“Don’t Mention the WAR”! [Basil Faulty]
March 4th 2011 05:14
Category: Equipment
Gasification a process whereby useable “fuel” was produced from waste material when petrol was hard to come by.
The term sounds like something sinister perhaps a story from the holocaust, but it’s nothing like that.
During the second World war many civilian cars had wood gasifiers because of the shortage of petrol.
In the 1920s and onwards renewable energy was a matter of survival.
From the 1930's gasifier development was driven by the economics of the depression and the actual shortages of that more convenient fuel, gasoline.
According to a 1946 issue of Power Farming in Australia, as many as 72,000 vehicles were retro fitted with gasifiers during wartime petrol rationing in Australia.
I can still recall farmers using modified gasifires to power there farm machinery. Most tractors had what was called a “charcoal Burner” the subsequent gas produced was diverted in the engine intake.
The only problem was in order to get going you had to stoke or ignite the charcoal that tendered to take some time. If now charcoal was available then you had to either burn timber or use shredded wood fibers or chips.
The wood material was placed in a hopper and ignited the gas produced was then filtered an diverted to the engine. Although the gas produced by this method was usable it lacked the efficiency of petrol therefore it produced less horsepower.( about 5 miles to the tree)
If the current trend continues with fuel prices going up profiteering oil companies we may have to re-visit the “old” ways again.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by CarlCan
Astroearth
Camera Sense
Hay burners that's a horse right? LOL
Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
Check this out...
Comment by CarlCan
Astroearth
Camera Sense
Fortunately designs for gasification are readily available among them there some new radical designs.
Great to see that us “ Old Timers “ have something to contribute.