Wood gasification Update - Spring 2010
In late January 2010 I was made redundant from my somewhat stressful job in central London.
Having worked for 24 years for various employers, one realises that nothing lasts for ever - redundancy,
unfair dismissal, resignation are all part of the job. It was a big relief, because the very early morning
starts and the stress of commuting up to London by train - particularly with the bad weather in
December and January, was beginning to wear me down. I had been paid until the end of February - so I
decided to take February off, and re-focus on some of my own projects.
I started with a trip out to the Algarve to see my father, who at 79 is not getting any younger, and it was
good to have a complete break from London and the south east suburban sprawl.
We took a trip up the hills to Monchique, where the pace of life is slower than on the coast, and I was
happy to gaze upon the small holdings and farms in amongst the cork oak and eucalyptus forests. If
there was anywhere I would be happy wood-gassing - this was probably it.
Next came the opportunity to go to California and attend a Wood Gasification Workshop. Jim Mason at
All Power Labs, had heard of my redundancy, and convinced me to get on a plane. Flying long-haul, on
the spur of the moment decision, is a luxury that might not be open to us for many more years.
Having worked for 24 years for various employers, one realises that nothing lasts for ever - redundancy,
unfair dismissal, resignation are all part of the job. It was a big relief, because the very early morning
starts and the stress of commuting up to London by train - particularly with the bad weather in
December and January, was beginning to wear me down. I had been paid until the end of February - so I
decided to take February off, and re-focus on some of my own projects.
I started with a trip out to the Algarve to see my father, who at 79 is not getting any younger, and it was
good to have a complete break from London and the south east suburban sprawl.
We took a trip up the hills to Monchique, where the pace of life is slower than on the coast, and I was
happy to gaze upon the small holdings and farms in amongst the cork oak and eucalyptus forests. If
there was anywhere I would be happy wood-gassing - this was probably it.
Next came the opportunity to go to California and attend a Wood Gasification Workshop. Jim Mason at
All Power Labs, had heard of my redundancy, and convinced me to get on a plane. Flying long-haul, on
the spur of the moment decision, is a luxury that might not be open to us for many more years.
Jim knew I was interested in Listers, and had a GEK gasifier, which I had not done a great deal with in
2009. He too has a Lister, and convinced me that we could do a spark ignition conversion on it, so that
it would run on pure wood gas - without the need for WVO and dual fuelling.
So I set off for the States, with a laptop and a wood gas carburettor, that Andy Schofield had made for my
Lister a year or two earlier - but I was yet to try.
The Weekend Workshop was held at APL's premises at the Shipyard in Berkeley, California. There
were to be five separate projects running, and I was to head-up the Lister wood gas conversion, with
Darryl, a Shipyard regular. By way of explanation, The Shipyard is a shared artists' community
workspace, focusing on mechanical sculptures and "Steam-punk" art. They regularly haul their
exhibits out to the "Burning Man" festival held in the Nevada desert. As such, the Shipyard has a very
well equipped machine shop, welding shop and general fabrications facility.
Below is the "Neverwas Haul" - a gothic inspired, mobile folly, - one of the more bizarre art creations
at the Shipyard. Self powered, steered with a ship's wheel from the tram-cab and features a camera
obscura in the rear tower.
2009. He too has a Lister, and convinced me that we could do a spark ignition conversion on it, so that
it would run on pure wood gas - without the need for WVO and dual fuelling.
So I set off for the States, with a laptop and a wood gas carburettor, that Andy Schofield had made for my
Lister a year or two earlier - but I was yet to try.
The Weekend Workshop was held at APL's premises at the Shipyard in Berkeley, California. There
were to be five separate projects running, and I was to head-up the Lister wood gas conversion, with
Darryl, a Shipyard regular. By way of explanation, The Shipyard is a shared artists' community
workspace, focusing on mechanical sculptures and "Steam-punk" art. They regularly haul their
exhibits out to the "Burning Man" festival held in the Nevada desert. As such, the Shipyard has a very
well equipped machine shop, welding shop and general fabrications facility.
