Car on wood drawings. The principle of operation of the gas generator - gas generator. Interesting facts about gas generators - true or false

In turn, the internal combustion engine can be installed on a car, in which case the gas generator makes it possible to do without conventional gasoline, diesel fuel or gas, solving transport problems. This is usually in demand in areas remote from gas stations, subject to free access to solid fuel.

Homemade wood-burning gas generator, can be used in the house and in the car

A gas generator for the home, connected to an internal combustion engine, can be operated as part of an installation for generating electric current necessary for household needs, for the operation of various electrical equipment.

If we are talking about obtaining combustible gas for heating, then it is more rational to make a solid fuel pyrolysis furnace, where it is immediately burned out in the upper combustion chamber, ensuring high heat transfer from the installation. The gas generator differs from the furnace (boiler) in that the combustible gas is not burned, but is taken for further use.

The principle of operation of the gas generator

To obtain combustible gas, various types of solid fuels can be used, including firewood, wood waste, charcoal. The design of the installation depends on the type of fuel, this article discusses units that run on wood.

To prevent the fuel from burning, but smoldering with the release of combustible gases, it is burned in a closed container at a temperature of 400 degrees with a limited supply of oxygen (no more than 1/3 of what is required for full combustion).

Scheme of operation of the gas generator

In the process of smoldering firewood at high temperatures,:

1. combustible gases :
   • carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide);
   • methane;
   • hydrogen;
   • various unsaturated hydrocarbons.
2. Ballast gases:
   • water vapor;
   • carbon dioxide;
   • nitrogen;
   • oxygen.

It is important to cool and purify this mixture of gases, for which it is passed through a cooling circuit and a filter system, due to which suspended particles, formic and acetic acid, etc. are removed. The composition of the resulting mixture of gases practically does not depend on the type of wood, so any firewood can be used with equal success.

Note! The efficiency of a wood burning gas generator largely depends on the moisture content of the wood. When raw fuel is used, the efficiency is reduced by 10-25% or more, so the standard design of the unit provides for an upper compartment for drying firewood. In addition, when raw wood smolders, tar is formed, from which the system will have to be cleaned.

Operation of the gas generator

If we consider how the gas generating plant functions, then we can distinguish the following stages of its work:

• fuel in a special compartment thermally decomposes under conditions of oxygen deficiency;
• thanks to a dry vortex filter, volatile particles are removed from the resulting gas mixture;
• the mixture of gases is cooled in an air heat exchanger (the liquid version is used less often);
• fine purification of gases is carried out (a filter system is required);
• combustible gas is mixed with air, the finished gas-air mixture is fed into the internal combustion engine.

A homemade gas generator can be installed on your car or used as a fuel source for the main or backup power supply system at home.

Homemade gas generator

Advantages and disadvantages of gas generating installations

The list of advantages of units of this type can include:

• sufficiently high efficiency (75-80%) under the condition of operation on dry fuel;
• the duration of the burning process (there is no need to constantly put firewood in the furnace, the installation can work for about a day on one tab);
• the fuel burns out almost completely, forming a minimum of ash and slag, that is, it is relatively rare to clean the flue and ash pan;
• Emissions into the atmosphere are minimal, so people who advocate respect for the environment call for the use of wood-burning gas generators instead of gasoline or diesel fuel.

The disadvantages include:

• the volatility of the unit, if the design provides for an electric fan;
• a 50% decrease in the power of the plant operation leads to combustion instability, due to which tar begins to be released, which pollutes the gas duct;
• buying a ready-made installation is not economically profitable - if there is a goal to save money, you need to mount a wood-fired gas generator yourself from improvised materials.

Gas generators and heating: main myths

There are many myths about gas generators. Basically, we are talking about their effectiveness as part of an autonomous heating system. Consider popular sayings that can be found on the Internet.

Myth 1. "The efficiency of the gas generator is much higher than the efficiency of a solid fuel boiler, and reaches 95%."

