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[email protected] August 7th 06 10:43 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
Has anyone ever seen any plans for a wood powered car?
I know they have been made. With the gas going up and up and up, I am
ready to start building one. I got plenty of dead trees, thus wood on
my farm. If you have some plans, please post what you got, and if
there is a way to get them in digital format. Or, is there a website?
All that Google is offering are useless blogs (as usual, that seems to
be about the only thing google finds lately).

Thanks

Mark

Doug Miller August 7th 06 12:10 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
In article , wrote:
Has anyone ever seen any plans for a wood powered car?
I know they have been made. With the gas going up and up and up, I am
ready to start building one. I got plenty of dead trees, thus wood on
my farm. If you have some plans, please post what you got, and if
there is a way to get them in digital format. Or, is there a website?
All that Google is offering are useless blogs (as usual, that seems to
be about the only thing google finds lately).


Google "Stanley Steamer". :-)

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

m Ransley August 7th 06 02:11 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
It was done in Europe in ww2, google it, you are looking for the
energy-gas in the smoke.


Harry K August 7th 06 02:55 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 

wrote:
Has anyone ever seen any plans for a wood powered car?
I know they have been made. With the gas going up and up and up, I am
ready to start building one. I got plenty of dead trees, thus wood on
my farm. If you have some plans, please post what you got, and if
there is a way to get them in digital format. Or, is there a website?
All that Google is offering are useless blogs (as usual, that seems to
be about the only thing google finds lately).

Thanks

Mark


The wood gasification setups during the war were 'useable' but the
vehicles had very low power. It would get you there but in its own
sweet time. M.E.N. had a series of articles on how to build one back in
the 60s before they went yuppie. You might try googling them.

Harry K


Louis Boyd August 7th 06 02:57 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
wrote:
Has anyone ever seen any plans for a wood powered car?
I know they have been made. With the gas going up and up and up, I am
ready to start building one. I got plenty of dead trees, thus wood on
my farm. If you have some plans, please post what you got, and if
there is a way to get them in digital format. Or, is there a website?
All that Google is offering are useless blogs (as usual, that seems to
be about the only thing google finds lately).


I doubt you'll find any plans. The most practical way to power a car by
burning wood I can think of would we an electric car charged by a
stationary steam powered generator. You could be driving on one set of
batteries while another is being charged. For direct burning of wood
you might be able to use a steam or Stirling cycle engine, but you'd
have the problem how to stoke the engine while driving, problems with
starting and stopping it for typical practical trips, and problems
controlling emissions. Small steam engines don't seem to be
commercially available (I've looked for solar projects) and making
your own that's reliable would be a major engineering and machining
effort.

Pat August 7th 06 03:17 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
Might be cheaper/easier to convert your house over to wood and use the
savings to buy gasoline (or better yet, diesel or get a hybrid)


wrote:
Has anyone ever seen any plans for a wood powered car?
I know they have been made. With the gas going up and up and up, I am
ready to start building one. I got plenty of dead trees, thus wood on
my farm. If you have some plans, please post what you got, and if
there is a way to get them in digital format. Or, is there a website?
All that Google is offering are useless blogs (as usual, that seems to
be about the only thing google finds lately).

Thanks

Mark



[email protected] August 7th 06 03:32 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
woods a lot of work, cut the tree down, cut theb tree up, haul the logs
to wherever your going to use them, split the logs stack the logs,
allow the logs to dry, haul the logs, burn the logs, now dispose of the
ashes.

get a job at a mini mart its probably more cost effective and a lot
less work.

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was proud
of it.

I asked about how many hours it took his family for all the work vs the
money saved.

he would of done far better at minimum wage:(

The look on his face was priceless...........


Elmo August 7th 06 04:01 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
wrote:
woods a lot of work, cut the tree down, cut theb tree up, haul the logs
to wherever your going to use them, split the logs stack the logs,
allow the logs to dry, haul the logs, burn the logs, now dispose of the
ashes.

get a job at a mini mart its probably more cost effective and a lot
less work.

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was proud
of it.

I asked about how many hours it took his family for all the work vs the
money saved.

he would of done far better at minimum wage:(

The look on his face was priceless...........


You left out the opportunity cost of the exercise vs. no exercise
vs. paying for membership in a club vs. buying home equipment.
Value of ash as source of K for garden and as a way to keep the pH up.
Value of being able to cook and stay warm during 4 days without any
electricity due to ice storm.
Actual cost of alternative heat source -- electric resistance, heat
pump, oil fueled, natural gas fueled, geothermal, making more babies,
huddling with dogs in a heap on the bed...

--
A cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
See Also: MBA.