Below is the "Neverwas Haul" - a gothic inspired, mobile folly, - one of the more bizarre art creations
at the Shipyard. Self powered, steered with a ship's wheel from the tram-cab and features a camera
obscura in the rear tower.
APL is headed by Jim Mason, and staffed by a team of about ten enthusiastic workers. There is a mix of
talents including chemistry, environmental science, anthropology, welding and metal fabrication,
electronics, software and mechanical design. I enjoyed my week's stay immensely, and thank all of the
team plus associates for their hospitality.
Below - some of the kit in the APL fab-shop. A vintage AJS motorcycle, without engine, and a huge,
supercharged V8 performance engine, originally intended for a garbage consuming, wood gas powered
"slug" - an art project known as the Metabolic.
talents including chemistry, environmental science, anthropology, welding and metal fabrication,
electronics, software and mechanical design. I enjoyed my week's stay immensely, and thank all of the
team plus associates for their hospitality.
Below - some of the kit in the APL fab-shop. A vintage AJS motorcycle, without engine, and a huge,
supercharged V8 performance engine, originally intended for a garbage consuming, wood gas powered
"slug" - an art project known as the Metabolic.
I had hoped to learn about the science and techniques of good gasification - but ended up doing very
little gasifier experimentation. I did however get a chance to work with some very enthusiastic and
knowledgeable team-mates, and this motivated me to get started again with gasification upon my return
to England.
little gasifier experimentation. I did however get a chance to work with some very enthusiastic and
knowledgeable team-mates, and this motivated me to get started again with gasification upon my return
to England.
Darrel had already modified a long reach spark plug to fit into the injector hole in the top of the Lister
cylinder head, held down with a modified injector clamp. Despite not being threaded in, the spark plug
sealed perfectly in the injector seat on its usual fire-ring washer. He had also already cooked up some
Arduino code to fire a Darlington power transistor and drive a standard car ignition coil.
We had to take off the cylinder head, and obtain a couple of replacement head gaskets, to allow the
compression ratio to be lowered. There was some concern that the usual 17:1 compression ratio of the
Lister would cause pre-detonation with the wood gas air mixture.
Because of a supply-chain cock-up, the head gaskets we ordered did not arrive by Friday afternoon, but
Jim was convinced that we could make them on the CNC plasma cutter - provided that we could find
some suitable copper sheet. Even in California, Friday afternoons are not the best time to start wanting
to buy specialist materials. Fortunately, Scott, who lives nearby in Oakland, had some available and
brought it along on the Saturday morning - and saved the day.
cylinder head, held down with a modified injector clamp. Despite not being threaded in, the spark plug
sealed perfectly in the injector seat on its usual fire-ring washer. He had also already cooked up some
Arduino code to fire a Darlington power transistor and drive a standard car ignition coil.
We had to take off the cylinder head, and obtain a couple of replacement head gaskets, to allow the
compression ratio to be lowered. There was some concern that the usual 17:1 compression ratio of the
Lister would cause pre-detonation with the wood gas air mixture.
Because of a supply-chain cock-up, the head gaskets we ordered did not arrive by Friday afternoon, but
Jim was convinced that we could make them on the CNC plasma cutter - provided that we could find
some suitable copper sheet. Even in California, Friday afternoons are not the best time to start wanting
to buy specialist materials. Fortunately, Scott, who lives nearby in Oakland, had some available and
brought it along on the Saturday morning - and saved the day.
Above - cutting
out the new
copper head
gasket on the
CNC plasma
cutter. A CAD
file was
produced and
the file was
tested on some
16 gauge steel
first before
committing to
our limited
supply of copper.
Left - annealing
the copper
gasket with a
large propane
torch.
out the new
copper head
gasket on the
CNC plasma
cutter. A CAD
file was
produced and
the file was
tested on some
16 gauge steel
first before
committing to
our limited
supply of copper.