Let's start with the fact that these types of equipment are used for various purposes.:

• the gas generating plant produces combustible gas, and its efficiency is the ratio of the product actually obtained from a certain volume of fuel and the theoretically possible, multiplied by 100%;
• a heating boiler generates thermal energy, and its efficiency is the ratio of the heat actually received during the combustion of a certain amount of fuel and the theoretically possible, multiplied by 100%.

Thus, it is fundamentally wrong to compare the efficiency of a gas generator and a heating boiler. In addition, the efficiency of a home-made gas generator plant rarely exceeds 80%, so the figures of 90-95% can be considered a myth.

You can compare the efficiency of a pyrolysis and a conventional solid fuel boiler - in this case, the advantage is on the pyrolysis side, since the combustion of combustible gases in the secondary combustion chamber significantly increases fuel efficiency.

Myth 2. "The gas generating plant successfully works on raw wood."

The unit is able to function even when using raw firewood, but its productivity drops sharply, since a significant part of the thermal energy is spent on evaporating the moisture contained in the firewood. A decrease in the temperature in the combustion chamber leads to a slowdown in pyrolysis, and negatively affects the actual power of the installation.

Myth 3. “A gas generator is more profitable to use for home heating than a solid fuel boiler.”

The design of a gas generating plant is more complicated than a solid fuel boiler, including a pyrolysis one, in addition, it takes up more space, since it includes a cooling circuit. There is no point in installing a more complex and expensive unit in order to burn the resulting combustible gas.

An example of a homemade gas generator installed in the trunk of a car

Thus, a do-it-yourself gas generator is made in two cases - for installation on a car and, if necessary, to have a source of energy carrier (combustible gas) at hand, the thermal energy of which can be converted into electric current.

The device and manufacture of the gas generator

Let us consider in more detail the device of the gas generator. In addition to the case, inside which is located the main part of the elements, the design includes:

• bunker (chamber for loading fuel);
• combustion chamber (this is where the process of smoldering of wood takes place at high temperatures and with a minimum air supply);
• the neck of the combustion chamber (here cracking of resins occurs);
• air distribution box equipped with a check valve;
• lances (calibration holes, due to which the junction box communicates with the middle part of the combustion chamber);
• grate (serves as a support for smoldering fuel);
• loading hatches equipped with sealed covers (the hatches in the upper part are required for loading fuel, in the lower part - for cleaning the unit from accumulated ash);
• outlet pipe (flammable gas exits through it and enters the welded pipe of the gas pipeline);
• air cooler (in the form of a coil);
• filters for cleaning the mixture of gases from unnecessary impurities.

The gas generator circuit may include a fuel drying system. For pyrolysis to be effective, the firewood must be dry. If a part of the gas pipeline runs along the ring around the fuel loading chamber (between the walls of this chamber and the housing), the damp firewood will have time to dry before it enters the combustion chamber. This will significantly increase the efficiency of the installation.

The body of the gas generator is made of a metal barrel, on top of which a pipe is attached to the seal with corners and bolts, and a propane cylinder is attached to the bolts from the inside

Before you make a gas generator, you need to find information about a suitable device model and detailed drawings indicating the dimensions of all elements.

Particular attention is paid to the choice of materials for each of the structural elements. The gas generator can have a rectangular or cylindrical shape - the body is usually welded from sheet metal or a metal barrel is used. The bottom and cover must be made of steel sheet with a thickness of 5 mm.

The hopper, which is bolted inside the hull, shall be made of mild steel. The combustion chamber is made of heat-resistant steel, you can use an empty bottle of liquefied propane.

The gas cylinder is installed inside the barrel and bolted to its top.

Note! If you are going to cut an empty gas cylinder, first fill it to the top with water - this will eliminate the risk of an explosion of gas vapor when a spark hits.

The lid of the bunker should be equipped with a reliable seal made of heat-resistant material (asbestos cord with graphite lubricant). A refractory insulator (asbestos cord or similar material) is laid between the neck of the combustion chamber and the body. It is more convenient to make the metal grate of the grate removable, from reinforcing bars, so that it is more convenient to clean the combustion chamber.

A pipe is attached to the bolts on top of the barrel

The air distribution box with a non-return valve at the outlet is installed outside the housing, in front of it you can mount a fan that blows air to increase the efficiency of the unit when working on freshly cut wood.

