedillard They are talking celsius, they are Canadians.

[@bobwebber2804]

What a pleasure to see a father that raised a family of useful people with skills well done dad

[@JupiterCamelz]

Seriously man! I admire this! 💪🏾👍🏾🤙🏾🙏🏽💯

[@bigmambahful]

That's what happens when kids are raids away from prison-cities

[@rickwilliams967]

Hey kids! Let's burn up our wood supply twice as fast as we ordinarily would! Always nice to see a dad teaching his kids to be extremely wasteful and destroying double the resources that are desperately running thin. Smart guy...

[@bigmambahful]

@@rickwilliams967Imagine not knowing how abundant dead fall is lol

[@ada-yw1bb]

​@@rickwilliams967: Imagine not realizing there are billions of tons of carbon based biomassed fuels literally rotting away in the world.

[@luigiaqua2263]

My grandpa drove in 1944/45 a woodgas generator truck for German Luftwaffe, he had to fill up the generator every 100km, and it had to be properly done, very close packing. The cleaning and filtering unit was kinda huge for a truck, but wood was always around, not so as gasoline. He drove the truck all over Ukraine to Berlin to Munich region. Every day before starting the generator the filters had to be cleaned with a big broom. He never had problems with the gas generator.

[@jennybrown7484]

That's fascinating!❤

[@buddyrojek9417]

My grandma lived in Ukraine and said she couldn’t complain under German occupation. I had a friend whose grandfather’s house was used by officers and they paid rent. My grandmother only ever said bad things about Russians. Don’t listen to lies that were pushed after Russia controlled the news

[@jordanbabcock9349]

So your grandpa was a genocidal maniac? Praise be to him for good inventions? Idk. We are not here to celebrate Germans and gas chambers.

[@RonaldDaub-xi5jz]

The truck had the firebox on the very front it was cool looking. the one I saw did

[@Steve-pk9ok]

Clearly this man won't have to worry about his children making their way through life when he's gone. He has taught them how to use their skills. He has raised them well.

[@wandameadows5736]

Lifes a lot shorter when living like this though. Our ancestors did this so we didn't have to.

[@user-gy9qv4ml5y]

I’m 67 so I wasn’t around in the 40’s during WWII. But to memory I saw articles about various companies selling wood gasifiers that people were using to run various gasoline automobiles on when gas rationing and such was in effect during WWII.

[@bunkie2100]

My mother (a Swede) told me about the cars that towed wood gasifiers on trailers that people used during the war when gasoline was scarce.

[@catey62]

They were used a lot here in Australia during the War years from what I've been told too, and they worked really well.

[@user-gy9qv4ml5y]

I believe the documentary I saw or article I read about the use of wood gasifiers used to run automobiles and various other engines said they were available from Sears & Roebuck and other catalog order company stores during WWII and probably during the depression era.

[@troyc382]

Excellent video, new to your channel! Awesome work with your family! So nice to see! Looking forward to seeing part 2. Thank you 😎👏🍻

[@ivekuukkeli2156]

Wood gasifiered cars were used in Finland too, seach for "puukaasu". And instead of zig-zag pipe you could use 1+ heaters for water warming in houses, with radiator fins.

[@marksloat1608]

We had a friend in Minnesota many years ago that ran an old pickup truck with one of these that he built. And get this- his Name was John Wood. RIP John, you were way ahead of the times!

[@salguodrolyat2594]

In name and deed!😁

[@bob-the-Millwright]

That was designed by Ben Peterson founder of Victory gasworks! his design and testing has moved gasifiers leaps ahead of the world war 1 units.

[@whitetailridgehomestead]

yep, I have his book and am about to build it. I will make sure he gets credit for his design.

[@vihreelinja4743]

This is a SMOKE machine. Not a gasifier.. Gasifier works like an oven. This smoke machine work like you're bbq SMOKER and then you just try to condense the soot out of the SMOKE xD

[@bob-the-Millwright]

@@vihreelinja4743 well maybe you should buy the book, and study it some. Or study all the books I have on the subject . It is a gasifier in every way possible.