Jim Ledford August 7th 06 09:17 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
wrote:

Has anyone ever seen any plans for a wood powered car?
I know they have been made. With the gas going up and up and up,


[....]

http://dwb.newsobserver.com/24hour/b...12318274c.html

[email protected] August 7th 06 09:40 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
On 7 Aug 2006 06:55:57 -0700, "Harry K"
wrote:


wrote:
Has anyone ever seen any plans for a wood powered car?
I know they have been made. With the gas going up and up and up, I am
ready to start building one. I got plenty of dead trees, thus wood on
my farm. If you have some plans, please post what you got, and if
there is a way to get them in digital format. Or, is there a website?
All that Google is offering are useless blogs (as usual, that seems to
be about the only thing google finds lately).

Thanks

Mark


The wood gasification setups during the war were 'useable' but the
vehicles had very low power. It would get you there but in its own
sweet time. M.E.N. had a series of articles on how to build one back in
the 60s before they went yuppie. You might try googling them.

Harry K



M.E.N. What's that ???????????


lee houston August 7th 06 10:43 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 

wrote in message
...
M.E.N. What's that ???????????


Mother Earth News



Shiver August 7th 06 11:24 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
If your going to consider distilates of wood... whatever.

Then why not just tow a low pressure vessel filled with steer manure
and a little water.

The methane that is produced should get your car going a little ways
down the road.

Larry Caldwell August 8th 06 08:20 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
In article om,
) says...
Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was proud
of it.

I asked about how many hours it took his family for all the work vs the
money saved.

he would of done far better at minimum wage:(


Back in the days when fuel oil was $0.17 a gallon, I can see that
working out. Nowadays, I doubt that very much, unless he was in
absolutely lousy physical condition. Wood is my primary heat source,
and I don't spend much time putting up wood. Three or four days a year
is all, call it a couple weekends, and my labor is tax free. The
payback is worth several hundred dollars, plus tax. That's pretty good
pay.

--
For email, replace firstnamelastinitial
with my first name and last initial.

Farm1 August 8th 06 09:38 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
wrote in message
Has anyone ever seen any plans for a wood powered car?
I know they have been made.


Do a google on the Stanley Steamer. I've only ever seen one of these
in the flesh but it was magnificent - a huge sports model.

Oh hell, I did one for you:
http://www.steamengine.com.au/steam/...ald/index.html
http://www.clubvw.org.au/ssssssteam_heat.htm
http://www.stanleysteamers.com/
http://www.stanleymotorcarriage.com/
http://www.bruceatkinson.com/stanley...anleysteamer.h
tml
http://www.prewarcar.com/links_relat...nley%20Steamer




Farm1 August 8th 06 09:40 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
wrote in message

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was

proud
of it.


Good grief! Don't most people on farms still do that?





Dean Hoffman August 8th 06 11:35 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
In article
,
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote:

wrote in message

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was

proud
of it.


Good grief! Don't most people on farms still do that?


Not too many as far as I can tell. I don't see a lot of woodpiles
in the yards. I think wood burning stoves make insurance companies
nervous. Propane and natural gas are probably the most common in my
area.
One of the local farm stores started selling corn burning stoves last
year. I've thought about it. I don't know if it would be allowed in my
neighborhood due to the storage.

Dean

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Elmo August 8th 06 01:10 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
Dean Hoffman wrote:
In article
,
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote:

wrote in message

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was

proud
of it.

Good grief! Don't most people on farms still do that?


Not too many as far as I can tell. I don't see a lot of woodpiles
in the yards. I think wood burning stoves make insurance companies
nervous. Propane and natural gas are probably the most common in my
area.



Nervous? Nervous!!! Gives 'em palpitations at the mere thought that
they might have to pay out a claim. Just ask the people in the areas
of Queens and Long Island who are getting their homeowners insurance
canceled on the chance that sometime in the next 10 years or so a
Cat 3+ hurricane might wander up the NJ coast and flood those areas.
Bloody insurance companies make stockbrokers look like choirboys.

One of the local farm stores started selling corn burning stoves last
year. I've thought about it. I don't know if it would be allowed in my
neighborhood due to the storage.

Dean

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http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
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--
"Dialogue is impossible without some shared sense of reality...
What's lacking isn't just truth, it's the entire social
mechanism by which truth is distinguished from falsehood."
Michelle Goldberg

Ann August 8th 06 01:12 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
On Tue, 08 Aug 2006 05:35:34 -0500, Dean Hoffman wrote:

In article
,
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote:

wrote in message

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was

proud
of it.


Good grief! Don't most people on farms still do that?


Not too many as far as I can tell. I don't see a lot of woodpiles
in the yards. I think wood burning stoves make insurance companies
nervous. Propane and natural gas are probably the most common in my
area.


