Wood Gasifier

[Mikhail Reign]

This might be a little preemptive, but since it seems exceptionally likely that we will be able to have generators and/or vehicles in the future, I want to suggest being able to use a wood gasifier as an alternative to petrol.

 

For those that don't know what that is, it is basically extracting gas from wood via heating, which can then be used in combustion engines (or heating etc etc)

 

The process for doing this is very simple and well within the reach of the common man. Wood gas was used before natural gas to heat homes and the like. It was also exceptional common during the petrol shortages of WWII for people to construct them at home to be used to power their cars instead of petrol. They are still made and used all over the world today in many different situations.

 

The basics behind constructing a wood gasifier are:

 

A large container that can be opened and shut (think a 44Gl drum) with a one way valve leading from it. This is placed over a fire, filled with wood (or sawdust, coal or even rubber). The outlet of the one way valve is then ran through some piping to allow it to cool, then a filter (optional) and finally into the carburetor of the engine.

 

What happens is as the wood is heated, it releases hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which then pass thought the pipe, the filter and into the engine to be burnt in the combustion chamber as a petrol replacement.

 

Now as I said, these are an very easy thing to construct by the average man, and in fact, were constructed, en mass, by the average man during times of need. They could be used to fuel a small engine which then runs an generator to provide electricity, or even (as they historically were) hooked directly onto a car to provide a fuel alternative.

 

 

Some links:

Wood Gas = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas

Wood Gasifier = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas_generator

A small simple gasifier to show how they work = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgu9BdHeUYg

Wood gasifier used to power lawn mower engine = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F258s13UxfY

Example of what can be done with a gasifier = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYGKn12Weu4

How to build a gasifier = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDIiEjL5eGM

[Viceroy]

Also, FEMA manuals have instructions to create these in them.

[Aenye Deithven]

Would also work on any organic matter - plastic was my first thought, but there's a lot more organic stuff out there... ^^

[ElBugbeeto]

If only you could put pants into it...so many pants....

[Troblin]

I recently mentioned these as gas generator engines, anyhow, you have to find or jury rig yourself a more or less crude carburator engine - all the other parts are easily constructed by anyone not afraid of some welding. Also to note - a typical car engine crudely recrafted to work on this fuel by a not so ace crafter would only work on like first two gears and get polluted rather fast. But it'd still work. Recommended car - pickup truck to have all gas generation in the back.

[Mikhail Reign]

 

Doesnt have to be a ute . Tho in all seriousness yeah a pickup would be the best option. I was more thinking about it being used to generate electricity when coupled with an alternator out of a car. The type of combustion engines you would find in a rural town would be perfect - think pump motors, tractors, mowers, mixers etc etc etc. They would take very little work to hook to your gasifier.

 

On the cruding of the engine topic tho, they actually run cleaner (for the environment) then running your engine with petrol and if you simply bubble the gas up through water there is very little problem with fouling the engine, especially if you use charcoal instead of wood.

[Troblin]

Aaand while we are on this topic - don't know anything about engines on alternate liquid fuels, but heared it's possible especially with diesels - anyone who can throw ideas could likely do that. I.e. any ways to use combustion engines on anything that burns without being a proper kosher gasoline.

[Mikhail Reign]

Aaand while we are on this topic - don't know anything about engines on alternate liquid fuels, but heared it's possible especially with diesels - anyone who can throw ideas could likely do that. I.e. any ways to use combustion engines on anything that burns without being a proper kosher gasoline.

Sorry mate , but there is a grammatical error or something in that and I'm just not getting the question. If it's what I think it is, yes a gasifier will also run Diesel engines as well.

[Troblin]

Not grammar, its lack of english practice after 1 year of study, sorriez

Was asking about liquid sorts of bio fuel, i.e. plant oils mixed with alcohol etc. Saw an engine working on refined potato waste for a german dude, but it was a not so deed description - some liquid made of non-gasoline sources.

