[Terrapreta] New memberto the Terra Preta group

[code suidae]

On 6/5/07, Sean K. Barry <sean.barry at juno.com> wrote:
>
>  > Anyway, when do you anticipate having charcoal with a documented
> pedigree available?
>
> I need to finish up a few more things on the pyrolyzer/gasifier first
> (venturi, erect it on a metal tower/stand, get a wood chipper, make a wood
> chip feeder, and etc., but I will be making charcoal soon.
>

I'll be interested in seeing pictures once you get it set up, it looks like
you'll have a pretty serious machine there! How much charcoal do you expect
to produce per batch?

If you want to send me cotton wood (or just specify it, I will find some)
> and I can make a special batch just for you (as cheap as I can).
>

Probably simplest to source it locally if it is as common there as it is
here. I'm curious how well it will work because it is one of the worst fuel
woods you can get. I'm not sure how that will effect the yield and the
character of the charcoal.

I wonder if a small system could be designed to serve the dual purpose of
> charcoal production and downdraft gasification (though not at the same
> time). I have plans to purchase a large stationary engine (that, curiously
> enough, I'm sourcing from a guy less than an hour's drive from you) for the
> purpose of experimenting with wood gas as an engine fuel. A system that
> could serve both purposes would be elegant.
>
> This is exactly what my device is intended to do, Dave!  If you are going
> to be just an hour away, then you should come here and see my gasifier and
> we could talk more.  I'll make you lunch and give you the tour at TE
> headquarters.  We would have fun.  Plus, we could talk about making that
> engine you will be getting run from the gas out of my gasifier.  I have
> every intention of doing that myself.  I going to start with the old lawn
> mower engine, then convert the 10HP Tecumsi engine in 5000 Watt Genset.
>
>
I'd certainly be more than happy to visit, sounds like fun, though I'm not
sure I'd have any useful input; I'm afraid my knowledge about gasifiers is
limited to some experimentation with home-made campstove TLUD's and several
readings of the FEMA down-draft design.

The engine I'm planning for is a 5hp model (running a 3kw gen head and
possibly a chipper for producing fuel), so I suspect that a gasifier that
will run your lawn mower engine well would be just about a perfect fit for
this engine as well.

DOK
-- 
"Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know." - M. King
Hubbert
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