OUR SAWMILL RUNS ON WOOD!
Our latest undertaking is a sawmill that runs on wood . . . specifically, a Belsaw Model M14 with a 40-inch blade, which—until a year or so ago—had been driven by a steam engine.
November/December 1982
By the Mother Earth News editors
As regular readers of THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS® probably know, several of MOTHER's research and Eco-Village staffers have been experimenting (some for nearly two years now) with a process that utilizes wood scraps to produce a gaseous motor fuel. Our past efforts have resulted in the construction and testing of a woodpowered pickup truck and a lumber-scrap-fueled power-generating plant (No. 70, page 182).
RELATED CONTENT
After 1,500 miles of alternative fuels vehicle driving, we found that you can run a truck with a wo...
Almost half the world’s original forests have disappeared, one-fifth since the late 1950s....
With more than 100 percent of its energy coming from wind power, this town is a shining example of ...
Reader shares idea, blueprints of home cooling unit....
In the time since those articles were published, of course, we've continually updated our various pieces of equipment to improve their performance . . . in addition to modifying our Chevy truck in preparation for a cross-country alternative fuels rally held last October (details on this event were featured in issue 73, page 178).
This spring, however, we took on yet another project that has not only tested the mettle of wood-gas fuel under constant—and sometimes demanding—conditions, but also given us an opportunity to carefully monitor the engine and the fuel-production system, and to make alterations as needed to improve the effectiveness of each component involved.
POWER FOR THE AXING
Our latest undertaking is a sawmill that runs on wood . . . specifically, a Belsaw Model M14 with a 40-inch blade, which—until a year or so ago—had been driven by a steam engine.
The new setup relies on a 250-cubic-inch Chevrolet six (the engine we pulled from our wood-gas truck when a large-displacement V-8 was installed prior to the alternative fuels auto rally), mated to the transmission from a junked Chevy truck. This team, in turn, is connected to the main shaft of the sawmill through the rear axle assembly of a MC van. A rubber shock coupling, installed between the saw and axle shafts, helps to absorb any backlash that might occur while the system's in operation.
To allow us to relieve the load when starting our mill, we've kept the clutch functional within the bellhousing and used a slave cylinder—governed by a lever-controlled master cylinder at the operator's station—to disengage the gear train. And, because the system is designed to run on either wood gas or petrol, we've hooked up separate smoke and conventional-fuel throttles, as well as a manual "fine tuning" air mix adjuster and a choke to facilitate cold-weather gasoline starts
TWO CHANGES FOR THE BETTER
Although the gas-generating components perform the same functions as did those we've detailed in the past, we have made a few modifications to this newest group in order to reduce maintenance chores and lower construction costs.
The generator—which actually produces the burnable fuel from wood scraps—remains structurally unchanged, with two exceptions:
[1] The 1" vapor inlet pipe leading to the condensate tank has been eliminated entirely, and the condensate drain tube now runs directly into that container, terminating in a slash cut near the base of the vessel. Also, a primary cleanout pipe has been welded to the bottom of the canister and extends into it, preventing complete condensate drainage. (The liquid reserve that's left inhibits the flow of fuel gases from the generator . . . except under excessively high pressure conditions.)
Page: 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Next >>