[@simonrobinson223]

They should see Ben's VDO from a year back

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

@@bob-the-Millwright I think he is refering to the machine in the video. I hope this guy does a follow up video (Part 2) and is transparent as he has a huge reach. He has some responsibilty with that and there is a wood gas comunity that is watching this. He is not doing anyone any good by pushing this plans as people are going to spend gobbs of money and put tons of time into something that is not going to work as claimed. This gasifier is not for small engines. 500cc is the smallest as per Ben's spec's and that is the limit. You know like the RPM gauge in your car? Just because you can rev it to 6000 rpms does not mean you should. 1000cc to 2.5 ltr is goiung to work best with this design.

[@oldplaner]

Well done! It is a well proved system and very efficient with the heat recycling and outer insulation that properly cracks tars and produces good clean gas. Good job Christina

[@joemedcalf7732]

Brilliant ❤😊

[@kevinlucas4577]

"Good job Christina.. woo! woo!" 😂

[@jbanannas]

I have the upmost respect for your choice of lifestyle. Not an easy choice for a “City-liver” such as myself. Where I live in Ireland it rarely snows or goes below freezing and always connected to the grid is easily 99% of the country. What really makes my mouth open in amazement is that your fair ladies are much better than most men at doing what I as a man considered hard work. I wish you all a safe, happy and prosperous new year.

[@Wolfeboy212]

Utmost.

[@RhazielZT]

Upmost and city-liver tells me all I need to know😂😂😅

[@gandalfthegreet]

Im in leitrim and theres plenty of people living off-grid here,we just tend to keep to ourselfs or stay together as a community of people living off grid in our many ways,theres always time to change lifestyles. Cant say im fully off grid to the point of some others but theres plenty of people in ireland who dont live by the same constructs as the concrete jungles.

[@mrvvoo]

@@Wolfeboy212 🤯 Thanks, internet, for improving my vocabulary today. I always do my ‘utmost’ 😉 to use eloquent language, but for whatever reason, this one COMPLETELY escaped me and my education up until now. Really, I appreciate you guys for this today!

[@Irishcream216]

My gaeilge is a bit rusty but my pops used to say something like "Ní mór ort ar an uisce go dtí go stopann an tobar" Hopefully that grid never goes down and you never have need to be off grid. Sláinte

[@waynejanzen9346]

Watching you and your daughter take on this project and be successful, just made me happy! You've obviously done a lot right as a father, and all should be very proud of your accomplishments.

[@hesasteadypacer]

Part 2!?!?! I was all hyped up to see it run! 😂

[@davidtrammell4453]

This was a awesome video , Jeff & Rose your family is amazing and such a blessing Thank you all

[@jimratajski2529]

Best video since the one where you showed off your kitchen stove!! I went out and bought my own immediately! 1931

[@dwighthires3163]

Christina, Great job. You have really done some impressive welding there. Turning an endless supply of wood into electricity seems masterful. This is a beautiful job, so hopefully this will work perfectly.

[@LitoGeorge]

Congrats Team Gridlessness. As always, a terrific team effort. Much to be proud of. I hope you guys had a celebration!

[@timtv2826]

Great job building the gasifier. Can't wait to see it in use. Those were some beautiful welds there Christina. 80 hours is a lot of welding time. The whole family is amazing. Thanks for filming and sharing your adventures.

[@basildavidson4597]

Very interesting vlog. I look forward to seeing the next video and power being generated. Christina’s multiple skills are amazing.

[@randyrudy5546]

Awesome dad, husband, wife, mother and daughters..beautiful family, thank you for sharing..GOD BLESS YOU

[@itiswhatitis1306]

How excited you get with your kids building this stuff makes me excited on becoming a dad this year. You can see your kids feed off your energy. Thank you for the smiles and laughter with your videos

[@brucec2635]

Most impressive is Julia working ...working ...what a wonderful trait. God Bless.

[@ISmellLikeBeefandCheese]

Been subscribed to you guys for a long time, so hard to understand why you guys aren’t bigger. Coming from just south of you off grid in the Montana Rockies!

[@denisehaley9271]

Because they're REAL not the fake a$$ wannabe channel. This entire family is amazing. I LOVE how they're raising their girls and teaching them such a multitude of usable and necessary life skills. How many other channels do you actually see the entire family doing what they do ❤❤❤

[@gf3803]

I've wondered the same thing. Their channel is top notch. Great senses of humor all around, valuable information, heartening to see how great they are raising strong children, and Rose is easy on the eyes (at least that's what my wife tells me).

[@jsmythib]

18:52 The day you create useable gas from wood, changes you :) A highlight in my own ledger. Congrats on a super quality build and test.