Blower fan to help improve efficiency

As an air cooling coil, some craftsmen fit a steel or bimetallic radiator. The mixer, passing through which the purified combustible gas is mixed with air, is equipped with a fan.

When choosing materials for a fixed installation designed to generate electricity for domestic use, the emphasis is on reliability and affordability. If you want to make a gas generator for a car, preference should be given to stainless steel - this will make the unit lighter and more compact. But the use of stainless steel significantly increases the cost of construction.

Conclusion

The compact wood-fired gas generator is suitable for installation on a truck or car. The unit for a local power plant can be installed in the basement of a house, in an outbuilding, or, if necessary, installed on the street or under a canopy (when it is necessary to provide electricity to any stationary electrical equipment).

The fundamental question is the correct operation of the gas generator. In order for the unit to function with high efficiency, it is necessary to carefully adjust the level of air supply (taking into account the moisture content of the fuel), the intensity of the exhaust gases, etc. It is desirable to manufacture a gas generator according to professional drawings, in compliance with all sizes and proportions.

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Wood-burning car, myth or reality? And is it possible to make such a car with your own hands? Let's figure it out.

Looking at the gas station signs with gasoline prices, every now and then there is a desire to transfer the car to a cheaper type of fuel.

One of the popular options is converting a car to gas. But not everything is smooth here either. Against the background of events in the gas and oil sector, gas may rise in price, which will make the work meaningless.

There are problems with energy resources and no one knows how it will end for the end consumer.

If you decide to remake, then you should choose independent and truly effective methods. And here, in terms of savings, gas-generating cars or, in a simple way, “wood-burning cars”, come out on top.

History of creation and development, examples of wood-burning cars

Despite the slow advancement of the topic of gas generating machines, the history of such developments is very rich. So, back in 1823, the Russian inventor Ovtsyn I.I. developed an apparatus for the distillation of wood. It was based on the most common "thermal lamp".

The main feature of the installation was the use in it of the main products of pyrolysis - lighting gas, acetic acid and tar, as well as charcoal.

Almost forty years later (in 1860), Etienne Lenoir, a Belgian waiter with engineering "inclinations", made his contribution to science. It was he who first acquired a patent for an internal combustion engine operating on lighting gas.

But he was engaged not only in these developments.

Two years later, the installation of the newly minted genius appeared on an 8-seater open omnibus.

But in 1878, when Nicolas Otto's more powerful 4-stroke gas engine was introduced to the public, Etienne Lenoir's design was quickly forgotten. At the same time, the new device had a higher efficiency: 16% for Otto versus 5% for Lenoir.

Two decades later, in 1883 (from 1860), a new concept of combining a conventional internal combustion engine and a gas generator appeared.

The English scientist E. Dawson managed to combine two devices in one box.

The resulting apparatus could be safely installed on any equipment and safely operated. Over time, the development of E. Dawson was called "Dawson's gas".

In 1891 Yakovlev Evgeny distinguished himself (lieutenant of the Russian Navy). He managed to build a whole plant for the production of kerosene and gas engines. St. Petersburg became the place for construction.

Over time, the plant ceased to exist due to the inability to compete with gasoline and diesel engines.

1900 can be safely called the year of production of the first gas-generating car using charcoal and wood as fuel.

The device was developed in France by Frederick Winslow Taylor, and a patent was obtained a little later (in 1901).

Subsequently, more and more interesting developments appeared in this area. So, in 1919, Georg Imbert (an engineer of French origin) developed a reverse type gas generator.

Already in 1921, the first cars with engines operating on this principle appeared. It was then that speculation arose about the likely competition of a gas-generating car with diesel or gasoline engines.

Over time, Germany also distinguished itself, where during the war not only wood gas generators became widespread, but also devices capable of operating on special briquettes consisting of brown coal dust and crumbs.

The first trucks with gas generators were very slow - they could hardly reach a speed of 20 kilometers per hour.

Despite this, by 1938 the popularity of gas-powered cars was so great that the total number of such cars was about nine thousand.

