In which catagory do I belong ?

[Hbbyloggr]

It's been awhile since I posted here. Been a tough road traveled during the past year. Lots of changes made to the firewood operation just to survive.
One of the better changes though is the installation of a sawdust fired furnace made by Western Foundries. To be exact, a " Conifer # 12 ". And what a little powerhouse that unit is.

It just loves the hardwood sawdust produced directly from the firewood processor. I'm still in the setting up process, but it is operational now. A gasifier all the way. A customer came into the yard the other day and I was telling him about it. I pointed to the OWB at one side of the property, then pointed to the chimney of the shop . The lack of smoke from both chimneys impressed him. Then I told him that the OWB was out of fuel wood but the sawdust furnace was running wide open. He couldn't believe it until I showed him both furnaces. Found out a little trick yesterday...a super charger for wood gas....built a fire in the old shop stove to get the chimney warmed up before starting up the sawdust furnace ( they share the same chimney for the time being and, more than big enough to handle both stoves ). I wish I could measure the vacuum because the sawdust furnace was really cranking .
I'm planning on using the # 12 to heat a kiln. Just picked up a bunch of 6ft dia kiln fans from an old mill which will solve the airflow problems.
It's a lot of fun having a new challenge and this set up will keep me in the happy mode for awhile.

So, the next question is: In which category do I belong ?

Kind regards,

Bill

 

[Nofossil]

The mad scientist category, of course. An honorable category if ever there was one.

 

[Hbbyloggr]

NF, That's the kindest thing I've heard all day. I will do my best to keep the honor.
Look up---- http://www.hernironworks.com/conifer.html for a little more information. I can testify, this is the real thing and no added power sources other than a good draft.

Bill

 

[leaddog]

Very interesting. How hard is this to start up. I was thinking of it use like a garn type unit. where you would fire it up once a day or less. Will it burn chips or would you have to run the chips though a hammer mill. Is this a complete unit or did you have to assemble it your self? Thanks
leaddog

 

[Hbbyloggr]

Leaddog,

I had seen the # 12 advertised in our Farm Bureau Market Bulletin for about a year. Then I saw it on Craigs List and replied to the ad. The owner said it had 100 hours in run time . He had sold the business but the new owners did not want the furnace.

It was set up when I went up to Thornton, NH to look at it. I brought my own 25 gal sawdust sample for the test firing. Just like the Remington commercial. I liked it so much I bought the company...well just the furnace.
The # 12 , itself, measures roughly just under 24x24x24 and is coupled to an old cast iron coal or wood stove furnace with the big round doughnut heat exchanger on top..just like the one that your grand ma had. However, it has been lined with firebrick and refractory cement ( hand cast- do it yourself style ) to withstand the 2500 degree temps .

Set up required a new 8x10 ftx6" cement pad ( again hand mixed with portland cement and 3/4- crush gravel. The pad had a 4'x21" x 8" deep ash pit built into it for the gasifier to straddle. The outside of the ash pit not covered by the # 12 has steel plate covers for the clean out sections.
Set up required that I build a rolling and steerable gantry crane ( old log truck side stakes ) to move the heavy sections of the cast iron and restack them . Then mate the sections together using the gantry crane to skim the boiler along the floor then use pull bolts to tighten the sections together. That process took 3/4 of a day including new retort cement between the sections of the cast iron joints.
It was a very straight forward and easy "build" , but the gantry crane was the key to making it easy. All told, set up took 1 day to get the materials and pour the floor, ( cure 1-1/2 week) 1 day to build the crane, one day to put the furnace together. And a whole lot of fun, free. Total cost $2600.

The fuel feed system is gravity. I've never known it to fail and it's free. One draw back though would be in the event of fuel bridging in the feed tube, which would allow the fire to travel up to the hopper. I'm going to try to avoid this by feeding the last 2 feet of the feed tube with an auger in order to keep the fuel source away from the path of the fire. A sprinkler head over the feed tube might be a good idea , too. We will see as the build up continues. So far the fuel has been consistent with no bridging.

So far I just have the 12" feed tube in place. It requires 2 gal flower pot worth of sawdust every 10-15 minutes. ( The original owner said he used 1 cu.yd. per 8 hr . I'm sure it would burn chips if they were screened for size or reground...maybe one of those little garden mulchers from Craftsman or DR to try out first and resize the chips.

What really twists my nads is the fact that the further we progress with new technologies in heating , changing every 15 minutes, more money, more controls, this little flower is late 1800's technology. When the power goes out this keeps going. Something to think about.

Next, in the quest , will be a genset running off the wood gas...my 15 yr old thought that one up.

Gentlemen, Start your gasifiers !