[@aussieauntynette6892]

Wooohooo!!! I've been looking forward to seeing this. Now looking forward to the next installment. Well done everyone! Well done Julia! So happy for you all, have a fabulous day from Australia 🦘🦘🙏🦘🦘👍

[@chadliggett7988]

Ben Peterson makes a book on step by step on making a Gasifier! So, It wouldn't cost $7,500 dollars to make one! Come On Man!

[@sporranheid]

Gasifiers are amazing! Great job. Definitely dry wood, otherwise a good deal of the energy is going into evaporating the moisture, which in turn keeps the temperature down. Old joke: Why is duct tape like the Force? It has a dark side and a light side and it holds the Universe together. 😀 ✌

[@techwizpc4484]

Maybe installing sort of like a tray close to the device so the excess heat is used to dry wood?

[@jeaniLovesAnimals]

Congratulations. Great weld job Christina! 🎉 Congrats family.. Video 2...cant wait.. ❤️🙏🙋🏼‍♀️🐈🐕

[@lolasimmons9152]

I'm so amazed at this idea of wood burning gas thing and the skills that Julia and Christina! Wow ! All your girls are so talented and incredible! Jeff and Rose, you have raised amazing daughters!

[@JWTX]

Man that's awesome, I've always been interested on using Woodgas to generate electricity. Can't wait to see your follow up video. And kudos to your daughter she's awesome..... Jeff

[@greenman4508]

I knew a Dutch guy who ran a Duce and a half in the military on wood chips, from ww2. I’ve never made one but I’m gathering pieces and watching dozens of videos over and over. The ones that seem most successful have thee or more moisture collection devices in the gas flow. Usually steel wool in a filter tube.

[@isaacgeise]

Awesome, I was sooo looking forward to this video! And I think you sold me on this thing I really want to make one, so I'll definitely look in to that! Beautiful welds Kristena great job! Great video Mr. Jeff I really appreciate and respect you! Thanks for sharing your family and life with us! God bless you all!! Can't wait for part 2

[@user-en7un3ln1b]

I'm jelly! You have a great family! These ladies sure could really teach others to be like this!! Incredible! God Bless you all!

[@fz671]

I'm planning on doing that my self. BUT in Alaska. I do have the plans for that exact gassifier. It will be powering the generator that will be supplementing the solar and wind, feeding 2 30kw battery banks. I am glad I found a video of somebody building and running the thing.

[@sonderambition4077]

Where can I find the plans?

[@711yada]

Totally rad, Christina!!! 💥💃🏽❤️🤪

[@greenman4508]

I’m still glowing from the last video, the singing at the end made me choked up. I’d always wondered. Watching you guys grow up and set such an example of parenting and family, always had me wondering if smiles like that could consistently keep a family lit , if they didn’t have faith. Could they exist one without the other?I didn’t think so but…🙏🏻. Now on a practical level, the gasification is so important for the times we are about to live through. You guys are knocking it out of the park.

[@coevicman3685]

Very impressed with the kit / book. Most of all the fantastic family adventure to make power from wood gas - Brown's Gas. You inspired us all.

[@offgrid48]

Wow! Congrats on your build and excellent video. You have done a great job on your build and in educating others on the gasifier and build process.

[@Atypical-archetype]

Beautiful family. Your girls are not afraid of working. They are blessed with a great father with patience and a great mentor. I have four boys. I hope they meet a woman like one of your girls. Ha ha just saying.

[@CoryRizzMMA]

That is a significant achievement Kristina. The whole family of course but that took some serious welding skills and effort. A very useful life skill.

[@paulaubin510]

Christina's amazing little welder. It must be time for dad to buy her a tig machine

[@magdyelkamel]

All of you are awesome 👌 Especially Cristina 🥰👍💪

[@stephenross4333]

I contacted this guy about his kit about a year ago? Looks very cool. Thanks for the video!!!

[@glennwilck5459]

Always wanted a gasifier! I read there is a guys who has a tractor that he can run on wood gas that has a pto that he can use to run a number of different things like a sawmill and generator and basically everything! And he can use it to get the wood to keep ot running such awesome technology!

[@jay90374]

His name is Wayne Kieth, he runs his whole farm on wood, tractors, sawmill, Dakota 1/2ton and a 10 cylinder Dodge truck.