Three years later (by 1941) their number increased another fifty times. For example, in the same Germany, the number of cars "on firewood" has grown to 300 thousand copies.

The Soviet Union also tried to keep up. Here, the first tests of gas-generating cars took place in 1928. The Naumov engine and the Fiat-15 chassis were involved in the car.

Six years later, the first big run of cars with gas generator engines from Moscow to Leningrad and back was organized.

ZIS-5 and GAZ-AA cars took part in the "race". The success of the event led to the adoption in 1936 of a special resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on the development of gas-generating tractors and machines.

The first batch of new gas generating machines appeared on the roads of the USSR in 1936.

Production was carried out at two plants - Gorky (GAZ-42) and ZIS (Stalin Plant).

Five years later, the production of gas generator engines for tractors and ZIS machines was launched.

The disadvantages of power units could include multiple factory defects, high metal wear rate, minimum power, and so on.

On the other hand, gas generators helped a lot during the war and were actively used in the rear.

Wood-burning gas generator for a car - device and principle of operation

The composition of the automobile gas generator installation includes the following elements:

• coarse cleaners;
• the gas generator itself;
• fine cleaners;
• mixer and ignition fan.

A simple circuit looks like this.

During movement, air is sucked into the gas generator using the thrust of a running engine.

The same thrust contributes to the "pumping out" of combustible gas from the gas generator, as well as its supply to coarse cleaners, and then to the fine filter.

After mixing with air in the mixer, the finished gas-air mixture is sucked into the engine cylinders.

After leaving the gas generator, hot and contaminated gas requires additional processing (cooling and cleaning).

To do this, it is passed through a special pipeline that combines the gas generator with a fine filter.

In some designs, the gas passed through a special cooler mounted in front of the water radiator.

Most often, a combined system was used for cooling and cleaning.

Its principle of operation was to change the speed and direction of the gas flow. At the same time, cooling and cleaning of the latter was carried out.

The next stage is fine cleaning, for which special “ring” cleaners made in the form of cylinders were used.

The principle of operation of most fine filters was based on the water principle, when gas was cleaned with water.

In the process of ignition of the gas generator, a special centrifugal fan equipped with an electric drive was used.

Due to the fact that the fan needs to pump air through the entire purification system, the installation of the device was carried out as close as possible to the mixer.

The combustible mixture is formed in the car mixer.

The simplest type of device is a special tee in which air and gas flows intersect.

The volume of the composition entering the motor is controlled by the throttle valve.

The quality of the gas-air mixture is controlled by an air damper.

Principle of operation.

The main fuel for the gas generating plant is coal briquettes, peat or firewood.

The principle of operation of the system is based on the partial combustion of carbon. The latter during combustion can connect one or a pair of oxygen atoms with the subsequent formation of two elements - carbon dioxide (dioxide) and carbon monoxide (monoxide).

If carbon does not burn completely, then almost 30% of the total energy can be obtained with complete combustion of the material.

As a consequence, the formed gas has a lower heat transfer than the original solid fuel.

It should be noted that in the gas generator during the transformation of wood or coal into gas, an exothermic reaction occurs, which occurs between water and carbon monoxide.

Thanks to this reaction, the temperature of the resulting gas drops, the efficiency increases to 80 percent.

If the gas does not require cooling before use, then the efficiency can reach 100%. As a result, there is a 2-stage combustion of fuel.

The resulting gas has a minimum calorific value due to its mixing with nitrogen.

Due to the fact that smaller volumes of air are needed to burn fuel, such a reduction in calorie content is not significant.

As for the reduction in engine power when running on gas, the reason is a decrease in the charge of the fuel composition, caused by the difficulty of cooling.

Do-it-yourself wood-burning car

If desired, a wood-burning car can be made with your own hands.

In a simplified version, the algorithm looks like this:

1. The loading hopper is equipped.

As a basis, you can use a conventional gas cylinder with a capacity of about 40-50 liters. Due to this capacity, large volumes of coal can be placed in the cylinder.

You can use other materials.

Make sure that the wall thickness is at least three millimeters.

