Wood gasification

Discussion in 'Off Grid Living' started by Disciple, Feb 14, 2011.


  1. Disciple

    Disciple Monkey+

    I know this has mosyt likely has been disscussed before here But I'm doing some research into wood gasification to power a genset, to supplement the power I get from a solar power system. I am looking for every piece of information I can attain on the subject that I can gather. one main question I am looking for is there a way i can store such a fuel for use later? say propane tanks or steel fuel tank and keep it somewhat pressurized,? Or do you have to just run it dirrectly to the genset like most of the videos I have seen. or is there a way that tieing in an inverter directly to the genset I can just directly charge Batteries for usage later and use the genset as my only source for power so I can keep everything nice and neet without having to run a solar panel system on my roof.
     
  2. dragonfly

    dragonfly Monkey+++

    I read on a site that one person had figured out a way to pressurize the methane gas from his gassifier unit. The biggest problem was with the compression and explosion possibilities in that process. I figure that if you can pressurize propane and natural gas (CNG) you should have a way to do the same wih methane! I found a lot of info on gassifiers on you tube....
     
  3. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    Pressurized methane i would install a unloader valve piped back to the low pressure side..
    Primary protection i would install a (p.s.v.) Pressure safety valve and vent it away from any heated or ignition source...
    Set the p.s.v. a little above normal operation pressure..Let's say 50 p.s.i. above normal operation pressure...
    Set the unloaded valve at 25 p.s.i. above normal operation pressure...
    Keep all setting's at least 15% below what the vessel rated max. pressure is.
    Just a example...Post a few pict's if you have it....
     
  4. Gafarmboy

    Gafarmboy Monkey+++

  5. BAT1

    BAT1 Cowboys know no fear

    Back to the future. I want to put one in my Jeep.
     
  6. Disciple

    Disciple Monkey+

    I have nabbed that very pdf from one of our other fellow monkey's. It is a very informative pdf I'm just trying to things together where I can build one to power a 6500 watt genset I am trying my best to get ahold of. but when I get everything together I will post pics and provide what fuel gives me the best runtime.
     
  7. hank2222

    hank2222 Monkey+++

    I did look a the one from a company called Victory Gasifer a company builds them for diff sized units ..
     
  8. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus


    OK I had this discussion with my wife first, then Disciple. A commercial gassifier has proprietary parts, including filters. I am positive these filters can only be bought from Victory and are not cheap. Additionally, the design is unknown to any but the company and spare parts are going to also be...proprietary, and again expensive. The FEMA document was written for the average American (one of the few times our taxes may have been applied to the benefit of many people, with finite cost). The most amazing thing is the parts are readily available NOW, rather cheaply. I mean, come on, how much does a galvanized garbage can cost? Obviously, you have to invest your time. The down side is you spend a weekend or so building one. The up side is what you spend in time, you gain in knowledge.

    Like the Mastercard commercial says:
    Price of Gassifier Parts: $300.00 (NOT AN ACTUAL FIGURE)
    Time needed to build it: 2 days
    The ability to build, troubleshoot, or repair another one: priceless.
     
  9. hank2222

    hank2222 Monkey+++

    the one i was looking at has to put togerther by yourself so i was trying to see if the unit would be good enough for the small homestead that my son has back east and we could sit up there at his place ..

    The removeable filter system is in a place that is easly to get to if need along with a layout like this for the shed was we had thought about
    hotwatt-layout. 2010-layout. gasifer-DIY-shed1.
     
  10. hank2222

    hank2222 Monkey+++

    when takeing a look at some of the plans that are out there they are rather outdated in there design and safety features and makes me not want to use them ..plus with the victory gasworks you have to put the unit togerther and they help to a point but turn keys models cost a few more dollars that iam really wanting to spend on the project ..
     
  11. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    As with anything, YMMV. The technology is tried, tested and true. It has been around ssince the 1800's and in common use until as late as 1970 in South Korea - fueling taxis. To each his own.
     
  12. Disciple

    Disciple Monkey+

    As soon as I get my genset I am going to make the attempt at making one from scratch just to see if I can do it. If I should be successful in building it, I will build other much larger system to run much larger gensets. If I am not successful, well i'll buy one. I'm also thinking about trying to build a pellet mill to keep the wood gasifier fed with fuel. yeah I know the Gasifier will burn just regular wood but the pellets are very dence and small so you can actually fit more in the firebox of the gasifier plus with the pellet mill you can also use things such as grass, corn straw, to make the pellets to burn in the gasifier.
     