[@yotersmitt]

Y’all have out done yourselves with this one. Outstanding!!!

[@LupusMechanicus]

Faith in humanity restored, nice little thing you got going on up there.

[@BlGGESTBROTHER]

I would have killed to have you as a father. Such an amazing gift to learn a trade growing up!

[@rollsroyce7325]

Christina, you are unbelievable👩🏻‍🏭🧠👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏❤❤❤😍👌

[@MrBletwin]

Wow that is so awesome Good job Christina.

[@keithganung]

This made me tear up brother I’m so happy for you and your family.

[@brianparisien9262]

Looking forward to the next video. I'm very impressed with what this family has been doing over the years, and that the young ladies have developed some wonderful and useful skills that will benefit them and their families for years to come. All the best, and carry on!

[@elwoodtaylor1092]

That thing is awesome and Christina is the Queen of welding

[@greywolfwalking6359]

Good job team!! Lookin forward to seein the next video! 🐺🧙‍♂️🦊!!

[@dnawormcastings]

That awesome can’t wait to see it hooked up and running

[@attievandercolff3160]

Well done Christina!!

[@matthewbrown7475]

That is awesome. Great job. I'm excited to see part 2.

[@steveholmes1736]

I was looking for something to watch tonight! Checked out, Netflix, CBS, NBC, ABC fox, etc. And this turned out to be the most interesting thing. Very entertaining thank you.

[@krickette5569]

Your reactions here remind me of the professor in the movie "Back To The Future" ! My hubby was talking about doing this several years ago, based off a video he'd seen. I'll be sharing your success with him. Looking forward to the next video!

[@salvadorramos3370]

Love the unity you have with ur family, man I need to learn how to weld!

[@1StopFabShop]

We freaking love all that you are doing guys!! All of us can't wait for part 2

[@blackberrythorns]

it's so cool that you play around with all this stuff and get your children involved. i can only imagine what the teachers that see what they're up to have to say - not much likely other than... okay, keep going.

[@cherylpresleigh6403]

You do amazing things as a family. We are excited to see this powering your home! Happy New Year!

[@cosmicallyderived]

Inspirational for sure. Getting stuff done.

[@kazparzyxzpenualt8111]

Fabulous! Just excellently fabulous! Have a great year!

[@russellwatters5891]

How awesome is that! Looking forward to part 2, I have the utmost confidence ya'll will get r dun...lol 😂😅 Love what ya'll are doing ❤

[@jdaly5822]

Happy New Year! May 2024 bring you a bounty of peace and love.

[@veerbhogyavasundhra6056]

Lots of Love to your family form INDIA/Republic of Bharat 🇮🇳 Christina is awesome

[@Richie144]

This is epically cool! The high temps and any sort of pressure definitely make me a little weary but it’s so cool!

[@johngardiner2178]

Amazing cant stress enough just how good it is to see young people getting into fabrication and welding well done sir and your family

[@firestorm8471]

Christina should easily have a career in welding, that was some pretty impressive weld lines. She has a steady hand.

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

Women generally do.

[@philneufeld2279]

Waiting for the next video!!

[@robinburkey2466]

I'm so proud for you!

[@davidraines1380]

Now that is something I’m wanting to see work. And I hope it exceeds your expectations

[@Jimmyfisher121]

How many different ways do you guys have for generating electricity, and a big well done to Christina good welding now teach dad how to weld properly. 🤣

[@sspyder181]

Freaking cool guys, well done

[@robinburkey2466]

I'm so proud for you! 😊

[@GoodWoodWorks-le4cd]

Fun run.🤣 Look forward to next utube!!

[@b52tricopter]

Once you get the generator running use the exhaust to dry the next batch of wood.

[@cliff567]

From personal experience, I know that every great welder got that way because they became great with the use of grinders first. For the flange that you said you could tack in place ... do so all the way around the perimeter going from side to side, use clamps to soften the gap. Then take a 1/8" grinding wheel and bring 6 tacks down to flush and then put in a finished bead. Move to the opposite side as if you were torquing a wheel on a drum. Never weld over slag inclusions, grind them down to bright metal. I want the plans for that unit or access to the parts guy. I live in Maine, USA Your girls are going to rock the world they go to live in. fine job of parenting.

