Woodgas Carburetor

I have been working on the carburetor. It's not a carb in the true sense, since we are not atomizing liquid fuel. Woodgas enters the engine in gaseous state, so the gas needs only to be mixed with the air in the right proportions. I built a device to do this. Basically a carb throttle and choke, with a side entrance for the woodgas. Here it is painted:

I cut my own gaskets from gasket paper:

300,000 miles

We just rolled 300,000 miles on the Honda Odyssey. Every single mile was ours.

We bought the van new to replace our aging Chrysler van. Not too impressed with the amount of breakdowns it had, we were looking for a reliable vehicle (meaning Honda) and when they came out with the Odyssey in 1995, Mom knew right away that it was the right car. Dad said to wait a few years, let them get the bugs worked out. By 1998, we were at the dealership. Having done all the research and negotiations online (very unusual at the time), Dad managed to avoid haggling with the dealer - we walked in and paid the check. At the same time Dad got a Honda Civic 5-speed.

We moved to Colorado, and the van came with. We moved to Tennessee, and the van came with. We moved to Kentucky - still driving the van. At this point the Civic is long gone, replaced by a Chevy Suburban which can barely seat all of us. I have a Geo Metro now, which nobody wants to drive except me. So we still use the van to go everywhere. Most of the time the back seats are all out, and we haul musical instruments to gigs (upright bass, guitar, banjo, sound system). Or Dad goes to the post office with bookstore orders. Or the ladies go to Lexington...

The van has been extremely reliable all these years. There's no rust to my knowledge. It has had regular maintenance,  first by the dealer and now by yours truly. We have had oil leaks at times. The crankshaft pulley has been replaced. A run-in with a deer very nearly totaled the van (we drove home, though). The exhaust manifold developed a crack, got replaced (and now I think it leaks a little). Then there's all the normal stuff; tires, batteries, oil changes, fuel.

So let's run the numbers, just for fun.

Initial cost:   $24,954.70
Insurance:      $6,491.56
Fuel*             $23,667.58
Parts/Labor    $7,169.49
Oil/filter (me)     $120.61

Grand total:  $62,403.94

That means:

Cost per mile (not including gas): $0.13/mile
Cost per mile including gas:         $0.27/mile
Total cost per day:                       $13.08/day

Avg miles per day:    61.44

Some interesting conclusions here. A rental van costs $84/day, up to 150 miles thereafter adding $0.15/mile (not including gas). So we are way ahead on cost per day, but the cost per mile is only now starting to drop to the same level.

 I keep the same numbers on the Metro, which is up to $2100.60 now. My cost per day is $4.97 (owned it for a year now), my cost per mile is $0.52 without gas, $0.59 with gas. Mostly because I have only got 3,400 miles on it so far.  Cost per mile w/o gas should match the Odyssey about the 20,000 mile mark (assuming $500 more in maintenance at that point).

*Fuel cost is approximated, based on the national average over the life of the car.

Building the Gasifier

You're probably going read a lot of posts about this wood gasifier that I am building. This is a major project for me, and I will keep posting updates right here.

Today I began the actual cutting. I have spent plenty of time researching gasification, and settled on a customized design:

This is the hearth. Air comes through the pipes and into the reaction area. This part will get the hottest. All the gases will pass through the upside down cone (inverted V), ensuring that the tars are cracked at high temperatures. The top side of the inverted V will rapidly fill with ash, creating a very insulative layer. Ash will also form a reduction cone from the narrow part up, determined by the ash's angle of repose against the walls and the throat. Anyway, enough theory for now.  Here is the outer tank ready to be cut - an old 16" water heater.

This was a gas fired heater, meaning a flue pipe runs top to bottom, welded in at each end. This makes cutting the tank in half tricky. The pipe has to be freed, eventually at each end.

To make the cone, I need a piece of heavy steel cut to this pattern:

Traced and cut out from the remaining piece:

The perspective makes it look funny, but this is a very curly piece of metal. Not the right curl for my cone, though. I flattened it out:

Now I cut the other tank, in much the same manner. This one is the inner tank with a large opening in the bottom for the base of the cone:

One goes inside the other. There is a 3/4 inch gap all around for some air pipes, and for the gas to exit.

That's all for today. Stay tuned...

