Wood Gasifier/Generator, 4th Run, Grate results E16

[@wadebrewer7212]

Looking forward to you running a generator off of this guy. Nice work, love it! Subscribed!

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks mate, once I sort out the problems I'll get closer to that, cheers

[@tillmeischner7118]

cheers mate! You are doing nice work, very tidy and neat stuff. I myself am a boatbuilder, bought me a good beginners MIG welder and started building my first gasifier out of scrapp. its very much frankensteins monster, but it ran on woodpellets, and had a couple of fantastic hours with a huge nice flame. after i couldn´t really get the reactor airtight enough (at least thats what i thought back then) i made a new one, using Ben Petersons bible. Ben is a hero to me. i used his mesurements for the reactor, the rest i build very different. i also saw every available vid on the net about gasifying, so of course flash 001 usa´s. hes a hero to me aswell. now my gassi runs nice! starts up after 3 minutes. i fill her with selfmade biochar, just to the top of the noozle ring and then dry wood cubes, cut to Ben´s suggested dimensions. i use nice oak, very much dryed. moisture tester are cheap and easy to pick up, i finally bought one, aiming a moist of less than 15%. right now i am working on a venturi noozle to make a nasty potent jet turbine like flame, because now it is very nice to look at, but its not really hot if you hold a wood stick to it. if i get more oxygen to it, that will change things i expect. i am so addicted to working on my gassi that i have to watch out i still make money for living. my dream is coaching people who want to build one and who want to make heating and elektrisity with it. i´m getting closer every day...... my point to your nice clean machine: as far as i learned wood is put on a very hot bed of charcoal, wich it produces by it self after a short while, and above the hot area (combustion zone) the wood gets heated up very much. if you open the lid of a gassi in action there is thick smoke coming out on top. these are the fumes wich hold the stuff that is "roasted" out of the feedstock, this will be forced through the combustion zone, via the choke hole into the reduction zone where its modified. i´m not an expert in chemistry but i read a lot in the net, still Ben Peterson explains it in his bible most realisticlly(?) over the years i stopped to beleave in only what one person says, and now i´m rather investigator instead of beleaver. but: why dont you fill your reactor with fuel- dry nice wood cubes, not to big like an inch cube, and then close the lid so your fuel gets transformed in an environment with little oxygen. at least that is what all the theory is about: carbonising. i really dont want to be a smart arse, i´m just repeating what i learned from Ben and Flash, and dozens of other sources. Imbert, updraft, downdraft- low oxygen environment for the wood to carbonize is necessary for a good process. please correct me if i´m wrong. i cant wait for your next video! one other thing: i had to ad cooler after cooler and filter after filter to dry and clean the gas. no matter how: there is water vaporising out of the gas until it burns, but this is good and normal i read. tar will be "cracked" as Flash says if you burn very hot. i insulated the reactor very tight using ceramic wool (again guru Ben´s fame). i have tar-sout in my first filter wich is stainless steel wool kitchen pads (Flash´s honor), but only water in the 3 water seperators behind it. for fan i burned up the bilge blower wich you are using, now in lack of good supply on the 12volts units i use a shop vac wich can suck water aswell and has blow function/outlet with a regulator from china (10 euros or so). i am absolut happy with this, it isn´t as noisy and stressed, and it serves as a filter unit too- easy to open and to change filter materials. okay- it runs on 230volts, but changing that motor to a 12volt one will be a future project. maybe i will put some out from my gassi too, soon. i wish you and the rest of the gasifier community all the best and good health while making woodgas! love + peace ps please excuse my terrible english, it used to be better when i was in the usa or in australia

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks mate, your English is fine, yes playing around with wood gasifier a is a lot of fun, one thing I need to point out is that mine isn't a Imbert type, it's more a drizzler type where the fire tube is always near running out/empty, the biomass fuel is kept separate from the fire tube,and is feed down through the top of the fire tube when charcoal bed drops, this will be controlled by a level switch and a screw feeder, which I am yet to build. So far my aim has been to prove the concept of my build, I'm currently re-thinking my design and will be making some major changes before moving onto the biomass feed system. I'm rearranging my workshop to make room for some new tools, but hope to be back on the gasifier early in the new year, cheers merry Xmas

[@senekemoi]

Hi, as I see you are as passionate as me, for my part I have been tinkering with gasifier for fun since 2016, I started by building a GEEK. My goal is to use a calibrated raw material that is easy to obtain And develop a heat + electricity production system that can run continuously with reduced maintenance. I'm getting closer to the goal, finally I think... lol the no tar gasifier kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJqTY6eondp0nbc

