First run of the Gasifier Furnace!

 

 

Here I’m getting ready to make and mount the air plenum. Yea, I put wheels on it so I could move it around the shop.

 

 

Here is a shoot of the nozzle before the first firing.

 

 

The plenum installed. There is a baffle at the tee; you can just make out the handle at the left. This is just for proof of concept and not a proper place to mount the blower if really in service.

 

 

I just wired up a quick and dirty op amp pulse width modulator required to control the blower. The blower is 230v but runs pretty good at 140v, that is why the variac.

 

 

Here it goes! This is just after start up. When it really started going, the flames were nice blue/white. Nice.

 

 

I put three to four 2x4s worth of fuel in for this first test. All that are left were a few nails. The nozzle cracked when I bolted it up, but I’m not concerned. I have the mold and will modify it to create a proper seal between the primary box and the nozzle. Where the box looks burnt on the far side, it really got hot from a small leak. The steel turned white hot and, I was waiting to see it melt! It only came close.

 

I am very pleased with this test run. This is a super clean and efficient way to burn wood with a controlled output.