Wayne Keith at KSU

I can hardly believe it, I missed a chance to see one of the coolest guys around give a talk on wood gasification. Wayne Keith was at KSU in Frankfort in November, he drove up from Alabama in his wood powered truck. Yes, it's really wood powered.

Wayne Keith has been gasifying wood in his trucks since 2005, he has converted six trucks so far. He has logged more miles on wood than anyone else in the nation at this point, and is not slowing down. Here's a bit of the article from KSU:

Wayne Keith leaned over and said, "What's the fastest you've ever been on wood?"

For most people, the answer would be 0 miles an hour unless they were rolling down the river on a log. But Keith regularly clocks up to 80 miles an hour on his wood-fueled Dodge Dakota and hauls 40-foot gooseneck trailer loads of hay with his wood-powered Ford F250 on his 140-acre Springville, Ala., farm.

Keith was one of several presenters Nov. 19 at the Kentucky State University Land Grant Program's Small, Limited Resource, Minority Farmers Conference at the KSU Research and Demonstration Farm. One of the focuses of this year's conference was alternative energy, and as a former part-time farmer and full-time energy innovator, Keith was a prime presenter for the 160 farmers who traveled to Frankfort from across the Commonwealth.

The retired law enforcement officer turned full-time farmer and inventor showed off his creation, which gets 5,000 to 7,000 miles per cord of wood. Keith uses it as his everyday vehicle and said he drives more than anyone else who is documented to operate a wood-fueled vehicle. In one trip, he drove more than 7,000 miles on wood alone.

Here is a bit of how it works:

To operate his truck, Keith first lights a fire in the first tank using newspapers. Then, he adds the wood. He said he can basically burn anything except metal glass and rocks, but he prefers wood because it gets the best mileage. 

The wood tank heats to about 3,000 degrees. That water vapor and carbon dioxide goes through a pipe where it mixes with incoming air in a second tank. From there, the process goes down pipes along the side of the bed of the truck and underneath to where the water is condensed and trapped. Then it is sent to the filtration tank, which is full of hay.

The water is cleansed and sent to the modified motor. 

"So far I have not found anything that completely removes all of the soot, but I think a little soot is OK," Keith said. 

He changes the loose hay about every three to four months and keeps a steady level of ash in the initial tank. Beyond that, he gauges the level of all of the tanks with dials that he can see in his rearview mirror. He knows the readings well enough to know when he is almost out of fuel and when he needs to tend to his tanks.

"Any vehicle alongside us doesn't even know we are any different," Keith said. "Most of the people around home don't realize I am doing this. They just think I am hauling extra weight."

The first time he starts his engine for the day, when the engine is cold, he usually starts it with gas and then quickly switches over to wood fuel using a lever beneath his steering wheel. He could wait much longer to let the vehicle run completely on wood, but it takes less than an ounce of gasoline to jumpstart the motor.

Read the rest of the article here:
http://mes.kysu.edu/news/woodfueledtrucksparksinterestatsmallfarmsconference.html

New Youtube Channel

I have finally got myself shifted on to a single Google account; for a while I used the account for only one thing - YouTube. I left it due to the videos I had posted, and subscriptions I had made. YouTube does not allow account switching, BTW - once you've signed up, that's the only account you can use. But constantly switching between Google accounts is no fun. So I have just finished reposting all the videos from kymetro9999 to the new channel, eatmorechili1. I managed to continue the color scheme from the blog onto the channel page. Here's one of the more popular videos: 

This is a few of us at GeoPalooza this year. We were working on a Geo Metro which needed welding on the underneath side. Lacking a floor jack, we had plenty of human labor....Lift it up! We steadied it with some boards and held on tight, monitoring the slightest motions very carefully. All told, the car stayed in the air for about 45 minutes. Please note the gas-can stool that Coyote-X is sitting on while he welds. 

View more great clips on the new channel,  http://www.youtube.com/user/eatmorechili1

Steer Clear Driver's Program

It's not every day that your insurance company pleads with you to take a lower premium. Sends you fliers, ask you to come in to talk about it, and so forth. But that's what State Farm has decided to do, with their latest effort to keep teen drivers a little safer on the road. I got a notice on the last statement from them that I was eligible for a reduction in premiums if I follow their guidelines. This is what they want me to do:

• Sign a paper stating that I promise to be a safe driver.
• Keep a trip log for five trips, recording where I went, and various aspects of the trip (conditions, weather, distractions, etc.)
• Come by the office and claim my discount.

