Junk Building on a Budget
New metal? What do you think I am made of… MONEY? Making gasifiers with new metal usually requires not only more money, but more tooling and a little more fab time, so many people go digging in the Yard to find good stuff to use for their project. Today I want to talk about some of the goodies that you should be on the lookout for.
#1- Tanks:
The main body of your gasifier or even parts of your filtration system will benefit from some fuelgas tanks. I like to use 100# propane bottles, oxygen cylinders and the like. They are thick enough for welding with a stick welder and last a good while. Just be careful cutting these bad boys up. You can use CO2 to fill the tank and purge it of flammable gases. Filling it with water will work, but you will end up with an oily water and an EPA fine just waiting to happen. Once you have it open, start a fire in it to burn away any residual crap. 
Don’t forget to calculate your gas costs and time when hunting down tanks and bottles. You can easily blow your budget. I say pay the $20 and get them from Craigslist. Companies like Amerigas have expired tanks laying around but they don’t usually like to sell them because of the liability. Some scrap yards will sell and those tanks are almost always precut, a real bonus.
#2- Oil Drums & Garbage Cans:
Oil drums come in all sizes and are usually easy to score. If you find an old one that has been laying on its side and it’s rusty, just let it be. What you aren’t seeing at first glance is the millions of tiny rust holes. You will spend all day and all of your patience trying to fix them. Oil drums make good outer housings in a gasifier and are great for filters and such. The metal is too thin to last in a reactor and they are a bit harder to weld. Garbage cans are available every Tuesday at the end of your neighbors driveway, just leave the trash in a neat pile. New ones are at the hardware store.
#3- Water Heaters:
Old water heaters are another source of obtainium (shit you can find for free). People will generally pay you to take these things. Inspect them carefully for corrosion. You can also get them at junkyards. Find one that just arrived, the rest will be dented.
#4- Rebar:
Rebar makes a good grate material if you can’t find any free stainless steel. Construction demo sites will usually have some sticking out of a chunk of concrete. Bring your grinder or a small torch set.
#5 Pipe & Well Casing:
Pipe drops (left overs) and well casing make sturdy fire tubes and reductions. There will be more of this than you can shake a stick at down at the junk yard. Since China isn’t buying scrap at the moment, they might actually sell you what you need. On occasion you will come across something that will be a very hard metal and it will destroy about $20 worth of discs to cut. Don’t be stubborn, put it to the side and save it for later. Get a new piece.
#6 Culvert:
Driveway culvert can also work and hey, it has a built in spiral effect. Get a chunk of it from your neighbors ditch while you are nabbing his garbage can.
#7 Drive shafts:
Drive shafts can make good gas piping. Cut two 45’s to make a 90 degree bend or four 22.5’s to make a sweeping bend.
#8 Metal Turnings:
Metal turnings from a machine shop can make a great packed bed filter and they don’t catch on fire like fine steel wool. They will give you this stuff by the potato sack.
#9 Hay & Woodchips:
Hay and wood chips make for a great filter media. If it has some horse shit on it, it’s as good as free! And those little microbes will eat some of the nitrogen, just ask Ed Burton.
#10 Cammo Box
You can use a cammo box to act as an access door to clean out your ashes. Mother trusted, militia approved.
What are you guys using in your 1000lb junkyard gasifiers? Anybody know where to get some free Egyptians to move the damn thing?
