[Gasification] First Wood Gas Experience by Accident.

[Alan Bowen]

Howdy Folks,

I was just looking at the instructions for building the MIDGE.
It looks like a cute little stove.

Reminds me of the wood stove my father-in-law gave to me.
He had built it from two 35 gallon barrels.
No kit just scratch built.
Between the barrels he used the metal centers from two big spools that used to have wire terminals on them.
He welded the spools together by welding an inch then skipping an inch.
Where he skipped an inch you could see the gap between sections was a good 3/16 inch.   These gaps he sealed by packing furnace cement around the pipe.

He ran the stove just one year then built a bigger one and gave this one to me.
I use it one year and found it didn't quite put out enough heat for my house.

That next fall I fired it up knowing I was watching for a deal on a better stove.
Well,,, That first fire was lit and then I thought I should clean a little dust off the stove.  

I thought something very bad was happening when I barely touched that furnace cement and it all fell off. 8>))

WOW !!!  I am so glad I had a fire burning when that happened.
As air hit that smoke there was a fireball going into the top barrel.
All that winter I built smaller fires and got way more heat than I needed from the stove.  I just turned down the dampers and the top barrel put out most of the heat.

The first winter we had to watch the fire because the bottom barrel got too red.
The second winter it was the top barrel that would get red.

I kept track and I know I didn't use more than half as much wood in that stove once I started burning wood-gas and we were a lot warmer too.

I have a nice air tight wood stove now that does a nice job.  If I ever needed more heat from it though I would just put a 55 gallon drum over it and give a little secondary air.  8>))

Alan Bowen
Williamsburg, Michigan

       
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