Seems awfully simple to me, I don't mind. I generally drive slower than anyone else on the road, I don't have a cellphone, and I always wear a seatbelt, at least on major roads. You can get pulled over for all that anyway, so why take a chance? I guess they expect teen drivers to feel differently, perhaps they do. I won't complain; they can pay me to do what I do already, no problem.........

Dodge Truck For Sale

For all my multitude of readers, there are a FEW DAYS LEFT before this truck sells! A beautiful 1987 Dodge 250 V8 pickup.

If you think you might want to buy it, here is your chance. It has Power steering, A/C which doesn't work, 2WD, Towing capabilities (it has a hitch), mostly undented bed, could use some paint. Buy it and restore it! You aren't going to find a much cleaner specimen in Pellyton, KY - or any other specimen for that matter! Comes with a junked title, but that can be fixed through the DMV. Surely you are in need of another project! Well, if you are you'd better hurry because this thing could sell ANY MINUTE! Asking $800 OBO. Come on down and see it for yourself.

Went To Jacob's

Went to see my good friend Jacob Ellis on New Years Day. He didn’t get the day off, since their family runs a small convenience store, and they stayed open. I have had some adventures with Jacob over the years that we've been here.  This time was no different.

After locating him at his house, we walked over to see his latest fix-it project. Their GMC Suburban had been in a rear end wreck a few years ago, and the rear axle had always been off since then. So they were in the last stages of rebuilding with a new rear end, and new transfer case. His shop is an old Amish outbuilding, with a sliding door and concrete floor, and a lot of junk, barely leaving room for the car itself. The only power/light came in on an extension cord from elsewhere, no insulation or heat.

When I showed up, he was mildly irritated at his brother Ethan who had lost some of the nuts off of the transmission. Since this was his only day off, and I wanted to be around to help with the job, I suggested we go on into town and get the bolts. So off we went  in the little Metro (getting 56mpg for the trip) and headed for town 25 miles away.

About an hour later we got back with the goods, and set to work on the Suburban.  Bolted up the rear plate on the differential and put the new nuts on the transfer case. Installed both of the drive shafts, bled the brakes, bolted on the wheels, and filled up the tires....we were rolling! Everything seemed to be secure, and Jacob said he’d be checking all the bolts after  they had settled in a bit.  At this point, we had blown right through supper, and  so we said good bye to Jacob and Ethan, and headed home.

Jacob said that he is getting his old truck back, and that it will need work done...so that may be our next little  adventure. I hope so, because Jacob is fun to be around, and I always look forward to wrenching with him.

CV joints for the Odyssey

After getting the tires replaced on the 1998 Honda Odyssey, the service man mentioned that the CV joints were clicking, particularly on acceleration, and would we like to set up an appointment to get them replaced? After politely declining, we headed home, listening for the clicking he had heard. I didn't hear any noise, but I had noticed the "clunk" when shifting into drive, as the transmission took up the slack in the loose joints.

So I Googled CV Joints, and it turns out they are only $50 each from RockAuto. They arrived shortly before Christmas, in the middle of a snowstorm, so I waited until yesterday to install them.

Having never done them before, I got an impromptu tour of the internet how-tos on CV joint replacement...... Pretty slim pickings. Notes I made:

-        Rent a 36mm axle nut socket from AutoZone. You also need a breaker bar if you don’t have one.

-        Loosen the lugs and the axle nut while the wheel  is on the ground providing resistance.

-        You need a new axle nut for each side, also called a stake nut. Don’t buy them separately if they came on the new CV joints......

-        You need a Pitman arm puller, about $12 at AZ.

-        No matter what the internet guides say, DO NOT PULL on the CV to get it out. It probably won’t work, and it ruins the CV joint, in case you had removed it for other reasons.

-        Get under there and PRY it out of the tranny. One side was easy, the other incredibly hard.

-        If you hear a scraping noise on the test drive, it just might be that brake rotor shield you pulled on so hard when you were moving it out of your way.

-        Salty ice-slush dripping from under a dirty car on your face is not very nice.