[@CharlesQ3777]

I live off grid and heat with wood, thanks for publishing your efforts. I have a large woodlot also, I was looking at boilers and that is just heat. The electricity bottleneck is the hardest part. A hybrid system is usually best. Wood/Solar/Wind/Hydro-Electric/Limited Natural Gas.

[@ronheydon117]

Congratulations on getting your wood burner assembled and working.

[@bc30cal99]

Greetings from the land of Blaze King, Happy New Year to you all up north. Thanks for the interesting project, look forward to seeing the thing running a gas engine and how much wood used, etc. All the best to you folks this year.

[@jamesm875]

New sub from Scotland. My type of content. Great Video.

[@tommyrobblee9391]

So cool. Great team, great family, and great work yall.

[@jeffharris6581]

Been watching you on our big TV in front room . Great job you’re doing .

[@danhopkins5783]

I've watched a couple of your family's videos and this was the one that convinced me to subscribe, FYI.

[@Gridlessness]

Glad you could join us!

[@stephenkennedy7931]

God Bless from your Canadian Friend. Together may we give our Children Room to grow and learn to fly.

[@georgebaker1418]

Ya'll never cease to amaze me,keep doing what ya'll do.

[@jamesstricklerii5384]

Best part about a wood gasifier, the wood charcoal left behind is great for cooking food with!

[@softeeshakes]

Living the dream. God bless 🙏

[@mr.obvious4371]

Nice job guys I purchased two of those from Steve well over 200 hours of work to put one together awesome machines I have a video on my KZbin channel of one running a generator 2 inch diameter, tree limbs work really well they make tons of wood gas

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

I like how you have to run the flare cup in order to keep the reactor from crashing. Nice!! Where did you get the idea for the ammo box filter?

[@dawnjampson5899]

How much are the kits? Don't see pricing on website

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

@@dawnjampson5899 Type " Gasifier for Sale" into google. You will find us. I would not buy this kit when there are better machines out there that come fully assembled and ready to run that actually work.

[@mr.obvious4371]

@@Thrive-Off-Grid I believe I seen it on one of your videos ammo box with sawdust.

[@mr.obvious4371]

@@dawnjampson5899 The kids are about $6000

[@andrewgee241]

I think these gasification generators are hungry beasts. I looked into using propane to run a backup electric generator at my house and it would empty my tank in just a few days. I wonder how long a cord of wood would last if burned for electricity? I think the best off grid power setup is a larger solar panel array with lots of batteries to store a few days worth of electricity and then in the dead of winter when you have little sun light you can run a portable gasoline generator to recharge the batteries when necessary.

[@BOKEHMASTER]

Loved the welding and the green paint. Great job!!

[@danieldeanmasterfinisher4715]

It’s the Pearla resistance Your Daughters are so talented They never cease to amaze me 😱❤️ Can you feed wood in once it’s going ???

[@jay90374]

Yes, if you're quick, otherwise your motor will stall.

[@freedomtowander]

As the gasifier is running you could use the whatever heat sink it has to heat water through some kind of heat exchanger.

[@majabe1337]

Great smart family! Pleasure to watch you guys 😄 awesome job 💥

[@rastaralph7154]

I've been wanting to build one of these since I first watched a channel called Mr teslonian build them while making different fuel's and heating the place and running a generator and fridge and cooker all from wood. If you haven't seen it check his out. He used 45 gallon drums 👍💚💛❤️

[@jay90374]

Do not build his tar maker, there are many better designs out there! You'd be much better off to make a simple fire charcoal gassifier and a retort if you just want to run a small generator.

[@25Soupy]

As an old welder I'm impressed!

[@arnoldrimmer9161]

Great work! my daughter has just emigrated to Vancouver island from the UK and loves it. This is the sort of video the energy companies absolutely hate. Keep up the good work 🙏

[@NotSureJoeBauers]

From what I've seen over the years you need bone dry wood for these units or you're losing tons and tons of efficiency. I'm over here on the far left coast and even 2 year split seasoned wood will resorb fall/winter ambient moisture and go back up to 25% moisture content. Your climate is a bit drier up there but I'd reckon for maximum efficiency you'll need to transfer that 1-2 full year dried wood inside at the end of summer and keep it away from that damp air outside. 25% moisture is fine for going in the wood stove but these gasifiers are really wanting for 10-12%. Dry climates like Arizona Colorado they have it easy, those places are always starving for moisture. But we got the moist air in excess up ere in the PNW left coast

[@oldplaner]

This system has a built in monorator to condense and hold moisture so wood doesn't need to be bone dry and it has heat recycling to take heat from the outgoing gas to preheat the incoming air and pre char the wood chunks.

