gasification

[burner31]

I wonder if there is an updated way to do this.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/201...ith-wood-today

Are there any plans out there on how to build with items you may have in your garage or get some of the items at Lowes etc.
Surely someone figured out an improved method/design since these were last used during WW2
It's always good to have a "plan B" just in case of a SHTF incident

[Synchro909]

With the number of cars on the road these days worldwide, the forests would be clear felled in no time. There are not enough horses either!!!

[nkaminar]

I am thinking of collecting used cooking oil and converting it to Diesel fuel. I cannot afford to drive my Diesel truck anymore.

[Keith True]

Quite a few people around here converted to grease cars years ago.It got to be an expensive proposition.It had to be kept warm,no sitting out in the cold.You would start on straight diesel,then switch to cooking oil.Then,when you shut it off,you had to switch to diesel again for a few minutes to get it all through the pump.Most injection pumps do not like the oil at all.I replaced a lot of them for others.What finally killed it around here was not being able to get it anymore.It is all being bought up by collectors to make something with,but I don't know what.I used to get a lot that I ran through my waste oil furnace,but those guys started paying a buck a gallon for it.On top of all that,we are SUPPOSED to pay road tax on all fuels used.(yeah right,I'll get right on that).A state trooper told us that if you were driving down the road smelling like a french fry you had better be able to show you were sending the quarterly tax payments.

[Curtis in MA]

I used one gallon of diesel to four gallons of cooking oil and it worked great. It was filtering the oil that killed me.

[Kurt in NJ]

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it's a lot of work to convert cooking oil into diesel. I don't think i would even use refined cooking oil in a modern electronic injector diesel.
I ran used transmission oil in my Mercedes diesel during the first gulf war ---that clogged the prechambers with ash after 10k miles---once without knowing it I poured a gallon of pure antifreeze into the tank, next day I realized it and went and drained the filter and tank, didn't find any, didn't mind burning that.
Had several Mercedes diesel customers that burned straight used veg oil ---also replaced several injection pumps.---something turned into jelly like forms in the can of turpentine when you leave the oil paint brush in there too long ----you have to start on diesel then when your veg oil tank is up to 160 degrees switch over.
I have some wood gasifier plans that I was going to dig out and look over I do remember that there has to be a filter--I think it was a water bath filter

[burner31]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

With the number of cars on the road these days worldwide, the forests would be clear felled in no time. There are not enough horses either!!!

I don't think gasification would work on say a KIA or any of the other new fangled cars, so that eliminates 99.9% of the cars on the road.

Maybe Henry Ford was right all along...the Model A IS the car of the future

[ETAModel]

Dad said an A placard got you 4 gallons of gas a week during WWII. He said it was common to see whole family's walking to the store or church. Bikes were popular until you had to replace the rubber tires. Many drove a horse and buggy.
He said he WALKED 2 HOURS to work in the cotton patch and 2 hours back home.
He said you had to " Get tough or die!"

[nkaminar]

For those that don't know, a gasifier works by burning wood with little air so that it produces a gas. The flame you see in your fireplace when you burn wood is the gas coming off the logs. It is mostly carbon monoxide, some carbon, some hydrogen, and a little methane. The gas is mixed with air and burned in the engine. After the engine is started it draws air into the gasifier to sustain the reduction burning. The mixture has to be adjusted manually to get a combustible mixture. I think it is about 50/50. What is left in the gasifier is charcoal. That is how charcoal is made. The problem for the engine is the ash and other particulates that come with the gas. A good filter has to be used or the engine is scrap after a short while. I guess a modern version would be computer controlled with a bunch of sensors.

So here is another idea for the home engineer/inventor: Engines can be converted over to steam. Then you can burn anything. The steam engine works by opening a valve to admit steam but for economy a little steam is admitted and then allowed to expand. For more power the valve is opened longer. A modern way to do this would be by computer controlled solenoid valve, like the modern fuel injection systems. The exhaust can be computer controlled too. The boiler can be computer controlled too.

As far has using a gasifier in a modern car, you have have to take all the modern control systems off. What is left is just an engine. It would be interesting to see if it would pass a smog test.

[updraught]

Hydrogen is the go here. One of our mining billionaires just signed a deal with Airbus.
https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation...hydrogen/zeroe

[rotorwrench]

Hydrogen is a very efficient fuel but it is expensive to generate and fuel cell technology hasn't panned out to be very affordable either. Containing hydrogen is complicated and can be expensive as well. Natural gas is the least expensive right now but the price is rising right along with oil.