[@roosenlodewijkwiggers4594]

So nice to see this process of testing and prototyping! you are an excellent machine builder

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thankyou for the feedback, much appreciated, cheers

[@mazdalorean]

Nice flare. I'm looking forward to seeing the generator side of things. Also, I had issues with being able to really clear out the ash grate when I had sides on mine too. I made a 1/4" thick stainless steel grate and made it larger in diameter. Without the sides I can shake the grate and clear out the chunks completely. I don't mind dropping some char down below as I reuse the bigger pieces on start up next time. Thanks for the show and have fun setting up the new lathe. They're a nice addition to the shop. Joe

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks mate, yeah my grate still need work, but it's getting better, I've been wanting a lathe for some time, I feel it'll be quite a step up for my little shop, but I haven't touched one for a very long time, I made a conduit expander on one, during my electrical apprentice ship many many moons ago, looking forward to it, cheers.

[@mazdalorean]

​@whathappensintheshed I finally got the chance to briefly test out the new saw I was telling you about. Figured I'd give you the link. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4LdpGhre755ebMsi=4U5rPb9M7nTeHeWD. There's still work to be done but I'm pretty happy with how it works. Joe

[@terrypeterson5035]

I love your build and presentation. Bravo. Here is my 2 cents for what it's worth. A gasifier is designed to produce fuel gas emitted from burning wood in a controlled environment. A gasifier flare is nothing more than the tip of a a big, low pressure acetylene torch where you visualize your air to fuel ratio to produce an optimized blue neutral flame. Your wood is fuel just as acetylene is the fuel for the cutting torch. You need to load up your fuel hopper first, seal the tank, then control the burn rate by adjusting the oxygen intake with one or more ball valves to produce the clean burning blue flame. Use the oxygen from the ignition port to get your fuel burning, open the oxygen valves then cap off the ignition port. Once the fuel burn is hot enough you can light the flare. It will burn rich producing a dirty yellow flame (as you are doing now), just as an acetylene torch does when you light the flame on gas alone. With a high heat fire going strong start to reduce the oxygen with the intake valves until you get a blue flame in your flare that produces the cleanest burn and the least tar. When you're ready to start collecting wood gas for generator fuel, close the flare valve and send the fuel gas to your pressure pump to compress into propane tanks for storage. Good work, I'm enjoying your channel. God bless.

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks mate, pretty close, only mine is not an imbert gasifier, but more like a drizzler type, the amount of gas produced is governed by the suction of the engine, gas is produced on demand. If you compress hydrogen in a steel tank, the steel goes brittle, there is still a lot more to be done on my build, especially on the biomass indeed side of things, plenty more to come, thanks, cheers

[@whathappensintheshed]

That was supposed to be infeed

[@CNCmachiningisfun]

Oh boy! How did I not see this video until now? You sure have learned a lot, and made plenty of valuable improvements to the system lately. It won't be long before you can no longer resist the urge to try your neighbour's lawnmower engine on this, while he's not looking. Heck, it's watt I wood do ;) .

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks mate, yeah my runs are getting better, my neighbour has an expensive zero turn mower,,,,,

[@CNCmachiningisfun]

@@whathappensintheshed In the near future: Your neighbour HAD an expensive zero turn mower ;) . Yeah, I know it is a sin, but imagine the possibilities ;) .

[@nikohamalainen6790]

Best built so far 👍💪

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks for the feedback

[@hisab-n8c]

👍finally some success ,time to isolate the Gasifier

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks, soon, first need to get this thing to run good, cheers

[@ellooku]

23:35 Wow! no tar. I really want to learn how to build this the right way. Mine is like a tar generator and do not produce flame. What did I miss?

[@whathappensintheshed]

@@ellooku G'day mate, I've had a few problems too, to start with my gasifier is not an Imbert, it's more like a drizzler type (see the drizzler channel on YT) so I feed in the minimum amount of wood fuel keeping the combustion zone over 1000 deg. It will stay hot as long as you have good air flow, the only times mine produced tar was when air flow dropped, hope this might be some help, just keep going, cheers

[@identifyingautonomously3782]

You video mean so much to me thank you.

