Generator question wood fired

[hr3]

I am thinking of how much firewood I have on hand, and How much I should be cutting from my woodlot every year.
I am wondering if anyone has made a wood fired electric generator? It would save my propane for cooking/heating.
I would like to be able to have the unit outside.
Just wondering if anyone has made something like this,
has found plans on making something like this or knows of someone selling something similar.

Just to brain storm,
I am wondering if using wood fired gasification could power a gas genny, or
would I have to go to wood firing a steam system to generate electricity.

I did find this
GenSets
About Wood Gas
***Miniature Wood Gasifier*** - Forno Bravo Forum: The Wood-Fired Oven Community

Thanks

edit**just found this site that has plans Home « Gasifier Experimenters Kit

"What if " you use a steam pump to pump water up into a storage tank then let the water pressure run a small turbine,,, ???

 

[forgeblast]

Not sure If I want to go steam, Too much to go wrong, I would like a system I didnt have to baby sit either. Going out and adding wood every now and then is fine.
I am going to see if my buddy still has his old genny, and then I have two pressure tanks, one from a hot water heater one from a well to see if I can make a gasifier. It seems to be
the easiest way to go. I hope he didnt junk it.

 

[dave1949]

I could see a wood gasifier powered pickup truck to provide transportation in a pinch without relying on fuel availability. The truck, using an inverter, or using the engine to run a generator, would provide power and transportation from one gasifier unit.

Forget propane, if you have a supply of wood, there are many choices of wood stoves and wood cook stoves to choose from that would provide heat and cooking capability in a practically impossible to fail way. In any case, you would need muscle or fuel for the chainsaw :laughing:

For electricity, an off grid or hybrid grid-tied solar electric system would be more useful than a gasifier or steam generator. You could put together a system with enough battery and panel capacity to power your critical needs. If you integrate that solar pv system into your current electrical system, it would provide power with or without a crisis, keep the batteries in good shape and so forth. Losing power would be a non-event if you plan it correctly.

 

[davel8257]

The Dobel Steam car generated steam in a coil of copper tubing. There was not a lot of steam sitting around (that could explode). I've been wondering why you couldn't heat up the cast iron cylinder head of an engine (with a propane flame or similar heat source) and then just inject a small amount of water just after Top-Dead-Center (TDC) -- as the piston goes into the down stroke. The water would expand into steam, drive the piston down and turn the crank. No stored steam -- just hot metal (250 - 300F) and a water source.

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks MossRoad that was a interesting read. He did say that if you want to generate your own power you would need to monitor it full time. On the other hand he also discussed just running it long enoug to recharge your batteries etc. maybe a few hours a day. If you are already off the grid with a solar/battery set up and use a generator once in a while when the batteries need a recharge and the sun isn't going to do it this might be a solution. He also mentioned that steam power tends to appeal to retired machinists.... I think we need 3RRL to build a steam power generator to supplement his solar/diesel setup and let us know how it works I could go for another long and incredibly interesting 3RRL thread myself

Yeah, I could go for that, too. :thumbsup:

 

[forgeblast]

Forget propane, if you have a supply of wood, there are many choices of wood stoves and wood cook stoves to choose from that would provide heat and cooking capability in a practically impossible to fail way. In any case, you would need muscle or fuel for the chainsaw

I have a wood stove in the basement, and a propane jotul stove upstairs that handles the heat all winter. I switched from wood due to my daughters asthma.
A solar project would be nice, except for the huge cost. I have the space and would love to have a system but right now do not have anything saved for that project.

 

[dave1949]

Forget propane, if you have a supply of wood, there are many choices of wood stoves and wood cook stoves to choose from that would provide heat and cooking capability in a practically impossible to fail way. In any case, you would need muscle or fuel for the chainsaw

I have a wood stove in the basement, and a propane jotul stove upstairs that handles the heat all winter. I switched from wood due to my daughters asthma.
A solar project would be nice, except for the huge cost. I have the space and would love to have a system but right now do not have anything saved for that project.

Sorry to hear about the asthma, that would be a limiting factor where indoor wood smoke is involved.

Articles like this: Bio-Truck Information seem to appear fairly regularly.

I am not certain, but I have the impression that in cold climates, the Stanley Steamers were put away for the winter. Could have been the bad roads, but I wonder how you keep the boiler, valves and pipes from freezing up between uses. Someday, I have to get to the Stanley Museum in Kingfield, Maine, it's only about 30 miles away. Violins | Steam Cars | Chansonetta | Stanley Museum, Kingfield, Maine

 

[forgeblast]

Wood Gas Truck: Road Power From Wood Gasification - Green Transportation - MOTHER EARTH NEWS was in my email this afternoon.

The asthma is not bad atm, we are controling it with flovent two puffs once a day as long as she doesnt get a cold. When she get a cold she just cant stop coughing doesnt sleep and gets much much worse. So less smoke the better, and the propane stove is great.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/gree...n=2012+GEGH&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email
this is the newer version, he has not bough gas since 2004, thus saving about $40,000.