On top of all that, one of the brand new tires suddenly went ‘whoosh’ – there was apparently a sidewall defect, and it separated. This while the car was being repaired...... So a quick 50 mile round trip to the tire shop, luckily it was warranted for a free replacement. Back home, all together again, and today I washed all the salt off. 

The adventure continues....

MetroWiki

Have a look at the brand new site, MetroWiki.

I am starting this project because its hard to find all the useful posts on here. Search is good, but what if you don't know what to search for yet? New folks often ask the same questions, because they don't know where we keep all the answers.

We need to streamline this process. There are many threads that we all value for their information, we can gather them up and condense them into a general article, with links back to the original threads.

The working goal of MetroWiki is to enable you to know a Geo Metro inside and out, before ever seeing one firsthand. There needs to be complete coverage of known issues, and careful editing of the main articles to ensure that new people come away with the correct impressions. Finished articles will be posted in the guides section. The furthest along is the G10 article.

Some of you may have already heard about this, because I am looking for volunteers to help out creating and maintaining it. This is a big project, but many hands make light work. Anyone can edit any page, its as simple as editing a post on GMF.

If you would like to help and don't know what you can do, drop me a line and I'll help you get rolling. Or if you have something you know you can add, dive right in there! All edits are reversible, so don't worry about 'messing it up' - it can only get better and better. Each page has a talk section, where we can discuss things. Additionally we can use the GMF live chat to hold realtime conversations.

Here's the link again: http://themetrowiki.wikispaces.com/

I know we are all busy, but if there is something you want do to help, it’s appreciated. Thanks for your time and efforts to make GMF a better place.

KY Metro

Cyclone Update

I have continued to email the Cyclone folks, and I have gotten several tidbits, although some are relative to the Mark V engine:


~The Mark V has 850ft-lbs of torque at near 0 RPMs

Incredible as that sounds, remember that these engines are designed not to need a transmission. A 114 HP Volvo engine producing 136 ft-lbs will multiply that torque 13 times at the wheel in first gear, for a max of 1,809 ft-lbs (not that you need it), proceeding to the overdrive ratio 2.61, for 355 ft-lbs at the wheel. So the Mark V likely needs a final drive ratio of 1.5:1 or so.

I can't wait to hear the torque numbers on the Mark II.


~Mark V burner has a firing rate of 7 gallons per hour

This is an incredible amount of fuel, but remember that's top capacity. Meaning with a mediocre fuel economy of 20MPG, this burner can keep you supplied with steam up to 140 MPH with 100% duty cycle. When you add the reserve capacity of the boiler, there's room for even faster speeds, in short bursts. Also means that normally, duty cycle would be 25 – 50%.

Not so useful to us perhaps, but food for thought.


~The expected cost is “similar to a gasoline engine of the same horsepower”.

What does that mean? Who can say.
A gasoline 20hp engine costs anywhere from $1000 to $1500+ off the shelf.


~They have temporarily ceased work on the Mark II in favor of better funded projects.

Well, I just wish them some success, and hope they get their business firmly established.



Waiting is so hard.....

Imbert gasifier footage from WWII

Cool video from bioenergyken.

video showing actual Imbert gasifier - design, production and operation. Appears to be filmed by the manufacturer, Imbert.

Youtube description:
'Sweden was short of oil during WWII. There were some cars which ran with the syngas from biomass gasifier.'

Would love to get a transcription of the Swedish dialog here. [EDIT: added link to transcription!]

Smart vs. Metro comparison

 VS

............Metro retail price: $6,710
Smart-for-two retail price: $11,990

Engineering:

Engine Type: In-Line 3-Cylinder
same

Engine Block/Cylinder Head: Aluminum-Alloy
same

Displacement (l): 1.0
same

Horsepower @ rpm (SAE net, Rev 8/04): 70 HP @ 5,800 rpm
Horsepower @ rpm (SAE net, Rev 8/04): 55 HP @ 5,700 rpm

Torque (lb.-ft. @ rpm): 68 lb.-ft. @ 4,500 rpm
Torque (lb.-ft. @ rpm): 58 lb.-ft. @ 3,300 rpm