Left - annealing
the copper
gasket with a
large propane
torch.
This is the
wood-gas
carburettor
made specially
for the Lister by
Andy Schofield.
Woodgas is
admitted from
the pipe on the
left and air is
metered in
through a gate
valve controlled
by the
handwheel in
the foreground.
The lever on the
right activates a
butterfly valve
which is the
engine throttle.
wood-gas
carburettor
made specially
for the Lister by
Andy Schofield.
Woodgas is
admitted from
the pipe on the
left and air is
metered in
through a gate
valve controlled
by the
handwheel in
the foreground.
The lever on the
right activates a
butterfly valve
which is the
engine throttle.
A close up view of the
electronic ignition in its
splash proof plastic box.
The Arduino is the blue
pcb on the right which
for wiring convenience
is mounted to a bit of
perf-board.
It senses the position of a
manually operated slider
pot and allows the
ignition timing to be
adjusted on the fly.
The Darlington power
transistor is mounted on
the aluminium strip
towards the back of the
box.
The LED flashes in
sympathy with the spark
timing once per rev.
electronic ignition in its
splash proof plastic box.
The Arduino is the blue
pcb on the right which
for wiring convenience
is mounted to a bit of
perf-board.
It senses the position of a
manually operated slider
pot and allows the
ignition timing to be
adjusted on the fly.
The Darlington power
transistor is mounted on
the aluminium strip
towards the back of the
box.
The LED flashes in
sympathy with the spark
timing once per rev.
The main
fabrication shop at
APL. Parts for the
GEKs are cut on a
CNC plasma
cutter and welded
into the series of
nesting drums that
make the GEK
assembly.
On the top shelf by
the rear is the
museum of GEK
history - starting
with one of the
first prototypes on
the left, through
various design
iterations to the
auger feed model
on the right.
fabrication shop at
APL. Parts for the
GEKs are cut on a
CNC plasma
cutter and welded
into the series of
nesting drums that
make the GEK
assembly.
On the top shelf by
the rear is the
museum of GEK
history - starting
with one of the
first prototypes on
the left, through
various design
iterations to the
auger feed model
on the right.
Overall view of Lister
spark conversion. The
spark ignition circuit,
battery and coil were
mounted to a bit of
checker-plate on the old
diesel fuel tank brackets.
The laptop was running
the Arduino software
IDE so we could update
the code if we hadn't got
it quite right.
Water cooling drum is
on the left and the
woodgas inlet and
exhaust pipes to the right.
This shot taken minutes
after we first got it
running on wood gas -
remarkably it all worked
first time out of the tin!
spark conversion. The
spark ignition circuit,
battery and coil were
mounted to a bit of
checker-plate on the old
diesel fuel tank brackets.
The laptop was running
the Arduino software
IDE so we could update
the code if we hadn't got
it quite right.
Water cooling drum is
on the left and the
woodgas inlet and
exhaust pipes to the right.
This shot taken minutes
after we first got it
running on wood gas -
remarkably it all worked
first time out of the tin!
This is the Hall effect
sensor - the 3 legged
transistor package
viewed from above.
It is mounted on an
aluminium bracket
close to the flywheel
boss.
A rare earth disc
magnet is taped to
the revolving boss
with black
electricians tape a
few degrees before
top dead centre.
You can just see it as
a bulge in the tape
towards the right of
the boss.
sensor - the 3 legged
transistor package
viewed from above.
It is mounted on an
aluminium bracket
close to the flywheel
boss.
A rare earth disc
magnet is taped to
the revolving boss
with black
electricians tape a
few degrees before
top dead centre.
You can just see it as
a bulge in the tape
towards the right of
the boss.
Close up view of
Arduino
microcontroller
board mounted on
perf-board.
Arduino
microcontroller
board mounted on
perf-board.
Spark Ignition with
lid on.
lid on.