Coal was more commonly used here (than wood) until the natural gas
pipeline went through 50+ years ago. Chain saws made it easier to cut
wood, but it's still labor intensive. A few people have the outdoor wood
furnaces. And, enough people bought wood pellet stoves last year that
there was a shortage of pellets and the price doubled. It might be a
different story if wood was the primary heat source, but my insurance
company is ok with wood stoves.

One of the local farm stores started selling corn burning stoves last
year. I've thought about it. I don't know if it would be allowed in my
neighborhood due to the storage.

Dean


[email protected] August 8th 06 01:17 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
Imagine the pollution issues if a bunch started using wood for fuel?
Let alone fires om garages and such with wood you cant just throw a
switch....


Ann August 8th 06 01:26 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
On Tue, 08 Aug 2006 05:17:34 -0700, wrote:

Imagine the pollution issues if a bunch started using wood for fuel?


You don't have to imagine it. Check out the situation in the Denver
area.

Let alone fires om garages and such with wood you cant just throw a
switch....





Harry K August 8th 06 04:36 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 

Farm1 wrote:
wrote in message

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was

proud
of it.


Good grief! Don't most people on farms still do that?


No. I am in the middle of farm country and can't name anyone except
myself who does. Now there are a _lot_ of town folk that do.

Harry K


Harry K August 8th 06 04:39 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 

Ann wrote:
On Tue, 08 Aug 2006 05:35:34 -0500, Dean Hoffman wrote:

In article
,
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote:

wrote in message

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was
proud
of it.

Good grief! Don't most people on farms still do that?


Not too many as far as I can tell. I don't see a lot of woodpiles
in the yards. I think wood burning stoves make insurance companies
nervous. Propane and natural gas are probably the most common in my
area.


Coal was more commonly used here (than wood) until the natural gas
pipeline went through 50+ years ago. Chain saws made it easier to cut
wood, but it's still labor intensive. A few people have the outdoor wood
furnaces. And, enough people bought wood pellet stoves last year that
there was a shortage of pellets and the price doubled. It might be a
different story if wood was the primary heat source, but my insurance
company is ok with wood stoves.

One of the local farm stores started selling corn burning stoves last
year. I've thought about it. I don't know if it would be allowed in my
neighborhood due to the storage.

Dean


My company was fine with it but only after doing a very thorough
examination of the installation. I have seen a few that the insurance
isn't going to pay off on if they ever have a fire as they don't come
even close to a safe installation.

Harry K


Harry K August 8th 06 04:41 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 

wrote:
woods a lot of work, cut the tree down, cut theb tree up, haul the logs
to wherever your going to use them, split the logs stack the logs,
allow the logs to dry, haul the logs, burn the logs, now dispose of the
ashes.

get a job at a mini mart its probably more cost effective and a lot
less work.

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was proud
of it.

I asked about how many hours it took his family for all the work vs the
money saved.

he would of done far better at minimum wage:(

The look on his face was priceless...........


I suspect the look on his face was because he couldn't believe someone
would make such a clueless remark.

Harry K


db August 8th 06 05:32 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 

RT wrote:
On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 04:43:03 -0500, wrote:


Let me know if the sites are gone. I have most of this stuff archived if I can
find it.


Hope this helps

-RT


RT - Thank you for a STRAIGHT ANSWER I appreciate the lack of
nay-saying and BS

Don


Matthew Beasley August 8th 06 07:41 PM

Wood heat, Topic drift was Wood Powered Car ?
 

"Larry Caldwell" wrote in message
.. .
In article om,
) says...
Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was proud
of it.

I asked about how many hours it took his family for all the work vs the
money saved.

he would of done far better at minimum wage:(


Back in the days when fuel oil was $0.17 a gallon, I can see that
working out. Nowadays, I doubt that very much, unless he was in
absolutely lousy physical condition. Wood is my primary heat source,
and I don't spend much time putting up wood. Three or four days a year
is all, call it a couple weekends, and my labor is tax free. The
payback is worth several hundred dollars, plus tax. That's pretty good
pay.

--
For email, replace firstnamelastinitial
with my first name and last initial.


I consider a chainsaw a must out in the boonies, so I won't include that
cost. It's both needed in an emergency and to keep the downed trees cleared
out.

First is the wood availability. I might get a 1/4 of my needed wood off my
own property. The rest needs to be scrounged up. Locals seem to do well
cleaning up slash piles from the local timber companies as long as they stay
on their good side. That is usually free as long as you make things better
when you leave then when you got there. Done right, I won't pay for that
either.

Where the cost is a problem is in the stove and installation. A DEQ
qualifying stove is $1800 to $2200 for my size house. Figure another $400
to $500 for a stainless triple wall stovepipe. Install I could do myself.
At least a few hundred more for a hearth and sundry other items. Since the
house already has a heat pump and I would keep it as backup, this means all
the money is against the cost of wood. My insurance is OK with a wood
stove, but it would add $200 a year - if it was inspected by them and done
right. I figure I'm going to add one of the outdoor stoves if I'm going to
do it. This won't add anything to my insurance if it's more than 10 feet
from the house. Plus I can feed it big wood cutting the labor.

