Wood powered tanks?

[sferrin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3apnzNVHtLg

 

[Jemiba]

"Wood powered tanks? Lost technology"

Not lost, but still in use, according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas

"....Wood gasifiers are still manufactured in China and Russia for automobiles and as power generators for industrial applications. Trucks retrofitted with wood gasifiers are used in North Korea[4] in rural areas, particularly on the roads of the east coast."

 

[Hobbes]

"Lost technology" seems a strange way to describe this. "Lost" implies we don't know how to do this anymore, but we do. The video shows several examples, plus a handy diagram for building your own.

The reason it isn't in widespread use anymore is that it's rather inefficient.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Related older topic: http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,17267.0.html

 

[Jemiba]

Well, that post (http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,17267.msg165535.html?PHPSESSID=o0446g0dbdls0cmj6cauujn9f3#msg165535)
wasn't quite correct there, too, as the theme were "Steam engines for tanks".
But we can widen this thread to "Wood gas powered vehicles", of course and integrate that
trucks here.

 

[marauder2048]

"Lost technology" seems a strange way to describe this. "Lost" implies we don't know how to do this anymore, but we do. The video shows several examples, plus a handy diagram for building your own.

The reason it isn't in widespread use anymore is that it's rather inefficient.

Producer gas powered vehicles also have the unpleasant problems of high toxicity (lots of CO) and a high risk of explosion due to
hydrogen gas accumulation.

 

[edwest4]

See the book: Wartime Woodburners: Gas Producer Vehicles in World War II by John Fuller Ryan. And here: http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/gas-powered-fahrschulwanne-tanks.php

 

[Charlesferdinand]

"Lost technology" seems a strange way to describe this. "Lost" implies we don't know how to do this anymore, but we do. The video shows several examples, plus a handy diagram for building your own.

The reason it isn't in widespread use anymore is that it's rather inefficient.

A few years ago I stood next to a wood burning combined heat and power unit. It produced wood gas, which in turn powered a four stroke engine to produce electricity. Excess heat from the various stages of the process was recuperated to drive the gasification. A marvel of engineering. Heath Robinson would have been proud.