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks mate much appreciated

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

Nice! On your next build, my sugestion would be to change the grate actuation to rotate back and fourth versus a continuouse rotation. A continuouse rotating grate will cause the charcoal to bind and crush into dust. You dont want that becuase that will still cause poor gas gas flow as that dust will be pre grate and clog the thing up. I use an arm with a slot in it and the grate motor has a pin on the crank arm that rides in this slot. Your grate spacing is perfect. I understand you are trying a different concept but there is nothing wrong with the Imbert design. The key is to insulate the crap out of your gasifier and run only dry fuel. It will work and it will not produce tar. Dont over complicate it keep it simply. I think its our nature to over complicate the crap out of everthingj. I can tell the true wood gasers from experimenters. You are are a wood gaser :)

[@niyonsabaalaintoussaint9634]

No im not yet woodgaser but I really really love it and I want too The problem is that I don't get a mentor or any kind of guidance

[@PedigreeMongrel]

I was thinking the same a lever slotted for offset pinion off scraper shaft have grate sat on separate shaft to rotate back and forth independently stop the guillotine effect crushing coal question though would this system benefit from water misting the reactor ie octane boosting/cooling? Or do these types not require it? Does seem to have a fair bit of orange in the flare indicating further cleaning of gas is needed?

[@jakeburkett8529]

IIRC he made a spot for water injection if he thinks it's necessary. But the amount of water that came out of the condensers shows that it's not burning hot enough yet. Or the wood he's using isn't dry enough. Also he's not running the gas through the filter yet, just the Vortex chamber and condensers. Even so he's not seeing signs of tar which means his current set up is running clean AF despite no filter and that amount of water. There is another channel where the guy uses the exhaust from his generator to dry the wood. I suspect he'll chime in some point soon. He's really interested in this project in particular. IMHO he's probably the most knowledgeable person on KZbin when it comes to these. There is an example of a Gasifier power plant on KZbin somewhere. They keep their drying chamber at 200F and have 2-3 full loads stored inside it. They also use the generator exhaust to heat the chamber.

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

@@PedigreeMongrel There is already natural and chemically bound water in the wood fuel. With a wood gasifier it is combating this moisture and this is one of the main reasons for complexity of these systems. The machine is fighting this moisture to burn hot enough to crack both tar and the moisture. Charcoal on the other hand is different. It burns extremely hot and will melt the jet nozzle. So we mist water into the nozzle so that it evaporates and cools it. Then the by product of that is the water gas process where the water shift to H2 as the Oxygen is ripped out to combine with the carbon and create CO. This then greatly boost the gas. The steam also displaces some of the atmosphere. This is also part of the reason for the increased gas energy density, its not all just the added hydrogen but less nitrogen that is allowed inside the gasifiers reactor.,

[@PedigreeMongrel]

@@Thrive-Off-Grid thank you for that information excellent to know this I’ve been thinking I could mist on wood fuel but would be unnecessary given the vapour content already in it my setup is just a basic downdraft cobbled together with scrap ie Victorian cast iron down pipe large air compressor body old gas canisters cyclone radiator and filter box style monstrosity I want to try make a compact modular energy storage and generator from it if all works as intended I’ll up scale to supply the homestead. I’ve been looking at worm drive concept to remove ash from lower chamber I don’t suppose you have tried this with any luck?

[@nottaquitter838]

Awesome design.. I'm still trying to wrap my head around all the pipes and the big canister next to the main burner..it's months past your posting of this build and I maybe to late to ask..I noticed that the whole test you were tending the fire instead of closing the top for all the fuel to heat up and release the gases?was there a air flap w issue?!

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks mate, the biggest difference with this gasifier is, it's not an Imbert, it's stratified with the wood feed in small amounts, so the top will be partially open, in my next video I'll explain and show some sketches, some major changes coming up. Cheers

[@synth1002]

Pretty clean flame. Can you tell me what you used for gaskets for all those homemade flanges?