  13. SLugomist

    SLugomist Monkey++

    There's no need to store past pellets of wood. You can quickly fire these puppies up using a blow torch.

    If you had a saw mill, then you could make tons of pellets.

    Great FEMA pdf with videos at another website.

    for a 7 kw gen you'd need a what about 10-20 HP engine. a 55 gal drum makes about what ~ 200-300 hp.
    So dual 5 gal cans. with paint cans for stacks. and duct material and some auto parts. need welding at the machine shop. I don't think they get very hot, which is the whole point of it. hot enough to "gas" not hot enough to burn, that's what the spark plug does.
     
  14. SLugomist

    SLugomist Monkey++

    Craigslist a genset. I got a 7 kw 12kw peak, for $100, good engine, needed a couple of wires, fuses, and a new plug $50 total parts and flash the field. Works great.

    Now to convert to biomass.

    It was big in Europe during and after WW2.
     
  15. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    The FIRST "Rule of Thumb" for Electrical Generation from an ICE, (Internal Combustion Engine) is" Two HorsePower for every One KiloWatt of Energy out the Copper.

    The Second "Rule of Thumb" for Electrical Generation from an ICE, (Internal Combustion Engine) is: 1/3rd of the Fuel BTUs goes out the copper, 1/3rd of the Fuel BTUs goes out the Cooling System, and 1/3rd of the Fuel BTUs goes up the Exhaust Stack.

    .....
     
  16. hank2222

    hank2222 Monkey+++

    First off thanks for info on the above post ..our plan is use 10 smaller verison of the unit with a smaller wood gasification system that is design to run to charge the battery bank dureing the winter time along with the solar and wind power system as part of triangle of the power system that we are looking to put togerther for us to use as need as group with them around the area for use in two or three households in the area with each household useing the system one day a week to power the battery bank of of the households....

    Second off here is something i was wonder about is with the older model socalled plans is the socalled safety system that the older models have at the time of there design and i know some of the design are really good and some are really bad safety design system of the older models ..along with me or my group putting them togerther and running them with there socalled safety system of the plans ..
     
  17. Nadja

    Nadja RIP 3-11-2013 Forum Leader

    How about someone with a lot of knowledge of this wood gasifaction thing explain it to me. I know nothing at all about it, but like most people I am very curious about it.
     
  18. hank2222

    hank2222 Monkey+++

    From what i understand of itand reading up on it as i can find out about it ..


    The burning of the wood or other bio fuel product is turned into a gas form in turn allows a small engine to run off the socalled gas by product of the wood burning or other bio product that has been burned in the unit .

    The unit are design with a simple but safe system of converting the wood or other bio mass into a simple but effective way to run a engine without the need for regular fuel like diesel or gas or lg or propane

    Think of it like a fireplace that runs a engine that if you feed it some type of fuel it will make gas to power a basic small block engine inturns charges a battie bank ..

    The wood is best if cured and let dry for at least a season of my understanding of the woods to burn

    hope that helps with the understanding of the unit
     
  19. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    I guess I can tread here, oversimplifying, of course. Wood gasification is like gasifiying any solid fuel. Simplest terms I can think of, it's roasting the solid in an oxygen deprived atmosphere so it won't burn. Used to be done with coal (city gas lighting systems.) Effectively, the roasting drives off volatiles which are collected and distributed in gaseous form. (Or burned in your engine.) The remaining solid from coal is coke, which is a pretty good fuel itself. In the case of wood, it is charcoal, also a useful fuel. In both cases, the solid remnant can be used as fuel for the gassifier.

    You can do this with sewage, if you've a mind to try it. There are some autogenic (meaning once started with another fuel, they will continue without supplemental fuels) sewage burners in service yet today, and new ones coming up. The latest experiments are focused on fluidized bed burners, WAY too big and complex for the average farm.)

    Caution: In all gasification processes, there is carbon monoxide formed in the process, if any air is allowed into the vessel. It is not separated out for producer gas, because it has a decent heating value when burned in the atmosphere. NOT in a closed unventilated place!!!
     
  20. hank2222

    hank2222 Monkey+++

    that way we where planning to put them out in the open with a basic overhead cover to protect the people from the snow or rain when useing the unit ..
     
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