From: tl dietrich
Friday, December 24, 2010 10:07 AM
To: George B
Subject: gasifiers
Hi George,
Merry Christmas!
Check out this guy’s videos.
He truly knows what he is doing. We experienced the exact same problems with tars, pellets, filtration, etc. And ended up resolving the problems just like he has! He may be a good source for some gen test results.
I am still looking for a small gen head! I have been holding out, hoping for one of your good PMG’s, as I have a brand new 6 hp powersolutions listeroid that I would like to put it on after the gasifier testing is concluded.
Due to the lack of forced induction, I can’t help but wonder about the power output this fella is getting from his gen set.
George’s Reply: Hi Tom, Perhaps this is just another toy I can buy? For married men, we need expect the Wife to say… “I get to buy the next toy”, then you go home and find she’s called a contractor to remodel the kitchen, and the appliances are pink! If you dare say anything, she replies “at least my toys work!”, and she’s got you! I hate it when that happens 🙁
I have one PMG reserved for you in exchange for your article that will include max power you see out of the generator over a useful period of time. For whatever reason, wood gas experimenters don’t make it obvious what kind of power they make and for how long.
If we place a fixed load on the generator, it may be far easier to regulate fuel/air mixture into the generator.
No reason an experimenter couldn’t make use of a simple micro controller, use PWM out, and a high end RC servo to fine tune the fuel air mix or similar, with constant load assured, we might consider what inputs we give our processor to help it anticipate problems like the tar filter needing service. We know it would be easy to have two, and auto switch to a fresh one, then clean out and repack the off line? The fact that the filter media will likely cause the fuel/air mixture to change during a run suggests that we need control here for any meaningful power generation.
You and I know we can make an engine run with no load for quite a while on a single shot of WD40… similar to an empty wagon, easy to pull empty but no work is done. I’d like you to be the first person to demonstrate a useful power output. I think your supercharged wood gasifier is the key to getting enough BTUs into the combustion chamber to make that happen. As for the video you send, sure looks like nice fabrication work, but what we older people want to know is…. “what kind of power can I realistically get out of this thing?” Back to Woody, he’s a handsome well spoken lad, and who can argue… “he has the fab skills”. I give him a pass for having his hat on backwards, maybe he was welding?
All the best and Merry Christmas…
George B.