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks mate, I used JB Weld hi temp RTV silicone sealant from a 300ml tube, cheers

[@ADOROFARMSLTD-gj8ne]

Hi, I've been following your gassifier build and noticed its been a while, hope all i ok. Hope the lathe setup is going well too

[@whathappensintheshed]

Hi all is good, thanks for asking, been busy around the place, and at work too, rearranging the workshop to make room for the lathe and a table saw as well. I hope to be back on the gasifier in the new year, with some big changes coming up, cheers and merry Xmas

[@gabimunteanu5521]

Hi, I wanted to ask if you thought of using wood pellets to feed the gasifier. Could you do a test? Thank you, Gabriel

[@whathappensintheshed]

Hi, not planning on trying wood pellets, they are not readily available here in South East Queensland except for things like smoking at a $$ cost. I have an abundance of hardwood timber so my whole build is centred around that, cheers

[@niyonsabaalaintoussaint9634]

Very interesting I've made the same gasifier but the blower does not pull the gas from the gasifier I was wondering if the gas outlet pipe must be connected on the feedstock or any where else

[@PedigreeMongrel]

I think these have air intake nozzles to reactor area not 100% as haven’t seen plans to it check if you have any air feed pipes to feed chamber they might have ball valve adjustment that needs opening once ignition port is closed or you effectively starve the feed of oxygen putting it out remember the combustion triangle you need heat, fuel and oxygen to burn also be careful running low oxygen then opening any feed port quickly it can cause a flashback

[@niyonsabaalaintoussaint9634]

@@PedigreeMongrel thanks sir But how can i get your contact So that I can show you something

[@PedigreeMongrel]

@@niyonsabaalaintoussaint9634 honestly the best way to learn your set up is by examining what you have and comparing to other gassers that are operating check any design papers on it unless you are prototyping new designs I myself am just learning the different types and processes that way if I get stuck during my build I can make an educated guess as to what’s wrong start from basic process and work your way through but understanding the process and what works is very important to being able to operate it if you are stuck with something upload a video or photos of the issue so I and more experienced users can offer suggestions to help

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks, in future the inlet air will be preheated, just one thing to keep in mind, this gasifier is not an Imbert, but more like a drizzler, look up the Drizzler guys and it'll make more sense, cheers

[@AMCKINGDOM]

Please watch Victory Gasworks! He have it to wear the charcoal and wood chunks slide to the center where it meats air jets to get a hot burn. He's able to fill the whole chamber full of wood chunks and adgetates it every 10 minutes for appr. 10 seconds. Also i enjoy the cooling condensers but worried if you don't get a good burn they may build up tar sooner than you'd like. I hope ive been somewhat of help.

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks mate, no worries, I guess I probably haven't explained in detail that this gasifier is not an Imbert, but a drizzler type where the wood hopper separate from the fire tube, fuel is feed in by a screw feeder, the gasifier itself is stratified, draws air in from the top, jets are not needed as the charcoal bed is the dominant factor, not the wood fuel above, on an Imbert the jets concentrate the combustion in a small area because all the fuel above bleed away heat. So far I'm only testing the basic unit without screw feeder and automation to prove concept, there are some major changes coming up soon, cheers

[@marioncobretti7870]

Im curious about a few things - why do you primarily burn charcoal, every gasifier ive seen burns wood, and the tube is just filled - woukd it be worth while to drastically reduce and raise the lower fins? That seems to be the ash chamber, i think spreading them evenly would be the goal, having the blades drag on the bottom and that shaoe seems like itd be hard to clean - could you set your agitator on a timed switch, so you dont have to baby sit it? (Like outside lights type mechanical switch) Thanks for the videos, you will get the gas quality you want, and i look forward to the next

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks mate, I only make charcoal when starting for the first time, or after a tear down and charcoal in unit is insufficient, but once up to temperature it runs on wood. The floor scrapers is to push the ash into a collection chamber, not built yet. The grate will be controlled by a timer and or manometer, also the wood will be feed into the fire tube in small amounts by a screw feeder, but for now I'm just proving the concept, with quite some major changes coming up, cheers

[@marioncobretti7870]

@@whathappensintheshed looking forward to seeing it. The barrel units ive seen seem to work good but dont look quality for a long period of time, yours looks like itd take an rpg and keep going, so i kinda want it lol

[@senekemoi]

hello Nice job ! i have never experiment stone condenser, How much time can you keep enough cold the condenser ?

[@whathappensintheshed]

@@senekemoi thanks mate, after more than one hour run time the outlet end of the condenser was still cool to touch, the stones have a lot of thermal mass and the wood gas is a very light gas, so I suspect quite a long time, I have made provision for water spray if needed. Cheers

[@senekemoi]

@@whathappensintheshed thanks for your answer, i m' near sure you have no more then 2 or 3 hours of running before getting tar in the gas, from my experience when you add water with spray it cool the gas but it add water vapor to gas and water vapour is a medium for tar transportation so if you don't plant continious running it's not a problem

[@senekemoi]

@@whathappensintheshed other question, do you have idea of how much time you can run without cleaning the stone ?

