First test of our biogas converted electric generator.

Using the tri-fuel Type C kit from US Carburetion (west virginia company) I converted a new 2000 Watt Genset to run on kitchen-waste-produced-biogas on our porch. I regapped the sparkplug to 0.5 mm (0.02 inch) after installing the kit, and I put brasswool and cotton wool in a fitting in the gas hose as flashback arrestor and moisture remover. The engine started up after a few tries with the throttle closed and some priming with the regulator, but I needed to keep the regulator priming button fully depressed to keep it running. Perhaps the 6 bricks I was using for pressure on the gas collector wasn't quite enough. Or perhaps one can bypass the regulator altogether with a low pressure biogas system. In any event when I tried to restart the engine I had a lot of trouble until I broke the pull cord. Now I have to repair that before I do more experiments. What I need to know is, do I need to remove moisture from the gas line? The cotton wool is impeding gas flow so if I can remove it that would be great.

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Nonprofits & Activism

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• home scale biogas
• running a generator on biogas
• Solar CITIES
• T.H. Culhane

[prayersfarmnigeria]

If anyone knows of a cheap way, not only to clean the acid out of the gas, but to know when the bio gas is indeed clean, and when the neutralizer is no longer working and time to replace it, let me know. Prayersfarm dot organization.

[tculhane]

@prayersfarmnigeria Our Isreali colleague Yair Teller, building biogas systems with Palestinian colleagues of ours, bought an in-line canister from China that simply has beads of iron it to remove the H2SO4. I've also been told to use steel wool also; don't know if it removes all; we've never run the engines long enough to see how much damage might be done. I appreciate your experience with diesel gens!

[d3adp001]

instead of the insinkeration can you use a more static load, like multiple 500 watt work lights?

I guess the bottom line is this, how many KWHR per day does the bioreactor make. Is it better used in electrical production, or just for heat.

BTW the engine sounds like maybe some gas pressure regulation is in order to stabilize the fuel delivery. But I dont know if you are regulating or not. Just suggesting.

Great work, I would like very much to get to the bioreactor stuff, but first, solar.

[tculhane]

@d3adp001 Also, yes, I need gas pressure regulation. I'm using 6 bricks on top of a tottering gas collector to provide the pressure. Thats about 20 kg. I've designed a different system that uses water pressure to force the gas out and is much more efficient but can't build it on our porch. We did build that system in California though. Works much better. But at home we do what we can, right?

[JimboJitsu]

Gasoline contains water and if you watch it will drip out of tail pipes so I would guess you do not need to remove moisture from biogas. is the moisture from line condensation and is noticeable in the cotton??

Very cool video, I have a suggestion of moving your camera next time... I watched you do nothing for about 2 minutes while the generator hid your actions from view... Love what you are doing and hope to see lots more!!!

[tculhane]

@JimboJitsu Thanks for the note about the water-- no I didn't notice any build up on the cotton. The moisture is never a problem when it is running. What I have trouble with is starting the thing (which is why I ripped the pull cord here and in Cairo Egypt when we tried this). I regapped the spark plug to .5 mm (.02") and I start with the throttle closed, but what you can't see me doing in those 2 minutes is pressing the primer button on the regulator.

[prayersfarmnigeria]

I've heard that compressing it to 2500 psi (or 2800), it liquefies and can be stored in a pressured small fuel cell. Much handier that a giant tank or balloon, but now you need a source of power to run a special "safe" compressor that will reach 2500 psi. Trade off?

[prayersfarmnigeria]

Cooking or heating is the most practical use for the gas. Using it for running a generator seems to be too expensive in the long run of things in the US. In Nigeria where we are wanting to use it we are hoping to do enough experiments to finally learn how to economically use it in a small scale. Large scale seems to make or save some $. The best free medium for filtration, and looks like what marketed professionally, is metal band saw cuttings from a local machine shop. FREE.

[3DCGdesign]

@prayersfarmnigeria I also read about a "precipitation" method of cleaning the gas that requires, believe it or not, that you force are to bubble up through the digester itself, oxidizing the iron oxide. Procede with caution, and do careful study before attempting this method, as it can lead to explosion if adding air incorrectly or too much.

[3DCGdesign]

@prayersfarmnigeria just found this nice vid: aju_kNKNtXw "How to make a biogas filter" which is simple and clear and cheap. However, I don't know how to know for sure that it is "indeed" clean. The idea is simply to put in something that will rust that has a lot of surface area, forcing the gas to rust that thing instead of the engine parts. The baking soda in the water bubbler attempts to clean the rest missed by the wool. Replace filter parts as needed. I don't know more.

[junrkp]

it is safe if i compressed the biogas?...

[Sheilanagig]

@bryncomeaux we have to import lumber here because we don't have very many trees. I was thinking of going with straw bales, which are cheaper still and easier to work with, and best of all available in abundance where I am located in the great plains.

[bryncomeaux]

@bryncomeaux THE WALLS FLOOR AND CEILING OF A 24'X24' HOUSE COST ABOUT $3700.00 US OR $8 A SQUARE FOOT. IT RESIST HIGH WIND. AND OTHER DISATERS LIKE FLOOD. I DESIGNED THE POST OF 2X10 PRESSUR TREATED LAYERED 4 BOARDS WIDE INTO AN BASIC L SHAPE AT THE CORNERS THE 2X4 REST ON THE TWO INNER BOARDS BUT THE 2 OUTER BOARDS EXTEND ALL THE WAY UP THE INNER AND ALSO THE OUTER WALL AND ARE THROUGH BOLTED ALL TOGETER. THIS AND A SIX FOOT DEPTH CREATE MASSIVE LATERAL BRACING. N MOTHER EARTH NEWS

[bryncomeaux]

@Sheilanagig THE STACKED LUMBER WALL IS BASICALLY A LOG CABIN THAT USED 2X4 OR 2X6 DIMENSIONAL LUMBER LAID FLAT IN SUCSESSION AND NAILED TO EACH OTHER. THE RESULT IS A WALL WHERE YOU CAN ONLY SEE THE EDGE OF THE 2X4. IT HAS MANY ADVANTAGES INCLUDING LOW MAINTENANCE AND LOW COST. IT IS EASY TO BUILD AND VERY DURABLE. THE FLOR ANC CEILING ARE MADE THE SAME WAY. A FLAT ROOF OF EPDM IS ENVISIONED. BECAUSE THE WALL ARE A BUILT UIP BEAM THE SPAN BETWEEN POST IS 8-12 FEET.

[randacnam7321]

@JimboJitsu  The water is the result of the oxidation of the hydrogen in the gasoline, not something that was originally in the fuel.

[Sheilanagig]

I've heard that the Chinese scrub their biogas by percolating it through water tubes. Then they compress it and use it to run engines. I think they still use diesel to start the engines, but after that it's compressed biogass.

I'm just starting to learn about biogas. I live in a rural area in the midwestern US, and we have a severe housing shortage. We'd be able to build more in the rural areas if there were a plus to it, like small communities producing their own biogas energy.