As soon as a suitable cylinder is selected, cut out the bottom in it and cut through the neck for loading fuel. The opening for the cap should be wide to facilitate the process of loading fuel.

2. A grate is made, which takes on the greatest load.

3. A special cover for the hopper is created.

Fuel (coal) will be loaded through it. If desired, the cover can be made of aluminum, but theoretically any other type of metal is allowed.

During the installation process, pay attention to the choice of cord - it must be asbestos with mandatory impregnation with graphite.

This is necessary to protect the cord from burning and accidental damage in case of closing or opening.

You can get a quality cord in the market or in the boiler room. The optimal diameter of a suitable cord is 13 and 8 millimeters.

4. A lance is being made.

The task of this device is to take on the main temperature load. During the installation process, everything is done in such a way that it is easier to replace.

5. A cyclone filter is being made.

The use of charcoal or brown coal, peat, straw or other substances for car trips has a characteristic feature - the presence of dust.

If you do not make a high-quality filter element, then dust can get into the carburetor, pistons, candles and other components (including the interior).

You can find a ready-made solution right away.

6. Manufacturing of a radiator (cooler).

Any material can be used here. Alternatively, the use of a standard heating radiator made of aluminum is allowed.

You can construct a device from water pipes. At the same time, please note that the cross section of the radiator, as a rule, is slightly larger than the cross section of the pipes connected to it.

A person's desire to preserve the environment makes him think about the possibility of creating equipment whose operation will not affect the environment. At the present stage, great damage to nature is caused by road transport, namely exhaust gases. This led to the creation of electric vehicles, which today are already beginning to be produced at a serial level. But there is another way to reduce the harmfulness of emissions and save on fuel - by installing a car gas generator.

What are these aggregates?

Firewood quality

Typically, heavy vehicles with a powerful engine are equipped with gas generators, although light vehicles can also be equipped with such a device if desired.

At the same time, the unit has relatively compact dimensions, but they still will not be proportional to the dimensions of the car. For example, one designed for a motorcycle and assembled by oneself would be comparable to a sidecar for a vehicle. Therefore, to call it small can be a stretch. In addition, the use of gas generators with low-power engines leads to a lack of power.

Design features of the equipment

What is included in the package of a car gas generator? First of all, it is a device in which the process of converting wood or other fuel into combustible gas takes place. But since the resulting mixture needs to be cleaned, not a single generator for a car is complete without cleaners.

Moreover, they are presented in the form of three horizontal structures and one vertical. In the first there is a preliminary purification from mechanical impurities with simultaneous cooling. The vertical cleaner is designed for finer cleaning.

Scheme of the unit on wood

In addition, the wood-burning car gas generator includes:

• Condensate sump;
• Mixer;
• Fan;
• Pipelines.

As for the gas generator device for a car and its main unit, it is enclosed in a housing and consists of a bunker and a fuel department. This assembly is attached to the frame of the car.

At the top is a flange that connects all the parts into one. The loading hatch is equipped with a lid, which is pressed against the locking handle. Gas is taken from the branch pipe. Fuel is loaded through a special hatch. Leaving the unit, the gas is cleaned sequentially in each cylinder and from there it enters the engine.

How the power plant works

Cars in which such a device is installed use gas produced by burning wood, coal or other components as a fuel mixture. The principle of operation of a do-it-yourself gas generator on a car is based on the incomplete combustion of carbon. In this case, a third of the energy is released and, therefore, the resulting gas has a lower calorific value than the source material.

We watch a video about gas generators and the principle of operation:

In the process of burning wood or coal with the addition of steam, an exothermic reaction occurs between the resulting composition and water, which in turn leads to the separation of the mixture into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. This leads to a decrease in the temperature of the produced substance and at the same time increases the efficiency up to 80%.

It is possible to use gas without cooling, in case of complete combustion of solid fuel. In this case, the efficiency of gasification can reach 100%.

But since the gas is diluted with nitrogen during the purification process, its caloric content is low. But at the same time, less air is used for its combustion, therefore, it is not much inferior to traditional air-fuel mixtures.

