03-25-2008, 09:22 AM
Hi Rob,
I don't doubt that engine temperatures are lower, as the entire energy output is lower, but still too high to be safe for an unmodified engine.
For example, and comparison, the Holtzman gas is composed of about 1/3 each Hydrogen, Methane, and Carbon Monoxide, none of which are particularly high BTU yielding fuels, and it's surprising really, when you feel the heat generated by the gas jet, just how cool it burns. My biggest concern with the Holtzman gas/wood gas project is that generators will burn up about twice as fast as they would otherwise. Still, the generator itself is cheap compared to the cost of the fuel running through it at this point.
Got it running right now, actually. It's choking a bit because I'm running out of good dry wood. It will burn most anything, but certainly the drier the wood the better, and if the moisture content is much about about 18 percent you could run a barbecue on the gas but a engine will only barely run. For this climate some sort of dryer has got to be part of the system, and is the next project, and I imagine I'll just pipe the engine exhaust through a box to heat up the wood chips and dry them out.
I don't doubt that engine temperatures are lower, as the entire energy output is lower, but still too high to be safe for an unmodified engine.
For example, and comparison, the Holtzman gas is composed of about 1/3 each Hydrogen, Methane, and Carbon Monoxide, none of which are particularly high BTU yielding fuels, and it's surprising really, when you feel the heat generated by the gas jet, just how cool it burns. My biggest concern with the Holtzman gas/wood gas project is that generators will burn up about twice as fast as they would otherwise. Still, the generator itself is cheap compared to the cost of the fuel running through it at this point.
Got it running right now, actually. It's choking a bit because I'm running out of good dry wood. It will burn most anything, but certainly the drier the wood the better, and if the moisture content is much about about 18 percent you could run a barbecue on the gas but a engine will only barely run. For this climate some sort of dryer has got to be part of the system, and is the next project, and I imagine I'll just pipe the engine exhaust through a box to heat up the wood chips and dry them out.