All Power Labs Run A Listeroid On 100% WoodGas
Breaking News
Berkeley, California, 21st Feb. 18:50 Pacific Time.
Following an intensive 2 day gasification workshop at
All Power
Labs, an Indian 6hp Listeroid has run successfully at full power on
woodgas as the result of a simple spark ignition conversion.
Mike Anthony, Ken Boak, Jay Hasty, Darryl Licks and Jim Mason,
aided by workshop attendees and the staff of All Power Labs, got the
engine running on 100% woodgas after an 8 hour conversion process.
The conversion uses a Hall effect sensor detecting a magnet fitted
to the flywheel. An Arduino microcontroller board detects the output
of the Hall sensor as the magnet passes just before TDC. The Arduino
initiates the firing of a spark plug with multiple spark burst and
variable ignition timing.
The woodgas conversion utilized a custom manufactured woodgas
carburetor made by Andy Schofield.
The woodgas was supplied by the newly launched
V4 GEK, put together
by Jay Hasty aided by Opalyn Brenger and Walt Patrick from the
Windward Foundation.
The plans for this spark ignition conversion will be available soon
as an open source resource from All Power Labs. This will allow
existing Listeroid users to benefit from wood gasification directly
without the need to run a dual fuel system.
Listeroid first ever run on WoodGas
Video of the conversion process below:
There will be full parts list, drawings and "How To" released
through
AllPower Labs.
We ran it again for 2 hours last night, having made some
retardations to the
ignition timing. About 5 to 10 degrees before TDC was about the
sweet spot.
We had it lighting up 2.75 kW of halogen lighting, but it kept
popping the
20A breaker when we tried to load it more. It had plenty of pull
left when
we revved it.
Unfortunately we didn't have a power meter available or we would
have got
some more accurate measurements. We hope to have some confirmatory
figures
soon.
Sadly, I fly back to London later today - just as this project is
getting
interesting - however I am leaving it in the capable hands of the
good folks
here, to push it forward and do some real scientific method on it,
working
out the efficiency, fuel economy, heat budget etc etc.
We made a linkage to allow the Listeroid governor to work the
butterfly
valve in Andy Schofield's gas carb and this needs a little more work
and
proving. However, as we have an Arduino timing the spark, we might
just
chuck a R/C servo on the butterfly valve and have the Arduino
control the
throttle.
The Lister was running sweetly at right on 600rpm, - when we pushed
it to
620, the natural resonance of the skid we were mounted on caused
everything
to start shaking - so we stayed at 600 and made power at 53Hz.
I took a load more video last night which I will get up to YouTube.
If anyone is passing through northern California, and wants to see
this
running and have a tinker - I'm sure All Power Labs would be happy
to
accommodate you. Getting this running optimally would be a great
college
vacation internship project. I expect to be reproducing the set-up
this
summer in my workshop back in London.
This could be one of the best things happening to a Lister, since
1929 ;-)
Video Of The Listeroid WoodGas Conversion Part 1-3
Video Of The Listeroid WoodGas Conversion Part 2-3 (Custom Head Gasket)
Video Of The Listeroid WoodGas Conversion Part 2-3 (Lister CS Sad Face)