Bore and Stroke (in): 2.83 x 3.22
Bore and Stroke (in): 2.91 x 3.03

Compression Ratio: 10.0:1
Compression Ratio: 9.5:1

Valve train: 4-valve per cyl. - SOHC
Valve train: 2-valve per cyl. - SOHC

Electronic Multi-Point Fuel Injection
Electronic Throttle Body Injection

Rear-wheel Drive
Front-wheel Drive

CARB Emissions Rating: ULEV-2
N/A

Federal Emissions: Tier II/Bin5
N/A

Direct Ignition System with Immobilizer
Electronic ignition, has distributor

Transmissions: 5-Speed Automated Manual
Transmissions: 5-Speed Manual


Gear Ratios: 1st: 3.308 2nd: 1.913 3rd: 1.258 4th: 0.943 5th: 0.707 Final Drive: 4.529
Gear Ratios: 1st: 3.416 2nd: 1.894 3rd: 1.280 4th: 0.914 5th: 0.757 Final Drive: (see below)
*1st: 3.583 1998+ 1.3L/4 cylinder

Final Drives:
4.389 (1995+ & Convertible 1.0L/3 cylinder)
4.105 (GT/GTi & 1989-1994 1.0L/3 cylinder)
3.789 (1995+ 1298cc & XFI/1.0L/3 cylinder)
3.524 (pre-1995 SOHC 1.3L/4 cylinder)


Body/Suspension/Chassis:

Unit-Body Construction
Same
MacPherson Strut Front Suspension
?
DeDion axle Rear Suspension Stabilizer Bar (mm, front): TBD mm/none
N/A

Rack-and-Pinion Steering: Turning Diameter, Curb-to-Curb (ft.): 28.7
Rack-and-Pinion Steering: Turning Diameter, Curb-to-Curb (ft.): 30.2

Power-Assisted Ventilated Front Disc/Solid Rear Disc Brakes (in.): 11/8
Power-Assisted - - - Solid Front Disc/Solid Rear Drum Brakes (in.): ?

Wheels: All-Season Tires: 155/60 R15 Front/175/55 R15 Rear
Wheels: All-Season Tires: 155/80 R13 Front/155/80 R13 Rear*
*Older models used 155/80 R12


Interior Measurements:

Headroom (in.): 39.7
Headroom (in.): 37.8

Legroom (in.): 41.2
Legroom (in.): 42.5

Shoulder Room (in.): 48
Shoulder Room (in.): N/A

Hip-room (in.): 45.4
Hip-room (in.): N/A

Cargo Volume (cu. ft.): 12.0
Cargo Volume (cu. ft.): 29.1

Passenger Volume (cu. ft.): 45.4
Passenger Volume (cu. ft.): N/A

Seating Capacity: 2
Seating Capacity: 4

Exterior Measurements:

Wheelbase (in.): 73.5
Wheelbase (in.): 89.2

Length (in.): 106.1
Length (in.): 147.0

Height (in.): 60.71
Height (in.): 53.10

Width (in.): 61.38
Width (in.): 62.00

Track (in., front/rear): 50.51/54.53
Track (in., front/rear): coming soon

Coefficient of Drag: 0.34
Coefficient of Drag: coming soon

Curb Weight (lbs.): 1,808
Curb Weight (lbs.): 1,650


2008/1991 EPA Mileage:
5-Speed AutoManual (City/Highway): 34 / 40
5-Speed . . . .Manual (City/Highway): 37 / 45

(Crankcase (qt.): 3.5 incl. oil filter
(Crankcase (qt.): 3.5 incl. oil filter (same?)

Required Fuel: Premium Unleaded recommended
Required Fuel: Regular Unleaded


Coolant System (qt.): 4.5.
Coolant System (qt.): coming soon.

Fuel Tank: 10.0 gallon = 8.7 with 1.3 gal. Reserve
Fuel Tank: 10.6 gallon = 10.6 with no gal. Reserve

Cyclone Engines

One of my many interests has always been steam power. When I was little, I loved to see old steam locomotives operate, and more recently I have read a lot about the use of steam engines in cars. In fact, there is currently an automotive steam engine ready for market, from the Cyclone Power company.

A bit of history.....In 1900, there was equal competition between steam cars, gasoline and electric cars. There were a lot of technical advances made, and the most advanced car (the Doble Model E) could start from cold in 30 seconds, had a top speed of 90mph, and at 70mph there was no vibration, since the engine turned at 900rpm. That was accomplished in 1924.

