Ready to learn how to operate a gasifier the right way from start to finish? Good, because I would love to show you. It’s not obvious and while the videos help, nothing replaces real hands on experience. Along with making you a competent operator I want to answer your most common question “How do I hook this thing up to an engine?”

So, yesterday I went and bought an old pickup truck for its V-8 engine and during the workshop we are going to do a basic setup that will allow you to make some DC power with a purring small block as well as adding a governor that will allow you to meter your speed at 1800 rpm for ac power.

This class is mainly tailored for Off Gridder buyers, but anyone can attend. The maximum room I have is for 10 people. This is the last workshop of 2009! Here is what you are going to learn:

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• How to properly cut and size your fuel. What to look for in pellet and chip quality.
• Drying methods.
• How to make charcoal.
• How to assemble the Off Gridder. Configuration options.
• Methods of suction- Ejectors, fans, engines.
• Safety first.
• Start-up procedure.
• First firing- breaking in the char bed.
• Using sight, touch, smell, sound to diagnose performance.
• Using basic testing equipment to confirm diagnosis.
• What to do when something goes wrong- Quick troubleshooting tips.
• Daily maintenance.
• Gasifier design basics- Why is it this way and not some other way.
• Hearth configurations.
• Grates & agitators.
• Setting up an engine to run on woodgas.
• Intakes, governors, air mix.
• What can a gasifier realistically do? What cant it do?
• Q&A- Whats on your mind? I won’t have every answer, but I won’t B.S. you either.
• And much more.

Off Gridder buyers get $500 off this intensive workshop. Or if you attend at regular price, you can get $500 off your future Off Gridder purchase.

As someone that has built every free plan and struggled to figure this out through trial and error I can say that even if you are a junk yard builder and don’t have a budget for an Off Gridder, this class will save you time and money and aggravation. Nothing beats having a mentor. If you are serious about having a power solution and you aren’t too lazy or philosophical to cut some wood cubes or thick chips, then this is THE class you must attend.

We will see some of you on October 24th! Can’t wait to meet you.

When I started into gasification it was for one goal: To get off the grid and power my life come hell or high water. It turns out that more than a few people feel the same way. So I went to work on a set of plans and a soon to be released gasifier kit called Woody to help other people achieve that too. Here is a quick introduction video below. Plans are available at woodygasifier.com

Part of the drawback of gasification is the need to use drier fuels. A moisture content of less than 20% is generally required. During WWII, when gasifiers were heavily deployed for driving, a new type of fuel hopper was created by accident. The Monorator (right schematic pictured on the left) was designed as a low profile hopper to allow better driver visability. The beneficial byproduct was that water was able to circulate and condense at the outer edges, leaving the fuel drier for proper combustion at the center. This allowed fuels with up to 45% moisture content to be used. This design was especially popular in Northern Europe where the climate is wetter.

In a standard design the moisture condenses along the top and some does make it into a condensate drain, but the turbulence in the vertical shaft causes it to mix with the tarry vapors and ultimately get pulled through the reduction zone. This is where the moisture content is so vital. If there is too much moisture, the heat required to vaporize the water will quench the combustion zone and keep the temperatures from rising high enough to crack the tars. Tars and water vapor end up mixing into a wet black mess in your filter system.

The monorator is not commonly used outside of Northern Europe because it isn’t well understood. If you decide to try this design, then let us know your thoughts on it’s success. You can also use waste heat from your gasifier to pre-dry your fuel in a separate container if you decide to build a more common design.