Gasifier Update

OK, you've probably noticed the progress has slowed a bit. I intentionally took the week off last week from gasifier work, to get some other stuff done. And now I'm back at it. Here's what's up so far:

~ The title to the truck has been restored, and I can now buy it and drive it.
~ Stove rope gasket has arrived, more on that in a bit.
~ Brakes on the truck are being repaired. I had to order all new parts for the rear brakes, and new axle seals.
~ Bilge blower arrived. I will use this in the startup routine, probably to bring the gas through all the filters to the engine compartment.
~ New lid is in place. I started with a trash can lid, which was flimsy and didn't seal well.

I now have a lid made from steel plate, and sealed with the stove gasket rope.

The latch is spring loaded:

It seals well. I put it under pressure to check for leaks, and ran into a problem:

In case you can't see the video, the lid bounces. The pressure lifts the lid, escapes, and the spring bangs down the lid again, then it repeats, really fast. I managed to wire it shut tightly, and then the high pressure made a bunch of leaks show up. I test for leaks using soapy water, and this time there were plenty! So I have gone leak-hunting with GE Silicone, sealing up the cracks and hopefully stopping the major air leaks. Don't get it on your hands! Silicone does not wash off in water, and only a little better with hand cleaner. I didn't really know this, and I used my fingers to smear the silicone around...it gets sticky. When it dries it's slippery.

It won't be long before I am firing up the gasifier. And you can bet that I will document the process.

Cooling Rack - Part Four

At long last... The rack is finished.  I finished the welding, bolted it down and gave it two coats of black paint.


The pictures are satisfying:

Next I will have to connect some of these pieces together, and add a few new ones. Plus I still have no caps for the posts... Gotta work on that.

Gasifier Update

Work on the cooling rack waits for some black paint (I just got some today). So in the meantime, I have lots of little odds and ends to take care of. Here are a few:

The ash has to be cleaned out somewhere. The easiest place is out the bottom; some of the woodgas guys have used ammo boxes extending below the bed, and so I decided to follow suit:

Welding on an ammo box is not easy ; the metal is very thin, and burns right through. So I covered my mistakes with some JB Industro Weld. Good stuff:

I also have to run "plumbing" for this thing. Every device has to be connected in an airtight fashion. So I am a plumber with a welder.... I have been plumbing with the same 20' gate pipe used in the cooling rack:

Here's the cyclone filter with an intake pipe:

Notice the double jointed bend. This is a little smoother, and so the gas should flow easier. It's only one extra weld to make. Same bend on the gas exiting the hearth, and a flange to aid disassembly later:

This long pipe will run to the starting blower. A tee off this line will go into the cyclone. Again, I will attempt to smooth the transition.

I went to Lowe's and bought some pipe caps:

No welding! Just screw them in.

Anyway, I have the paint now, and soon the rack will be back.....in black.

Cooling Rack - Part Three

Today I got the front left and right sections in. All the remaining pipe is the same length, so I cut 18 pipes, and cleaned the ends for welding. I also cleaned around the holes they go into:

Cleaning the pipes is easiest with a wire brush; I found a rather large one in a barn and have worn it to the nub. It also loves to eat shirt tails, beware!

It took a bit of tweaking to get the pipes where I wanted them; fortunately there's enough play in the system that I can "fudge" little mistakes.  Each upright has to be square, level to the truck, accept pipes coming at a slight angle, and still wind up on the edge of the bed.  I welded up one side at a time, here's both sides finished:

Now I could easily have finished welding the rack today. Here's a preview of what I have left to add:

But I need to address something else first - the paint.  I  can't paint the rack in place, I have to move it away from the window. So I'd better do that now while it only weighs 500 lbs. Ughh. I actually don't know what it weighs, maybe I can figure that out. So here is the rack with one coat of Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer:

Yup, it's rust colored. I will be painting it black soon, don't worry. Again, the front has to be painted before the back is welded on, so that it fits on the truck bed while scooched back. But I like the way it looks now, at least it's not so rusty...just rust colored. A couple more views:

More as it comes!

Cooling Rack - Part Two

I've been hard at it... I assembled the whole front section of the rack today. First I did the driver's side:

Then I added the other side. The middle post is off center on purpose; I want to retain use of the cargo light.

Close up of the corner. Notice the concrete I filled the bottom with. This displaces condensate which might collect there:

A few more views of the truck with the rack:

 

I have completed the tuyeres (air nozzles). This is where the combustion air enters the hearth. They are made from 3/8" pipe fittings - a short pipe nipple, a cap with a hole drilled, and a reducer that the nipple fits into. This way I can change the lengths and nozzle sizes very easily if I need to. I have to connect the seven of them with some sort of manifold. Probably will just be another ring welded onto the flange.

I welded the pipe fittings outside the hearth, and then cut them off nearly flush. This leaves room for the intake manifold:

Cooling Rack - Part One

OK, it's time to get serious. I have not seen directions on the net for doing this, so I will document how I build this thing very closely.

You saw the pipes I got:

2" pipe from a local gate company. Seems to be good solid stuff, although it's very rusty and will get you filthy handling it.

OK, 2" pipe goes into vertical members. Logical choice?  3" square tubing. I hunted some down at the local steelyard, and cut it into sections. I test drilled one with my $13 hole saw:

And test fit:

It seems to work. The drill "wallowed around" a little on these cuts, and so the fit was really easy. Good to go!

Today, I spent a long morning drilling 2" holes (65 of them). Here's the end result:

I will have to weld flanges on the bottoms to bolt down to the rails of the truck. That will also trap moisture and send it along to the collection point at the end.

Just to see how it will work, I test fit several pieces. I learned that 2" pipe does in fact fit in a 2" hole, just barely. But rusty pipe with a tang on the saw-cut....doesn't really fit. It fits better after some serious banging and sweating. I will have to grind the edges, and wire brush them to get some of the rust off. It's a good idea anyway, since I am welding the joints. All 65 of them...

Here's the pipes for the front by the window:

That's all for tonight. Watch for part two!

Grate and Cooling rack

I've been putting in some time on this project lately. I welded in a grate: 

 I have also begun on the cooling rack. Here's the first piece:

This will be the end point near the tailgate. I made sure the pipes fit before I drill all the holes. Sure enough:

More as it comes!

Gasifier Update

Finally back to work on the gasifier. I cut the hopper down to size:

I had to do some thinking on how I was going to attach the hopper to the hearth. I decided not to make another set of flanges.  Instead I did this:

A ring inside the tank, tack welded in place and slips right in to the hearth section. I cut it from the same water heater tank that the hearth section and the hopper were from. I cut it open, trimmed a bit off and rewelded it in place:

So now they fit together like so:

You can see I added a spout for the condensate drain. Cut from my supply of 20' pipes. Ugly weld, but airtight:

So once the two sections are together, I need to ensure an airtight seal. Again I cut a ring from the water heater:

This time it has to expand. I will use flat stove rope for gasket material. It will be held together by a bolt, and removable if necessary.

And like so:

The whole thing together:

 Peek inside:

It's getting closer. I still have to work on the lid, tuyeres/air intake, and the second flange. Plus a bunch of other stuff.....