There are still a lot of people who would like to see the steam car back on the road (myself included). Cars physically have not changed much, retrofitting a steam engine in an existing car is a very attractive option. Fitting it all in a small light package is the issue.

Enter the Cyclone Power company. They claim to have created a self contained steam engine and boiler packaged in roughly the same space as a standard trans-axle ICE. They are mainly going to launch a 100HP automotive engine, aimed at the performance market, the Mark V.

I am more interested in the smaller, 20HP model, the Mark II. This one is targeted at generators/steady speed operation. But if it could be made to fit a small car, the benefits would be numerous:

simpler than ICE (no transmission, clutch, radiator, alternator, etc)
lower horsepower = better MPG
better low end torque
runs on any liquid fuel
extremely low emissions

I will be emailing the company and try to get their take on this idea.

Plans

WARNING this post may ramble a bit.......

I have nearly finished my Geo project, and so in the back of my mind there is a nagging feeling...soon I won't have anything to fix. This happened on my previous car, a 1986 Volvo. After I put in a lot of work, learned alot about Volvos, I got it fixed up pretty nice. Not perfect, but anything further would have been mostly expense, and not much experience. So I sold that, and bought this broken down Geo. Once that is fixed, I will be out of projects, but also out of cash. So I have a chance to dream a little bit.....

Part of me wants to make a mileage-getter. I could do it to this car, but I don't have a good feeling towards how long it will last. Its not rusty or anything, I just don't know on a fifteen year old car. So I could start looking for an engine/tranny, rebuild it completely - like balancing the crankshaft, and put in a 3.79 tranny, get it all ready to drop in. Then I would look for a prime candidate with a bad engine/tranny, and swap it in. This way I can go a step at a time, and not have too much invested before I decide.

Another intriguing possibility is making a wood powered truck. I have researched this a bit, and there is a hopper, some filters, and a little fabrication to do. Yes you can run a car on wood. I would do a truck, simply for the extra space in the bed to hold the gasifier. Also a truck is a good candidate for conversion to steam power, as it is rear wheel drive, and again has plenty of room in the back. I would dearly love to do a Metro conversion of some sort, but they are very tight on space.

Perhaps a diesel Metro....I have seen some videos on Youtube of them, they have been done. It would be fairly simple compared to the other options. The question being, is it worth it? Would the mileage go up enough to make it cost effective?

The car of my dreams......a Cyclone engine in a Geo Metro. Google it.

Anyways, enough rambling and daydreaming.....Ive got a gasket coming Monday that will get me back on the road, and finish this stage of the project. So what next?

Steam Power

One of my many interests has always been steam power. When I was little, I loved to see old steam locomotives operate, and more recently I have read a lot about the use of steam engines in cars. In 1900, there was equal competition between steam cars, gasoline and electric cars.

In many ways, the steam car was the best established and the most advanced at the time. Gasoline cars were hard to start, too loud, and broke down a lot. Electrics were preferred, as they were quiet, reliable, and simple. But they were also slow and had a short range. Steam cars were just as quiet, seldom broke down, and had a much longer range, at higher speeds.

There were a lot of technical advances made, and the most advanced car (the Doble Model E) could start from cold in 30 seconds, had a top speed of 90mph, and at 70mph there was no vibration, since the engine turned at 900rpm. That was in 1924.

Gasoline cars took the lead once they overcame their inherent weaknesses (narrow power band, not self starting, noisy, temperamental) i.e once anyone could drive one. So steam and electric were forgotten, despite attempts to bring them back all along the way. (insert conspiracy theory here.)

There are still a lot of people who would like to see the steam car back on the road (myself included). Cars physically have not changed much, retrofitting a steam engine in an existing car is a very attractive option.

There are a lot of misconceptions about steam cars, I will list a few:

~Steam boilers explode! I saw one once, people were killed!

Yes, this does happen. But not to steam cars, to locomotives and steam tractors. The reasons are very simple. Hot water = energy. How much energy are you storing? Think about a standard water heater, and a 'tankless' water heater. The standard water heater has a large tank, enough to last you all day long. The tankless heater has no storage, it heats as you go. If they both failed,which one releases more energy?

