I spent some time last weekend trying to test out my gasifier. It didn't take much work to get it fired up and running but it was not running all that well. I had a major tar issue and not enough vacuum from the furnace inducer motor I tried. After fifteen minutes or so the temperature spiked and the flame went out. I knew it was bridged up but wasn't too sure how to go about breaking it. I turned off the motor and opened the top. With a three foot stick I started to jab at the wood. About the fourth jab she let loose with a mushroom cloud of flame and I had my arm and face right in there.
It's not the the first time I've had things blow up in my face but it has been a long time since the last time. I thought I was getting smarter but I guess it was just luck. "play with fire and you'll get burned" is what my mother would say when I came home with no eye brows/hair. After contemplating what I had done and a little thinking I lit it back up and had a flare for an hour but found I needed to do some more work before I could test it some more.
The flame should be almost invisible during the day, not orange like this. I'm producing too much tar do the fire not being hot enough. I'll need to find a better fan and make a couple modifications before another test. I'll do my best to keep the rest of my hair.