The ejector flare
assembly mounted
on top of one of the
16 gallon filter
drums.
assembly mounted
on top of one of the
16 gallon filter
drums.
Below are some general photos of the GEK & Lister conversion - taken on
21st/22nd February - mostly awaiting captions!
21st/22nd February - mostly awaiting captions!
So it's so long for now from the
happy world of wood gasification.
Come and make new friends at
the shipyard!
happy world of wood gasification.
Come and make new friends at
the shipyard!
Having made up a new copper gasket, and got it annealed and cleaned up, I left the mechanical aspects
of the engine with Mike Anthony. Mike's a fellow wood-gasser and knows his way around the Lister.
Mike made a further copper gasket out of 22g sheet and a steel spacer out of 16g, to act as a spacer
between the two copper gaskets. The idea was to use a copper-steel-copper sandwich of gaskets to
bring the Lister compression ration down to about 13:1.
However, before we did this, we first wanted to run the engine in its original diesel configuration to
make sure that all was well. So by the end of the Saturday session the cool February air was shattered
by the pounding thump of a Lister being run without an exhaust manifold.
And so the Saturday workshop came to a close. Time for beers and pizza and while away the night till
the small hours chatting around the waste woodburning stove in the back yard.
of the engine with Mike Anthony. Mike's a fellow wood-gasser and knows his way around the Lister.
Mike made a further copper gasket out of 22g sheet and a steel spacer out of 16g, to act as a spacer
between the two copper gaskets. The idea was to use a copper-steel-copper sandwich of gaskets to
bring the Lister compression ration down to about 13:1.
However, before we did this, we first wanted to run the engine in its original diesel configuration to
make sure that all was well. So by the end of the Saturday session the cool February air was shattered
by the pounding thump of a Lister being run without an exhaust manifold.
And so the Saturday workshop came to a close. Time for beers and pizza and while away the night till
the small hours chatting around the waste woodburning stove in the back yard.
The Saturday morning session got underway about 11am - fired into life with some strong coffee and
bagels. There were to be five individual projects running simultaneously, and the idea was that course
delegates could spend as little or as much time on whatever project they were most interested in. First
there were to be a series of brief introductory talks to let everyone know what was to be happening that
day. Here's my introductory talk - captured on YouTube by Mike Anthony.
bagels. There were to be five individual projects running simultaneously, and the idea was that course
delegates could spend as little or as much time on whatever project they were most interested in. First
there were to be a series of brief introductory talks to let everyone know what was to be happening that
day. Here's my introductory talk - captured on YouTube by Mike Anthony.
Making sure
that the new
copper gasket
fits over the
Lister stud bolts
OK.
Video courtesy
of Mike Anthony.
that the new
copper gasket
fits over the
Lister stud bolts
OK.
Video courtesy
of Mike Anthony.
The gasket was
then polished up
with emery
cloth.
It's a dirty job -
but someone's
got to do it.
Video courtesy
of Mike Anthony.
then polished up
with emery
cloth.
It's a dirty job -
but someone's
got to do it.
Video courtesy
of Mike Anthony.
The main task for Saturday was to manufacture a new copper head gasket and get the engine back to it's
original state running on diesel. Jim produced a CAD file, which then needed to be translated into
SolidWorks - there was a hitch in how the file interpreted radii. Alec, one of the local enthusiasts
managed to get home and translate the file into something that would work with the plasma cutter. We
made a couple of test blanks in steel first to test the pattern before we cut into our rather limited supply
of copper. (Next 2 photos courtesy of GEK forum).
original state running on diesel. Jim produced a CAD file, which then needed to be translated into
SolidWorks - there was a hitch in how the file interpreted radii. Alec, one of the local enthusiasts
managed to get home and translate the file into something that would work with the plasma cutter. We
made a couple of test blanks in steel first to test the pattern before we cut into our rather limited supply
of copper. (Next 2 photos courtesy of GEK forum).