Gasifier Experimenters Kit

LEVEL IV – Complete Kit |  BASIC Kit Add-Ons – Auger – GCU – Pyrocoil |  LEVEL III – You Weld it
LEVEL II  – Sheet metal Only |  LEVEL I Flanges only

The Everything Complete Kit The Level IV GEK kit arrives at your door with fabrication completed, ready for you to assemble and run. Assembly on your end is minor, requiring only basic wrench turning and plumbing. There is no welding or other metal work required. Every detail part, down “to the last nut and bolt”, is included.

The formal Assembly and First Firing instructions are here.

The Level IV kit also includes good temperature and pressure instruments so you can understand what is happening in your GEK, test out your personal configurations and customizations, and share the knowledge with others. The instrumentation package is pictured above and includes: – two channel digital thermocouple reader (type K) – two type K soft thermocouples, each 40″ long – one type K hard probe of 24″ length, with handle (good Omega instrument) – low pressure inches of H2O manometer to read vacuum, (we now include a dual column manometer instead of the pictured gauges. the gauges are too easy to clog.), and a digital fuel moisture meter tester.

Auger kit parts only, you fab: Rolled sheetmetal parts, motor and auger, no welding: $795

Fuel level sensing is via a simple mechanical plunger which directly controls the auger motor.  The drive motor is a pdm controlled 12vdc brushless gear motor for rpm between 10 and 50rpm. The solution also incorporates a stirring rod down the center of the reactor to help reduce bridging. The v3.0 GEK will include this stirrer as a default part of the kit, but if one does not already have it, it will be included with the auger.

More details on the GEK auger are in the wiki here.

GCU: Half fill $695

The board offers a generous number of thermocouple, pressure, analog signal, and rpm timer inputs, with a similarly generous array of PWM speed control, servo driver and higher current DC switched outputs. Networking to other devices is supported via USB, serial, SD card and CANbus (the networking standard for contemporary engine systems).  These features operate on top of a powerful native processor for stand alone operation, with a 4 line screen included for in situ instrument reading without a computer monitor.

The GEK GCU is based on an Atmel AVR processor, with Arduino compatible firmware and software installed on top.  This allows us to leverage the tremendously large user base and code libraries of the Arduino environment, though deployed over a richer measurement and control base than typical Arduino projects.

More details on the GCU are in the GEKwiki here.

PyroCoil parts, you fab: Rolled sheetmetal pieces, no welding: $695

Using external heat sources to assist pyrolysis is an old idea in gasification.  What is new here is a method to implement it easily, as part of the modular GEK gasifier system.   The PyroCoil is designed as a simple double-jacketed shell which inserts into the standard GEK downdraft reactor, and bolts to the reactor top flange.  It can be used with or without the fuel feed Auger.  When used with the Auger, the PyroCoil replaces the doghouse lid that usually joins the Auger to the Reactor.  The auger attaches to the large circular hole on the side.  The two square flanges and mamifolds are for hot gas in and less hot gas out (no, the cyclone does not go here, is just the same flange shape).  Internal baffles are used to circulate this gas down and around the double jacketed shell.  The small holes through the sides of the shell are for tar recirculation systems in the hearth zone.

More details on the PyroCoil are in the GEKwiki here.

All vessel tubes, flanges and endplates, + plumbing, hoses, blower/vac, instrumentation, and other details.

The Level III kit includes all the rolled tubes, flange rings and end plates needed to make all vessels, as well as all accessory parts required to complete the full GEK gasifier system. The Level III kit is identical in parts to the Level IV kit, just all the welding is left for you to complete. This will require a MIG wire feed welder and modest welding skills. All the sheet metal parts are precut on a CNC plasma table and professionally rolled. You receive a kit that fits together easily and accurately, without any additional cutting or grinding. Nonetheless, expect about 3 full days of work to weld together the vessels. 2 more days for other assembly details. The Level III kit includes many accessory parts past the obvious plumbing needs, as well as the temp and pressure instruments listed above.

Plumbing and Accessories: – plumbing to make air inlets and nozzles – stainless steel air preheating / gas cooling tubes. 6′ long. – ash handling mechanical parts – gas cowling legs – output gas plumbing – cyclone and filter plumbing – centrifugal vac/blower and motor – 8′ soft hose to burner – burner nozzle and plumbing – hose clamps – filter packing – gasket material – pipe tape – nuts and bolts – etc etc.

Instrumentation: – two channel digital thermocouple reader (type K) – two type K soft thermocouples, each 40″ long – one type K hard probe of 24″ length, with handle (good Omega instrument) – low pressure inches of H2O manometer to read vacuum. See the GEK wiki sandbox for the complete fabrication instructions.

For those short on money, but still wanting a quality end product, we enourage you to resist the temptations of the full “build it from junk” route, and at least start with a full CNC plasma cut sheetmetal vessel kit. The Level II kit gives you all the tubes, flanges and end plates you need to build all component vessels. The full sheetmetal kit greatly simplifies the building process vs scrap tanks, while increasing the accuracy and impress of the finished product. You will still have to source all the plumbing parts, gaskets, motor, fasteners, instruments, etc to build it. The list of additional needed parts is here. Sourcing these remaining parts will likely cost you more in money and certainly more time in hassle than just gettting it all together as a Level III or IV kit. But some like to do it the hard way, thus we continue to offer the Level I and II kits. For everyone else, we encourage you to choose the Level III or Level IV kit above.

For those who have very little money, and insist on doing it the really hard way, we offer the following: You can build your GEK for minimum money (and maximum effort) from scrap tanks and the above flange and end plate kit. GEK vessel dimensions are based on common propane and air tanks found in North America, so the same flanges and end plates will work for an “obtainium” build as our purpose manufactured vessel tubes described in Level II-IV.

For the “build it from junk” route, you will need scrap tanks of 10″, 12″ and 14.75″ diameters. 10″ is typical for hand held air transfer tanks and some truck pony tanks. 12″ is typical for 5 and 10 gal propane tanks. 14.75″ is typical for a 100lb/25gal propane tank. (Warning: There’s a surprising amount dimensional variation on “standardized tanks” between different tank manufacturers. This can complicate the fit of flanges and end plates to the scrap tanks.) You fight the grease, rusted in valves, and smelly impregnated gas, then cut the tanks apart (taking care to avoid unwanted internal combustion), and weld on the above flanges and end plates. You will still have to improvise for the cyclone, filter, blower, burner and hopper. Full dimensions on the download page here. Fabricating instructions are in the GEK wiki sandbox.

Welded and painted sheetmetal fan assembly, three speed fan motor, $149

Welded and painted, $149