Do-it-yourself gas unit for a car

One of the simplest units will be assembled on the basis of an old gas cylinder. At the same time, all other components are also easy to find and they are inexpensive. So, let's start assembling a car gas generator with our own hands.

Simple and eco-friendly

The balloon acts as a body. Inside it is divided into two zones:

• downloads;
• burning.

And here is the core of the gas generator. It is also possible to use a metal box welded from steel sheets as a body.

But still, a balloon is the best option, since the welding points can leak over time, which will lead to an emergency. It is also important to take into account the fact that if gas accumulates inside the generator, this can lead to an explosion, so it is better to assemble the structure in such a way that it immediately goes into the engine. You can find a gas generator diagram for a car on the net.

Watch the video, the stages of work:

But, choosing a gas cylinder as a basis, it is also necessary to take into account the fact that a mixture may remain in it and, when cutting, this can cause a small explosion. To avoid this, you need to either blow it with compressed air or cut it by filling it with water.

Next, the bottom is cut out and a neck is cut for loading fuel. The lid should be convenient in order to fill up wood waste. Then the grate is made. In this case, it must be taken into account that it will have a thermal load.

The next step is preparing the cover for the bunker. It can be made of a sheet of metal, but must be insulated with an asbestos cord. So that it does not burn, you need to treat it with graphite grease. You can buy it on the economic market.

Next, a lance is made, which will account for the main thermal load, as well as a filter. If wood or coal is supposed to be used as fuel, then this component is mandatory, as it will allow you to get rid of a large amount of suspended dust particles contained in them. And in order to avoid them getting into the carburetor, a filter is used.

The next part is the radiator. It can be made of duralumin radiators or ordinary water pipes. It should be borne in mind that the flow area of ​​the radiator must exceed the size of the pipes connected to it. This will help to avoid resistance to the gas when passing through it.

We continue to make the unit with our own hands video 2:

The last detail is the cleaning filter. It can be made of modern and inexpensive materials that are easy to clean and have a long service life. A drawing of a gas generator for a car is easy to find on the net.

Then it remains to fix the gas generator in the trunk and connect it to the engine. To do this, a tube is supplied through which wood gas will flow into the motor. Along with it, the main fuel remains - gasoline. And the last step is to adjust the caloric content of the consistency.

The efficiency of the use of a gas generator for cars

What is the advantage of using such units? First of all, they use fuel that does not require any processing. At the same time, energy is not needed in such cars.

Another plus is the ability of devices that produce wood gas to self-charge. Therefore, there is no need to install a powerful chemical battery on the car, which is also quite difficult to dispose of when it fails. At the same time, the waste product of the gas generator is ash, which, as you know, is an excellent fertilizer.

But still, the most important advantage of such automobile generators is their environmental safety. With a properly designed gas generator, much less harmful substances enter the airspace than from the operation of a diesel or gasoline engine.

However, there are some drawbacks to home-made gas generators for cars. And one of them is a fairly large installation size. This is due to the fact that wood gas has a low specific energy.

Generator for your car

Another disadvantage is the inability to achieve speed as when running on gasoline. This is due to the fact that wood gas contains up to 50% nitrogen, which does not support combustion. Therefore, the engine gets little fuel, which caused a decrease in its power.

In addition, the combustion process is quite slow, which does not allow the use of high speeds. This aspect leads to a decrease in the dynamic characteristics of transport.

Naturally, such cars are very inconvenient to operate, because the generator can reach its operating temperature only 10 minutes after starting. So get behind the wheel and drive away, as in a normal car will not work.

Between fillings, you need to remove the ash, which also does not add to the popularity of the gas generator. The formation of tar when burning wood requires the use of filters that need regular maintenance.

In general, although the idea of ​​​​creating a car that runs on wood has a number of advantages, it still needs further improvement. In the meantime, such a vehicle is far from ideal and needs additional maintenance when compared with gasoline models.

Let's make a reservation right away: if a car runs on wood, this does not mean that it is a steam locomotive without rails. The low efficiency of the steam engine, with its separate firebox, boiler, and double-triple expansion cylinders, left steam cars among the forgotten exotics. And today we will talk about "wood-burning" transport with the usual internal combustion engines, engines that burn fuel inside themselves.

