Hey guys (and gals),

I took my gasifier as well as my biodiesel/WVO truck to Community Days in Oak Ridge, LA, this past weekend. Community Days is best described as a celebration of creativity. Regardless the subject matter. The guy who spoke before me was into restoring old bicycles. There are always a few guys into blacksmith stuff... heating and beating metal into submission. An internationally trained chef does his thing in the "cook house" including a wood-fired stone oven. It's just a neat place to hang out with other folks who are interested in sharing as well as learning. Oh, and there's no selling. Not a crafts show. And, we try to avoid mention of politics or religion.

To give you an idea of the ambience, the teaching sessions are in a big old barn and the demonstration table is a rough hewn piroque up on stands. It's in the middle of cotton country and we hope to get a seed press someday for some cotton seed oil. The local oil mill closed years ago.

They loved hearing about what we can do to convert biomass into renewable energy.

Community_Days_9-12_Gasifier_cropped.jpg (40 KB, 10 downloads) Me (in bright shirt) sharing about gasification

Here's another shot where I'm discussing how the continuous feed auger system is controlled by a simple limit switch. And yes, one of those guys really is a rocket scientist. Great folks at Community Days. If you are interested in the gatherings, check it out at Starr Homeplace

Community_Days_9-12_guys_copy.jpg (40 KB, 6 downloads) Talking tech

Here's one with a bigger view of the gasifier, without the black 30 gallon drum which is the feed hopper being installed. The silver part is the combination continuous feed auger and feedstock drying component. The blue part is the actual gasifier... a Gasifier Experimenter's Kit from All Power Labs.

I have a 12kw Changfa diesel generator which should run on the woodgas (85% woodgas, 15% biodiesel). I also have a 14hp Kohler vertical shaft 4-stroke lawn mower engine that I plan to connect to a 4kw generator head.

Check them out at GEK Gasifier.

Community_Days_9-12_gasifier_group_copy.jpg (43 KB, 7 downloads) Group discussion about gasification