In a locomotive, enough hot water is stored to pull the whole train for a long time. Lots of boiling water in a big tank. Lots of potential energy; although explosions are not common, when they happen they kill people.

How much energy does a steam car hold? The Stanley boiler probably had about 15 gallons, the Doble held dramatically less, due to the improved design.

The locomotive had at least 15,000 gallons.

~Don't steam cars get low MPG? After all, they're only 8% efficient, and a gas engine is 25% efficient.

Numbers can be deceiving. The steam engine actually can get as high as 15% efficiency, depending on the design.

I refer you to an excellent article on the topic , from which I quote.

The Efficiency of Steam and Other Cars by Peter Brow

In laboratory tests, gasoline car engines running at maximum power are about 24% efficient. Steam car powerplants running at maximum power test out at about 15-17% efficient. So the steam car will use more fuel, right?

Not quite. The problem with this thinking is that it overlooks other, more important test results. Now run these same engines at part load. In a car, these engines will run at part load most of the time. When the gasoline car engine is throttled down to run at these real-world average-driving horsepower levels, its efficiency drops to as little as 7%, and typically to 11-13%, for a number of complex engineering reasons. When the steam car powerplant is throttled down to the same output, tests show its efficiency drops to ... 11-13%.

Thus, in city driving, the steam car gets about the same fuel mileage as a comparable gas car, or better. On the highway, the gas car gets only slightly better fuel mileage than the steamer, because even then it is still not running at the full power which is required for its 24% maximum efficiency.

Speed/horsepower charts clearly show that even large cars do not use more than about 30-40 horsepower when cruising on the freeway, and much less, often 5-10 horsepower, at lower speeds, as on city streets. Yet most gas cars have engines rated at 75-150 hp or more, a design "side effect" of the excess engine displacement needed to provide good low-speed torque for acceleration with acceptable engine life.

~Don't you have to wait for the water to boil? I've got to go now!

'Steaming up' takes a certain amount of time, depending on how much water you are boiling, and how big your burner is. If you're starting an old Stanley, allow a good hour for the task. Dobles could start from cold in 30 seconds. Also, there are some people who actually leave the pilot light on all the time, which maintains a head of steam at very little cost.

~Boy, if I run my car on steam, I'll never need to buy gas again!

Wrong. You'd be surprised how much I hear this. First off, what do you think boils the water? Fire, of course. Now a fire must have fuel. Would you like gasoline, diesel, kerosene, alcohol, used motor oil, or even plain ol' firewood? Each has issues and advantages. But the most convenient fuel continues to be gasoline.

~If it's so great, why don't they make steam cars anymore?

[insert conspiracy theory here]

They just didn't get entrenched like gasoline engines did. If Henry Ford had made a Steam Model T (he considered it) maybe we'd be driving steam cars. Its not about the best, its about the most workable.

Case in point? VHS vs. Beta, or Mac vs. Windows, or DVD vs. Bluray, or Prius vs. Metro (knew you'd like that).

Anyway, thats enough for now. I do try to keep a lid on my passionate outbursts.

Redeveloping the Plan

I've decided to take a new direction with my Metro. As you may remember, part of the original idea was to buy a cheap one that needs work, and fix it up for sale at a higher price. The first questions, then are:

1. What can I buy them for

2. What can I sell them for,

3. What does it cost to fix it.

I have yet to find any concrete answers to these questions.

In the first question, I have been monitoring Geo prices for over 4 months. They range from $3000 down to $100 in this area. Now of course that is only the listing price, I have no way to know what they are actually selling for. I paid $200 for one, only to find so many problems that I would gladly have paid $400 to avoid them. But if I hadn't seen that one, then I might have paid $400 for similar problems, and wish I'd bought a better one for $600! The same junker could be sold for $50, $100 $200 or $400 and its hard to tell what's a fair price.

In the second question, I really am lost. First off, how much would a person pay for a fixed up geo metro? It depends on the person, I suppose. And the car, to a lesser extent. I don't think there is an established price, except for basic transport, which is 1000 to 1500. There may not be a market above this level. On the other hand, at least a quarter of the metros I see are priced around 2000 or higher, as high as 3500. So what makes these cars different? Maybe the owners are dreaming. Maybe the cars really are “better” in some sense. They certainly are clean, with no obvious problems. So is that worth $1000? I don't know.

