Garden Tractor Powered By Wood Charcoal

2014 - Volume #38, Issue #4, Page #23

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Jeff Davis runs his Wheel Horse garden tractor on charcoal. The burner takes up less space than a wood gas unit and Davis makes the charcoal himself.
    “Wood gas can be tricky, but just about anybody can make a charcoal gasifier work,” says Davis. “The secret is using clean charcoal to avoid tar. If you do that, it’s hard to go wrong.”
    A charcoal fuel system requires a burner, a cooler, and a way to filter the gas before it enters the engine. Davis modified a 30-lb. propane tank to make the burner unit. He inverted it and cut a hole in the “new” top. This allowed him to clean it of any residue and to mount a tube to hold charcoal.
    “The larger the size, the longer the run time,” says Davis. “I simply used a tube I had on hand. I made a top for it out of steel plate and used silicone bathroom caulk for the gasket.”
    In order to turn the tank into a burner, Davis applied a layer of black stove repair sealant and a layer of refractory material for a lining.
    A simple gas cooler made from exhaust elbows encircles the filler tube with the first elbow welded to an exhaust port on the side of the tube and near its top. Gas produced as the charcoal burns rises to the top of the tank. When the engine starts, it pulls gas through the cooler and filter, then into the carburetor.
    Initially, Davis used the propane outlet port as an air inlet into the tank through a hole in the refractory material. He has since replaced the outlet port with a grate.
    A pan of water is held in place under the tank with a spring. When charcoal is burning and producing gas, air is pulled in through 2 small inlets mounted in the side of the pan. Closing off these air inlets aids in shutting down gas production.
    “The grate reduces the temperature of the burn,” says Davis. “The water extinguishes any hot embers that fall out of the air intake and even serves as a mirror to view the glowing charcoal above.”
    The second-generation prototype replaced the frame extension with a short frame for the processor alone, mounted on a standard 2-in. receiver hitch male insert.
    “The receiver hitch insert gives me the option of also mounting the gas producer in back of the tractor or on a stand for stationary gas production,” says Davis.
    Gas runs things through two, 2-ft. long, 4-in. diameter, pvc pipes. They are connected in series and mounted to each side of the tractor. The gas travels first through one with a sock filter in it to trap larger particles. From there the gas continues to the second tube, which is filled with 1/2-in. thick sponge foam rolled up like a tube. It is designed to filter out finer particles.
    To start the tractor, Davis fills the tank and the hopper tube with charcoal. With the pan out of the way, he uses a propane torch and forced air from a battery-powered mattress inflator to ignite the charcoal on the grate. Once sufficient gas is being produced to light with a match, he starts the engine.
    Davis replaced the Wheel Horse engine with a 6 1/2 hp. Honda clone. The belt drive connects to the transaxle. He fabricated a carburetor to better match the engine to the charcoal gas output. He also advanced the timing.
    “You could use the engine as is with charcoal gas, but there is some restriction,” says Davis.
    Without the restriction, the little engine produces plenty of power. He is even able to pull small logs out of the woods.
    Davis has developed several sets of directions for modifying the engine and building the carburetor, as well as fabricating the gas processor. He shared them under the Creative Commons process that allows others to use the information and share it if attributed, but not for commercial purposes or to be altered.
    He is also in the process of fabricating a rocket-style furnace to make his charcoal.
    “I will be able to use the heat produced making charcoal for space heating and then use the charcoal to fuel vehicles,” says Davis.
    Check out a video of Davis’ charcoal-fired garden tractor at www.farmshow.com.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jeff Davis, 13575 Estes Road, Union City, Penn. 16438 (ph 814 462-5074; jeffdavis0124@gmail.com).

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Garden Tractor Powered By Wood Charcoal ENERGY Wood Burners 65 Jeff Davis runs his Wheel Horse garden tractor on charcoal The burner takes up less space than a wood gas unit and Davis makes the charcoal himself “Wood gas can be tricky but just about anybody can make a charcoal gasifier work ” says Davis “The secret is using clean charcoal to avoid tar If you do that it’s hard to go wrong ” A charcoal fuel system requires a burner a cooler and a way to filter the gas before it enters the engine Davis modified a 30-lb propane tank to make the burner unit He inverted it and cut a hole in the “new” top This allowed him to clean it of any residue and to mount a tube to hold charcoal “The larger the size the longer the run time ” says Davis “I simply used a tube I had on hand I made a top for it out of steel plate and used silicone bathroom caulk for the gasket ” In order to turn the tank into a burner Davis applied a layer of black stove repair sealant and a layer of refractory material for a lining A simple gas cooler made from exhaust elbows encircles the filler tube with the first elbow welded to an exhaust port on the side of the tube and near its top Gas produced as the charcoal burns rises to the top of the tank When the engine starts it pulls gas through the cooler and filter then into the carburetor Initially Davis used the propane outlet port as an air inlet into the tank through a hole in the refractory material He has since replaced the outlet port with a grate A pan of water is held in place under the tank with a spring When charcoal is burning and producing gas air is pulled in through 2 small inlets mounted in the side of the pan Closing off these air inlets aids in shutting down gas production “The grate reduces the temperature of the burn ” says Davis “The water extinguishes any hot embers that fall out of the air intake and even serves as a mirror to view the glowing charcoal above ” The second-generation prototype replaced the frame extension with a short frame for the processor alone mounted on a standard 2-in receiver hitch male insert “The receiver hitch insert gives me the option of also mounting the gas producer in back of the tractor or on a stand for stationary gas production ” says Davis Gas runs things through two 2-ft long 4-in diameter pvc pipes They are connected in series and mounted to each side of the tractor The gas travels first through one with a sock filter in it to trap larger particles From there the gas continues to the second tube which is filled with 1/2-in thick sponge foam rolled up like a tube It is designed to filter out finer particles To start the tractor Davis fills the tank and the hopper tube with charcoal With the pan out of the way he uses a propane torch and forced air from a battery-powered mattress inflator to ignite the charcoal on the grate Once sufficient gas is being produced to light with a match he starts the engine Davis replaced the Wheel Horse engine with a 6 1/2 hp Honda clone The belt drive connects to the transaxle He fabricated a carburetor to better match the engine to the charcoal gas output He also advanced the timing “You could use the engine as is with charcoal gas but there is some restriction ” says Davis Without the restriction the little engine produces plenty of power He is even able to pull small logs out of the woods Davis has developed several sets of directions for modifying the engine and building the carburetor as well as fabricating the gas processor He shared them under the Creative Commons process that allows others to use the information and share it if attributed but not for commercial purposes or to be altered He is also in the process of fabricating a rocket-style furnace to make his charcoal “I will be able to use the heat produced making charcoal for space heating and then use the charcoal to fuel vehicles ” says Davis Check out a video of Davis’ charcoal-fired garden tractor at www farmshow com Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jeff Davis 13575 Estes Road Union City Penn 16438 ph 814 462-5074; jeffdavis0124@gmail com