Of course, no one has yet been able to push firewood (or something similar) into the carburetor instead of gasoline, but the idea to get combustible gas from wood right on board the car and feed it into the cylinders as fuel has taken root for many years. We are talking about gas generator cars, cars whose classic internal combustion engine runs on generator gas, which is obtained from wood, organic briquettes, or coal. By the way, such machines also do not refuse the usual liquid fuel - they are able to run on gasoline.

Holy simplicity

Generator gas is a mixture of gases, consisting mainly of carbon monoxide CO and hydrogen H2. This gas can be obtained by burning wood placed in a thick layer in a limited amount of air. An automobile gas generator also works on this simple principle, which is essentially a simple unit, but cumbersome and structurally complicated by additional systems.

Also, in addition to the actual production of generator gas, an automobile gas generator unit cools it, cleans it and mixes it with air. Accordingly, a structurally classical installation includes the gas generator itself, coarse and fine filters, coolers, an electric fan to speed up the ignition process and pipelines.

I take the refinery with me

The simplest gas generator has the form of a vertical cylinder, into which fuel is loaded almost to the top - firewood, coal, peat, pressed pellets, etc. The combustion zone is located at the bottom, it is here, in the lower layer of the burning fuel, that a high temperature (up to 1,500 degrees Celsius) is created, which is necessary for the release of future components of the fuel mixture from the upper layers - carbon monoxide CO and hydrogen H2. Next, the hot mixture of these gases enters the cooler, which lowers the temperature, thus increasing the specific calorific value of the gas. This rather large assembly usually had to be placed under the car body. The filter-cleaner, located next to the gas flow, rids the future fuel mixture of impurities and ash. Next, the gas is sent to the mixer, where it is combined with air, and the finally prepared mixture is sent to the combustion chamber of the car engine.

Scheme of the ZIS-21 car with a gas generator

As you can see, the fuel production system right on board a truck or passenger car took up quite a lot of space and weighed a lot. But the game was worth the candle. Thanks to their own - and, moreover, gratuitous - fuel, enterprises located hundreds and thousands of kilometers from fuel supply bases could afford their autonomous transport. This advantage for a long time could not overshadow all the shortcomings of gas-generating cars, and there were many of them:

Significant reduction in mileage per refueling;
- reduction in the carrying capacity of the car by 150-400 kg;
- reduction of the useful volume of the body;
- the troublesome process of "refueling" the gas generator;
- an additional set of routine maintenance work;
- starting the generator takes from 10-15 minutes;
- a significant reduction in engine power.

ZiS 150UM, experimental model with NAMI 015UM gas generator

There are no gas stations in Taiga

Wood has always been the main fuel for natural gas vehicles. First of all, of course, where there is an abundance of firewood - in logging, in furniture and construction industries. Traditional timber processing technologies in the industrial use of wood in the heyday of "gasgens" about 30% of the mass of the forest were released into waste. They were also used as automobile fuel. Interestingly, the rules for the operation of domestic "gasgens" strictly prohibited the use of industrial wood, since there was an abundance of waste from the forest industry. Both soft and hard woods were suitable for gas generators.

The only requirement is the absence of rot on the chocks. As shown by numerous studies conducted in the 30s at the Scientific Automotive and Tractor Institute of the USSR, oak, beech, ash and birch are best suited as fuel. The chocks used to fill the boilers of gas generators most often had a rectangular shape with a side of 5-6 centimeters. Agricultural waste (straw, husk, sawdust, bark, cones, etc.) was pressed into special briquettes and also "filled" with them gas generators.

The main disadvantage of "gasgens", as we have already said, can be considered a low mileage at one gas station. So, one load of wood chocks to Soviet trucks (see below) was enough for no more than 80-85 km of run. Given that the operating manual recommends "refueling" when the tank is empty by 50-60%, then the mileage between refueling is reduced to 40-50 km. Secondly, the plant itself, which produces generator gas, weighs several hundred kilograms. In addition, engines running on such gas produce 30-35% less power than their gasoline counterparts.