The third question is relatively easy to answer. The parts are readily available, and you simply total up what needs replacing and weigh that against the cost of the car. Then you know if its worth purchasing. But that calculation depends on the answers to the other two – like this: I see a car for $200. I can fix the car (I think) for $800 in parts and 30 hrs of labor, at $35/hr, about $1000, so I need then to sell for $2000. But if I can't sell it for $2000, I can't make that one work. How do you find out the absolute sale price without risking a lot of investment? I don't know. I suspect there is not a market for “fixed up” Geos, only for cheap ones that still run. The “nice” metros are few and far between, and those who appreciate them are mostly already members of the GMF.

So, as I said I am changing direction: I am going to keep the metro, because I do appreciate all the finer points, and I can just fix the parts that I care about. I may put carpet in it, but I am much more anxious to get it drivable first. This takes out the guesswork of knowing what I should fix and to what degree – I don't really know what “most people” value in a car, but I know what I want.

I am selling my Volvo 240 wagon, to clear the decks and free up some cash. The metro will be my only car, and I hope it does me well. Of course, I have the use of other vehicles, but this one is mine, and I will use it as such.

Developing A Plan

I would like to get into the business of buying junky Metros at a low price, and fixing them up for sale.

I have reason to believe this could be lucrative, but I don't know for sure as no one I know of does this exactly. PAMetrofixer, and many others on this page do the actual work, mostly the mechanicals on the engine. However, no one buys them, fixes and resells them. Johnny Mullet said if he had a supply of them, he would consider rebuilding them for sale. So, the idea is there, but the details have yet to be worked out.

The thing that will be the hardest I think is quickly identifying good deals at low cost. One critical factor is developing an eye for problems. There are a lot of “inspecting a used car” guides out there, but all of them say, have it looked at by a pro mechanic. That's got to be me. So. To gain experience, I want to look at lots of “deals” and try to identify problems. There aren't many Metros in my area, so I will mostly look at other makes and models.

Once I have identified problems, I can make the adjustments in price. Basically, I want all the costs of fixing these problems, plus the purchase price, to add up to $500 or less. So, if the head is cracked and the carpet is shot, I add $100 for the head, plus $130 for new carpet, plus say a $250 asking price equals $480, just under my ideal price and thus a good deal. But if the asking price was already $400, then I could offer $250 or leave it alone.

Then there's the travel problem. I want to physically inspect everything before I commit to buying it. This requires two trips. Also, a non- productive trip costs gas and time, which must be paid for by the profits from selling other Metros. Craigslist does not provide much information, usually you get an asking price and maybe a picture. Sometimes if there's an obvious problem they'll describe it in the ad to explain the low price.

A second problem is how to detect problems when the engine isn't working. This can be gotten around somewhat by checking the condition of the fluid (oil, coolant, ATF)

Rust is a no-brainer. If the frame is rusty, then no go. Body rust, I will deduct something from the price. I think Johnny Mullet is right about the body shops that won't touch frame problems, for liability reasons. Maybe there's a way around that, I don't know.

Once I have a fixer upper, then I have to fix it. I need to make a serious investment in space to work and specific tools. This has to be as low and recoverable as possible. Used and borrowed tools should help with this. For a list of intended fixes see here. This part has been well documented and I expect to find lots of help from the forum community. However, my fixes may tend towards the cosmetic stuff, depending on what the market is interested in.

Now that the car is in good shape, I expect to sell it for $2500 to $3500. Watching the market for a while may help me fine tune that. My ideal customer wants to save gas, but doesn't like the stereotypical junky little car that smells bad, etc. These folks probably are not inclined to do the major reconditioning themselves, but some may return later for service at my self service garage (more on that idea another day). These potential customers have been looking at cars priced several thousand dollars higher, so maybe these prices will not turn them off.

Attracting customers is always a challenge. I intend to make full use of the internet, but cars by nature are best sold locally. Craigslist is a good possibility, being localized. Billboards cost $500 to $1000 per month, so that's not an option. Maybe word of mouth is enough, I doubt it. Having the cars in a lot by a busy road may help. A display of Metros is certainly unusual.

Sorry for the long article, but I think best by writing it all out.