After the oil and natural gas are all used up we will likely go to methane hydrates for a fuel source if some better technology doesn't show up pretty soon.

[ronn]

now is a good time to "sell"


it wont always be.

[CatMan1]

Originally Posted by ronn

now is a good time to "sell"


it wont always be.

As in selling our cars? I've been thinking on and off about buying a Model T to keep my Model A company, but I keep asking myself if it's a good idea with gas going so high? I know it's just pleasure cruising, but it still adds up. What are others thinking?

[LeonardS]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

Hydrogen is a very efficient fuel but it is expensive to generate and fuel cell technology hasn't panned out to be very affordable either. Containing hydrogen is complicated and can be expensive as well. Natural gas is the least expensive right now but the price is rising right along with oil.

After the oil and natural gas are all used up we will likely go to methane hydrates for a fuel source if some better technology doesn't show up pretty soon.

The oil won’t be used up in our lifetimes. Watch the drilling and pumping go back in high gear with the current oil prices. The amount of oil in the Bakken oil field will outlast your and my lifetimes.

[Keith True]

If history teaches us anything,this will pass.When fuel hit $4.in 07,and topped out at a little more in 08,you would have thought the sky was falling.I remember guys saying,things are different this time.It started falling after that,it slowly went down to under $2.and stayed there for a couple of years.Then it went up and stayed level for quite a while after that.I have a picture taken of my A in 2014 taken under a price sign displaying $2.49.

[jayvee34]

Originally Posted by updraught

Hydrogen is the go here. One of our mining billionaires just signed a deal with Airbus.
https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation...hydrogen/zeroe

As a former corporate jet pilot and the holder of a Airframe & Powerplant (A&P)
license, I find this very interesting.
Thanks.

[slatgrille]

As mentioned above, it has been 'cyclical' regarding availability and cost in the past. I agree that there is PLENTY to last several lifetimes. The problem now are the climate doom-and-gloomers that run many governments around the world.

I contend the internal combustion engine is one of mankind's greatest inventions. Without it, there would be no air travel. It is quite a marvel of engineering and has allowed us the freedom of traveling great distances.

The whole 'man made' climate change narrative is not settled science as we would be led to believe. Engines are cleaner today than they have ever been. Let market forces determine where the future of energy needs occurs...not government. Don't shove it down our throats! I surmise most of these 'green energy cultists' have no idea how ANY engine works. This conversation will go on 'ad infinitum'.....

Here's a true story from 1980 when I was 17. My uncle, a WWII Navy veteran machinist on an LST, became a master plumber, electrician, mechanic as an adult. His '29 RPU is now in my hands and he was the major factor in my ability to rebuild antique vehicles. He drove a 1974 Mercury Marquis with a 427 under the hood. Whenever he would fill up at the gas station, he would come home and siphon half the tank into several 55 gal drums he had stacked next to his barn. When I asked him, 'Why do you do that Uncle Leon?' His reply was....'I want to be able to drive around longer when we run out of gas by the mid-80's'!

'Nuff said.....

Craig

[California Travieso]

The best options for newer car are Propane and National Gas. There are home generators that use NG. Does anyone know if Model A’s have been or could be modified for Propane or NG?

David Serrano

[rotorwrench]

The engine is less difficult to modify than the fuel storage tank. San Antonio has an NG fueling station not far from where I live. Propane is easier to find though. The price is getting higher for Propane too. A person needs a fairly large tank for gaseous fuels and needs a place to put it securely. It takes a larger displacement engine to get good power from NG. It's sort of like running alcohol. It takes more of it to make power.

[nkaminar]

There is no free lunch. Energy has to come from somewhere. In the case of hydrogen fuel the energy you get from burning it equals the energy required to split water to make it. Most hydrogen is made from crude oil because it is too expensive to split the water molecule.

All this is going to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. We bought a hybrid Camry last year that gets 50 mph and I am very glad we did now. The energy to charge the battery comes from the gasoline we burn. For a pure electric vehicle the energy to charge the battery comes from the utility company that can be using anything from solar or wind to natural gas to coal to uranium.

For the time being we have stopped using our Diesel truck to pull our trailer for camping trips. At 10 mpg it is just too expensive. I have reduced trips with the truck for other purposes.