[@whathappensintheshed]

@@senekemoi Hi, at this stage no, on my first two runs I produced a lot of tar, but my last two runs virtually none, so if I can keep doing that I shouldn't need to clean them too often, cheers

[@senekemoi]

@@whathappensintheshed Sure it depends of gas quality ( Tar & moisture )

[@adrianramos4400]

good job sir

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks mate

[@gpowell511]

Watching you drain the condensation, I had the thought occur to me. I'm not sure what vacuums or pressures are being dealt with here, but could you not use a water lock (much like a toilet or sink, but maybe with higher water columns on each side to resist the pressures/vacuums) to then allow for continuous drainage out of the condenser?

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

Nice! you understand this. This is also how tar is dropped. Tar is not a solid under vacuum. This is what we are doing with the VersiFire. This system temperarily stores the gas from low to high presure to drop the nasties and also debris.

[@whathappensintheshed]

I will eventually run a hose from the condensate collector down to a reservoir, at the reservoir the hose end will be under water, if I ever use water spray in the condensers I will need this to drain the water, a circulating setup maybe, cheers.

[@whathappensintheshed]

@@gpowell511 G'day, yes there's much more coming, been busy around the place and at work too, will get back to the gasifier in the new year, with some big changes, cheers

[@robertpoynton9923]

Well done mate! What you plan to have it long periods of time before needing to add more fuel? I will be interested in the lathe and if you can do threds with it. My gasifier build need a few custom bits that i will need to make with a lathe

[@whathappensintheshed]

Thanks, fuel will metered in through the top of the fire tube by a screw feeder, only small amounts at a time, to keep the temperature up, it will be controlled by a level switch, I haven't touched a lathe since my electrical apprenticeship at TAFE, so I'm very very green, cheers.

[@arturczaplewski]

I think you need more fuel less air becouse now it is working as a fireplace and produce only CO2 and H2O. There is no place for pirolysis inside.

[@niyonsabaalaintoussaint9634]

Any one who can guide me in making wood gasifier Please in really need your help

[@PedigreeMongrel]

There’s plenty of tutorials and information on gasification it depends on which type of gasifier you are making and it’s intended use if you are planning on running a generator on it there are many considerations clean cool gas is very important to get best results as wood/coal gas only produces 1/3 of the power normal gas would you also need correct size gasifier vs engine. If engine size is too big you over heat gasifier or engine will not run/perform under load there are lots of different types methods hot gassing needs water injection to cool and octane boost feedstock in reactor chamber/flame tube there are feedback cycles to pre heat feedstock in hopper on some others are very basic but run weak or chew through lots of feedstock. Most non commercial automated reactors run 6/8 hours before needing clean out so better to charge a battery bank to cover down time if you intend to power a premises. If using it to produce internal cooking gas or boiler gas it needs to be very clean due to monoxide risks if reactor is being used in a confined area it needs to be airtight or very well ventilated to prevent risk of gas building up and causing explosion.

[@whathappensintheshed]

If you're looking at building an Imbert downdraft Ben Peterson's book WOOD GASIFIER BUILDERS BIBLE is good, with formulas and all, cheers.

[@stinkfinger8700]

as to your collection of the condensate, that is way too much. you need to be using the driest fuel you can get. i cringed watching you gather deadfall wood in the earlier video, that is about the worst fuel you could use without further preparation. deadfall- wood laying on the ground- collects and hold moisture. if you are collecting your own fuel, you need to be using wood/trees that are still dead standing or if still using deadfall, you need to chip it then spread it on a tarp to dry in the sun for a good long time. that is one of the reasons you arent getting to temp faster in your burns/ initial lighting. its why i think your 3rd burn went better- you were using fuel from the previous burn that had, had time to sit and dry out more. if you have not already seen or checked out videos by flash100usa here on youtube about his gasifier build, i would suggest you do. he has a timed shaker he built for his instaed of a constant mover like your turning scraper.

[@whathappensintheshed]

I don't know what the moisture content in my wood is, but it's pretty dry, our climate is mostly hot and dry here, yes I have seen Flash's video's, I will be automating the grate in future, but first I want to prove the concept, cheers

[@paulpothier658]

seems verry over enginered u dont have to reply

[@PtangPtangBiscuitBarrelSmith]

Are you the late great Sean Locke ( Google him ) long lost Aussie Brother?😅

[@whathappensintheshed]

Haha no definitely not