Refinement of cars for firewood

Cars had to be adapted to work on a gas generator, but the changes were not serious and were sometimes available even outside the factory. Firstly, the compression ratio was increased in the engines so that the loss of power was not so significant. In some cases, even turbocharging was used to improve the filling of the engine cylinders. On many "gasified" cars, an electrical equipment generator with increased output was installed, since a fairly powerful electric fan was used to blow air into the furnace.

ZIS-13

To maintain traction characteristics, especially for trucks, with reduced engine power, the transmission ratios were made higher. The speed of movement fell, but for cars used in the wilderness and other desert and remote areas, this was not of decisive importance. To compensate for the weight distribution that has changed due to the heavy gas generator, the suspension was strengthened in some cars.

In addition, due to the bulkiness of the "gas" equipment, it was partly necessary to reconfigure the car: change, move the loading platform or cut the truck cab, abandon the trunk, transfer the exhaust system.

The golden era of "gasgen" in the USSR and abroad

The heyday of gas-generating cars fell on the 30-40s of the last century. At the same time, in several countries with large needs for cars and small explored oil reserves (USSR, Germany, Sweden), engineers from large enterprises and research institutes set about developing wood-fired vehicles. Soviet specialists were more successful in creating trucks.

GAZ-42

From 1935 until the very beginning of World War II, at various enterprises of the Ministry of Forestry and the Gulag (the Main Directorate of Camps, alas, the realities of that time), the GAZ-AA lorry and the ZIS-5 three-ton, as well as buses based on them, were remade to work with wood. Also, in separate batches, gas-generating versions of trucks were produced by the machine manufacturers themselves. For example, Soviet auto historians give the figure 33,840 - so many GAZ-42 gas-generating "lorries" were produced. More than 16 thousand units of gas generator ZISs of the ZIS-13 and ZIS-21 models were produced in Moscow.

ZIS-21

Before the war, Soviet engineers created more than 300 different versions of gas generators, of which 10 reached serial production. During the war, serial plants prepared drawings of simplified installations that could be made locally in car repair shops without the use of sophisticated equipment. According to the recollections of residents of the northern and northeastern regions of the USSR, wood-fired trucks could be found in the outback until the 70s of the twentieth century.

In Germany during the Second World War, there was an acute shortage of gasoline. The design bureaus of two companies (Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz) were tasked with developing gas-powered versions of their popular compact cars. Both firms in a fairly short time coped with the task. Volkswagen Beetle and Mercedes-Benz 230 got on the conveyor. It is interesting that in serial cars, additional equipment did not even stand out for the standard dimensions of "passenger cars". Volkswagen went even further and created a prototype of the "wood-burning" military Volkswagen Tour 82 ("Kubelvagen").

Volkswagen Tour 82

Wood burning machines today

Fortunately, the main advantage of gas-generating cars - independence from the gas station network, has become of little relevance today. However, in the light of modern environmental trends, another advantage of wood-burning cars has come to the fore - working on renewable fuel without any chemical preparation, without additional energy wasted for fuel production. As theoretical calculations and practical tests show, a wood-burning engine does less harm to the atmosphere with its emissions than a similar engine, but already running on gasoline or diesel fuel. The content of exhaust gases is very similar to the emissions of internal combustion engines running on natural gas.

Nevertheless, the topic of wood-burning cars has lost its former popularity. Gas generators are not forgotten mainly by enthusiastic engineers who, for the sake of saving on fuel or as an experiment, convert their personal cars to run on generator gas. In the post-Soviet space, there are successful examples of "gasgens" based on the AZLK-2141 and GAZ-24 passenger cars, the GAZ-52 truck, the RAF-2203 minibus, etc. According to the designers, their creations can travel up to 120 km at a single gas station at a speed of 80- 90 km/h

Gas generating unit GAZ-52

The only country today in which wood-burning cars are massively used is North Korea. In connection with the total world isolation, there is a certain shortage of liquid fuel. And firewood again comes to the rescue of those who find themselves in a difficult situation.