[Gasification] PRECIR STIRLING ENGINES

[Tom Miles]

Tom,

 

If it costs 20,000 Btu of wood to make 1 kW using a gasifier and internal
combustion engine and 20,000 Btu to make a kW using an external combustion
engine where is the delusion?

 

So far the cost advantage and reliability of gasifiers for small scale
generation has not been proven. If the overall cost of operating and
maintaining an external combustion-generator device is lower than operating
the internal combustion device than the diesel illusion disappears. 

 

Tommy Watt should still dream about getting a Precer. 

 

Tom Miles

 

From: Thomas Reed [mailto:tombreed at comcast.net] 
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 7:00 AM
To: Tom Miles; GASIFICATION
Subject: PRECIR STIRLING ENGINES

 

Dear Tom Miles and All:

In the beginning was little Tommy Watt and his mother's kettle.  This
generated the idea that steam from an externally heated boiler could apply
pressure to a piston, and the age of steam was born and the Kelvin cycle is
still used for boiler-steam power.  

Then came Mr. Stirling who wondered if yu could use gas as the pressure
element and he invented the Stirling engine which works - sort of.

Then came Dr. Otto who wondered if you couldn't actually burn a clean fuel
INSIDE the piston/cylinder and thus was born the internal combustion spark
ignited engine.

Then came Rudolph Diesel who thought that with sufficient compression of air
and injection of the fuel that you could burn almost anything inside the
cylinder.  Mr. Diesel even ran on powdered coal.  

  _____  



There are still people who think that the advantage of external combustion
of ??? can compete with the internal combustion of prepared fuels inside the
cylinder/piston.  The first thing they want to buy is a propane torch or
woodgas generator to supply the controlled amount of heat.  I fear they are
dilusional.

TOM REED   

BEF/BEC