Woodgas power generation?

[TXyakr]

After considering the various pros and cons of several fuels for an electric generator I looked into Woodgas engines and found this interesting video from NatGeo Planet Mechanics:


http://youtu.be/yNr0MvHRYnM

Not the most practical way to generate power but there are some advantages:

1. Renewable fuel source (wood)
2. Lower pollution emissions than gasoline and most other fossil fuels
3. Fuel may be local (if generator shed is near your cabin on remote property surrounded by forest or if you live next to a tree trimmer who brings back truck loads of wood chips 5 days a week.)

So my idea is buy parts cheap from a local junk yard and used auto parts, small lawn mower engine, auto alternator as generator + inverter or just buy a used gasoline/propane/N.G. generator and modify it.

My end goal would be just to generate enough electricity to keep a deep freeze chest running in a cabin while I was actually there.

Major problems:
1. Not allowing Hydrogen gas to explode (keep generator shed far from cabin)
2. Some mechanism on a timer to shake the wood gas burn chamber to keep it running at optimum.

Any thoughts or comments on this crazy idea?
Any links to someone who has actually done this on a large scale, not just that tiny Biolite?

[hunter63]

Some plans for wood gas generation.....Mother Earth News.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/shopping/detail.aspx?itemnumber=762#axzz3LFfUV5yn

Saw their stationary power plant powering a saw mill in 1982........ set up and running at the Eco-Village.

They also had a pick up with a 454 Chevy pick-up set up....but wasn't there ie was up at the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) in Wisconsin at the time.

[LowKey]

If you just want to keep a freezer chest frozen, why don't you get a propane or kerosene freezer?
http://www.enviroharvest.ca/freezers.htm
http://www.bensdiscountsupply.com/

Or do you just want to do it yourself?
Go solar:
http://www.bensdiscountsupply.com/solar-appliances.aspx

Edit: I answered this thread first before seeing your post in the Ice Storm thread.
I see you know about the kerosene/gas fridges.

[TXyakr]

I am probably being overly pragmatic but "wood gas" electric power generation only makes sense to me if access to the property is very difficult for delivery of fossil fuels and requirements/demands exceed capabilities of photovoltaics (24hr runtime and power storage). Also my welding skills are terrible so personally I would purchase a highly efficient model from one of the best craftsman I could find. Something that would last more than one season and not leak or explode. BUT!!! from what little I have read there are many people with thousands of hours of experience in the USA, Sweden and many other countries that have had great success with this technology which has advanced in the last 100+ years. Some useful links I found, the people at "DriveonWood" do more than just putt around town on wood and biomass. Their website has lots of good resources and much of it is free.

http://driveonwood.com

Document is almost 30 years old but still some good info:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0512e/T0512e00.htm

One of many fun videos on YT and this one is far more "honest" IMO than the one from History Channel:

http://youtu.be/Krp6kgCiV7c
Model T-Ford, also ones with Cadillac sedan, Volvos, Pickup trucks many models, Tractors, etc.

Hydrogen from wood gas is about 60%?? as efficient as gasoline but still works if no gas stations are near by.
How to store Hydrogen gas without an accident getting all your neighbors and LEO from miles around driving in to see if you have expired. LOL I once shot a small cannon in college on campus that got more attention than I wanted, it was heard a few miles away. Fun with welding tools and supplies. NO projectiles were used and only a tiny amount of black powder then Acetylene gas, dang touchy suburbanites at 3 am. LOL

Edit: Being an EE nerd I would attempt to make a microprocessor based automatic control with feedback loop and sensors to improve the efficiency and probably just screw it all up and reduce its reliability. But that is just what a "sparky" does. LOL Accelerometer sensor on a new Chrysler ruined a trip for me once, dang engineers.

[TXyakr]

If you just want to keep a freezer chest frozen, why don't you get a propane or kerosene freezer?
Edit: I answered this thread first before seeing your post in the Ice Storm thread.
I see you know about the kerosene/gas fridges.

Those are some great links!

Kerosene was a very useful fuel when I was a kid and still is. It is much more stable and less flammable than gasoline. May be a small niche market today, but there are still some remote areas where access is limited to only a few months of the year by muddy road, river, air. Often wilderness roads are impassible even by wench from tree to tree through boggy spots and creeks flood to wash out bridges. By boat/canoe the level can drop so it is not floatable up or down, or rise for months to dangeous flood levels. I spent some summers in a remote part of the Jari river near the French Guiana border with Brazil, it took 4 hours by single engine Cessna or many days/weeks by canoe up the rivers over difficult rapids to deliver kerosene. This made wood much more economical than kerosene or any other fossil fuel, despite the constant blood shot eyes (smoke) and labor. A highly efficient wood gas stove and possibly even an electric generator would have been amazing compared to the clay/mud stove/oven my father built on top of table constructed of boards cut from the trunks of palm trees.

A few years later I returned to this same indigenous village to live with my friend's family. They had enclosed the hut with window screens, spent a lot of $$$ to deliver huge amounts of kerosene and even a kerosene deep freeze. It was a super luxurious life style by comparison. Also the cattle and water buffalo project my father had started had taken off and we had dairy and some domestic meat. But buffalo: milk, cheese and meat is terrible IMO. Goat is MUCH better!

[TXyakr]

I read this review of 3 cabin sized biomass or "woodgas" stoves, add a thermoelectric device and you have electric power for small electronic devices but not enough for refrigeration or cooling. The relatively low emissions and low natural fuel consumption to boil 5 liters of water (over 1 gallon) was impressive. Beats lugging a propane bottle or can of kerosene on your back miles to a remote cabin.

http://www.drtlud.com/?resource=pr14910

There are dozens of other "wood gas" stoves available (some very small and light) and many people make them out of repurposed metal food cans for less than $5.

The article that got a lot of people started about 10 years ago was: "Biomass Gasification: Clean Residential Stoves, Commercial Power Generation, and Global Impacts" by Drs Anderson and Reed available at: wood gas dot com, or driveonwood or
http://www.drtlud.com/resources/

I also like this one, especially the history section by Ali Kaupp:
http://www.drtlud.com/small-scale-gas-producer-engine-systems/

Small is a relative term, i.e. less than 600 or perhaps under 200 horse power. I.e. not a power plant for a town.
could be tiny like 5 hp.
Consider that a few years ago over 60% of peat moss was used for energy generation not agriculture or horticulture.
The key is to use a biomass that is close to you, highly available locally and design your gasifier or "wood gas" stove or power plant specifically for that fuel.
Personally my local cheap fuels are NOT ideal, wood chips high in green leaves and cambium bark (nitrogen) and at ranch juniper (constantly being cleared) high in oil, both are very poor choices create a lot of tar and wood chips rot very fast if not dried quickly.

[ElevenBravo]

Woodgas is great, but its not the end all to save all, its also very important to prevent the tar from getting into the engine... totally.

I have a woodgas genny project on the table for future goals... Horizontal shaft 3 or 5 hp with one wire GM alt, a few batteries and an inverter is my plans.

EB