[Serrate Bloodrage]

Plant oil mixed with alcohol works if you find the right mix

[Fluffy]

It is really nice idea.

I have made a similar suggestion before: http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/9694-perishable-fuel-bio-diesel/

 

Though I totally didn't think of this method.

 

I guess it all comes down to what plans the devs have for fuel. The crucial question is, do we want/need a renewable source of fuel?

My answer would be yes. Considering fuel will be a finite resource, so finding enough fuel to run a generator for any length of time would be challenging at best. So for me it would be fun to not only scavange for fuel, which would be very scarce after an appocolypse, but to also have to make your own fuel. Not particularly bothered about what method to use, though I really like the one you have suggested.
 

[Troblin]

At the moment there seem to be 3 completely different outlooks on the game:

1) Minecraft/industrial craft never ending crafting and improvement.  - Cool and supported by idle demons inside most members of the community. Too bad there's already a similar game with better graphics going that way, thus it would suck to compete with it.

2) Sort of an indie depressed survival with limited resources and limited time of survival due to limited resources.  - Minding the fact that people have pressing factors IRL, this sort of game would not work out, cuz it would not give proper relaxation and endgame flexibility.

3) Ever generating plotline, with using fastcraft during relocation, possibly following this scheme: zone falls under zombie siege and start degrading, you survive along with NPCs following some generated quests to get bigger caches of stuff or hiding from some quests and doing small time survival to see more suitable quests. While doing so the area degrades and survival becomes harder, but at some point zombies break the quarantine and with them the players have an option to move to some other zone with fresh loot - partly starting all over, partly keeping the stuff.

Also there can be a combination of 2 and 3 - i.e. ever running quests without randomly generated maps, but it would be also likely to stagnate.

 

Now to the engines - the more expanded the map concept would become - the more useful the lasting engines would be. After playing some diablo 3 to find relaxation in the nothingless of mind, have to state that until game mainframe is developed to defined exact playstyles - there are too many "would"s in ideas regarding engines.

[Fluffy]

You make a good point, it is still early days and any post made here is pure speculation of how the game might develop. In that spirit let me present two possible scenarios of how cars, fuel and generators could impact the game.

 

Scenario 1: Finite amount of Fuel, Infinite Shelf-life.

With a limited amount of fuel dotted around the map, it would limit the amount of long distance car journeys the players would be able to make, equally it would limit the runtime of generators. This would lead to a setting where the player would have to choose carefully how to use the fuel available to them. In the long run the player will be faced with the situation, where he would have to say goodbye to the luxuries of the world gone past, no more fast travel or electricity. A bleak future indeed, but a future that fits the setting of the game rather well. You already have to survive in a world without electricity as the game stands at the moment and I for one think it's a very nice touch and brings home the fact that the world as we know it has ended.

 

Scenario 2: Renewable source of Fuel, Limited Shelf-life.

If you introduce a limit to how long fuel lasts before it spoils (similar to food), then in my opnion it would be wise to present an alternative to scavanged fuel supplies. This would lead to a situation where the player could build a small industry to supply himself with fuel to make as many car journeys as he likes and to end up with a limited but endless supply of electricity, to power things like lights and a fridge. This would change the feel of the game significantly, from a bleak end of the world feel, to a feeling of hope and rebuilding society, with an attempt to reconquer the luxuries of the world gone past.

 

I kind of like both scenarios, though they are mutually exclusive. I like scenario 1 because it continues the feel of the game as it stands. It's a fight for survival with limited luxuries, a struggle as we know, will ultimately end badly. Scenario 2 satisfies my need for tragic endings. You have just started to rebuild your little corner of society, mastered the supply of fuel and electricity only to be bitten or scratched by a random zombie and dying, never to see the fruits of your labour.

 

There are ofcourse many more scenarios. I like discussing the future impacts of introducing cars, fuel and generators because, as shown in my two examples, the impact on the game can be very significant depending on the way it is implemented.