[@NotSureJoeBauers]

I can dig that. You must be the fellah who make the gasifier. It's a very good unit, I have no doubts you made a good egg there. But you'd agree the drier the wood is the better. And Jeff kinda admitted they were using wet wood. His units temperature was running a lot lower than the test you did at your shop during the summer so the moisture definitely made the difference there. @@oldplaner

[@oldplaner]

@@NotSureJoeBauers I'm not the designer or builder of this gasifier. The original prototype was designed and built by Ben Peterson with the help of Steve Unruh both from Oregon. I built one of these units here in the Okanagan from Ben's book The Woodgas Builders Bible and 16 byears ago a gasifier for a Ford pickup from a $15 set of plans from Mother Earth News magazine. I'm very happy that the Gridlessness family has gained even more independence!

[@teropiispala2576]

Interesting that others have been thinking this type of approach too. I have had my own project, which I have been building for while and the burner part is ready and tested. I aim for much higher efficiency, though, with different solution. My primary goal is to produce heat to my 2000l boiler and secondary goal is to produce electricity with tesla turbine. I chose that one because it's compact and can output electricity directly to solar inverter. I use brushless watercooled motor as a generator, because it's directly compatible with turbine high rpm. Rectified 100V dc can use high frequency chokes to improve winding load balance and reduce losses compared to standard rectification. As a burner, I have 150l stainless steel cylinder with double walls, vermiculite filling and vacuum between layers. That's extremely good insulation. Hot arina is surrounded by refactory clay, and the rest of the walls are kept below 800C to avoid oxidization and structural failure, since vacuum create quite high stresses. Unlike combusting engine generator, my burner and steam coil don't need purified and cooled CO, but can burn wood gases too. That's mean much higher efficiency. Generated steam runs the turbine and all the residual heat is stored into my heating boiler through heat exchanger. I have made burning chamber from high heat refactory clay (1500C), and burning reach very high temperature when 700-800C CO and wood gas micture is mixed with pre-heated air. I have made the turbine, wood gaser and burning chamber, and work with turbine nozzle and heat exchanger is under construction. Nozzle design pushes my knowledge a bit, but on the other hand, turbine efficiency is not highest priority, since I need mych more heat than electricity anyway. Also welding the heat exchanger is quite big effort and most costly in this project. Have to make sure it's good enough.

[@JoostMoesker]

Do you have any references the tesla turbine design? Last time i checked thermal to electric efficiency of the steam cycle toped out at 10% in practice compared to 25-30% efficiency for a genset.

[@teropiispala2576]

@@JoostMoesker I have made some preliminary research, and the efficiency is greatly dependent on few factors. One is rpm, another is nozzle design and the third is gap between the discs. Best gap for steam is said to be 0.4-0.8mm. Theoretical efficiency can greatly exceed conventional turbine, being as high as 95%. However, no materials can withstand such high rpm values. Theoretical efficiency should be around 50% in 60krpm, which is still high to be sustainable for materials and bearings I have access to. I'm aiming for 30krpm, which should be possible with good bearings and high strength aluminium. It's also in a range where brushless motors can work without gearing. Many self made turbines have worked only with few thousand rpm, and for those, 10% efficiency is expected. I think the big problem for efficiency is also nozzle design and manufacturing. It should be fitted into turbine design and the shape is important. I have find some knowledge, but not enough to get it right. Also making the nozzle can be a challenge. Parts are too small for a lathe. I've been thinking of building small edm lathe to make inside shape from brass and then impregnate it with diamond powder and use that to lap steel or carbide nozzle. That's a major side project itself, and before that, I need knowledge to get dimensions right. Dependind on the shape, it could also be possible to use edm to directly carve the nozzle internal hole. My intention is to build the turbine and maybe test it with different nozzles I can buy. Getting electricity is extra luxury for me, and the heat is more important. In very cold perioids, when electricity cost around 2€/kwh, my energy need for heat can be 150kwh/day and other electricity need only 5kwh/day. I have no intention to pay 300€ per day for heating, so that's the main reason for this design.

[@TimDoscher-wj6xh]

These girls are amazing! Super impressed