Since my total heat bill for the winter is $400 to $600, that's a while to
pay back.



Pat August 8th 06 08:30 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
Just great. A car that actually smells worse than diesel.

Would you have to use horse manure in your Mustang.

In 10 years, do you envision everyone driving a Kia Fart?


Shiver wrote:
If your going to consider distilates of wood... whatever.

Then why not just tow a low pressure vessel filled with steer manure
and a little water.

The methane that is produced should get your car going a little ways
down the road.



[email protected] August 8th 06 09:28 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 

Harry K wrote:
wrote:
woods a lot of work, cut the tree down, cut theb tree up, haul the logs
to wherever your going to use them, split the logs stack the logs,
allow the logs to dry, haul the logs, burn the logs, now dispose of the
ashes.

get a job at a mini mart its probably more cost effective and a lot
less work.

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was proud
of it.

I asked about how many hours it took his family for all the work vs the
money saved.

he would of done far better at minimum wage:(

The look on his face was priceless...........


I suspect the look on his face was because he couldn't believe someone
would make such a clueless remark.

Harry K


Hey he bragged about saving so much money, thats great.

But his dollars per hours of work were a loser, sad but true I just
pointed it out.


Shiver August 8th 06 09:29 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
Pat wrote:

In 10 years, do you envision everyone driving a Kia Fart?


In 100 years from now I envision your great grandchildren having
nothing to drive.

[email protected] August 8th 06 10:16 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 

Doug Miller wrote:
Google "Stanley Steamer". :-)


The Stanley Steamer was powered by petroleum-based fuel.


Rich256 August 8th 06 11:46 PM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
Shiver wrote:
Pat wrote:


In 10 years, do you envision everyone driving a Kia Fart?


In 100 years from now I envision your great grandchildren having
nothing to drive.


100 years from now there will quite likely be nuclear plants all over
the country producing electricity which will be used to make Hydrogen.
It could be the fuel of choice. I expect it will be relatively more
expensive than what we pay for gasoline but still will most likely be
the cheapest fuel available.

(PeteCresswell) August 9th 06 12:17 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
Per Ann:
Imagine the pollution issues if a bunch started using wood for fuel?


You don't have to imagine it. Check out the situation in the Denver
area.


Even where I live - suburbia - all it takes is one person dumping trash into
their fireplace and it gets *really* bad...
--
PeteCresswell

August 9th 06 02:37 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 

Actually, there's much to be said for a steam-powered vehicle.
They're supposed to be quite efficient.

Probably 1/3 of the US population lives in the Sun-Belt,
so there's no problem with freezing, or long warm-ups.

A steam powered vehicle could burn darn near
anything that makes heat. ( kerosene, diesel etc. )
Hell... you could burn corrn.
It would reduce the demand for ( refined ) gasoline.

A steamer would be the perfect suburban "errand car"
And, you can wait 45 secs for it to warm up.
You don't need a Hummer to go buy grocerys.

Unfortunately, if US automakers produced it,
it'd probably cost $20,000

rj

August 9th 06 02:37 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
On Tue, 08 Aug 2006 22:46:48 GMT, Rich256 wrote:

100 years from now there will quite likely be nuclear plants all over
the country producing electricity which will be used to make Hydrogen.
It could be the fuel of choice. I expect it will be relatively more
expensive than what we pay for gasoline but still will most likely be
the cheapest fuel available.


Look at issues of Popular Mechanics/Popular Science from the 1950's.
By now, ( the year 2000 )
we're all supposed to be flying personal sized atomic powered airplanes.


rj

Farm1 August 9th 06 02:40 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
"Dean Hoffman" wrote in message
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote:

wrote in message

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was

proud
of it.


Good grief! Don't most people on farms still do that?


Not too many as far as I can tell. I don't see a lot of

woodpiles
in the yards. I think wood burning stoves make insurance companies
nervous. Propane and natural gas are probably the most common in

my
area.


Our insurance company wouldn't have a clue how we heat our house and
nor do they seem to care.



Farm1 August 9th 06 02:42 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
wrote in message
Imagine the pollution issues if a bunch started using wood for fuel?
Let alone fires om garages and such with wood you cant just throw a
switch....


Are you serious?

Imagine the pollution if people started using electricity from coal
powered electricity plants or the spent uranium form nuclear powered
plants.



Farm1 August 9th 06 02:47 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
"Harry K" wrote in message
wrote:
woods a lot of work, cut the tree down, cut theb tree up, haul the

logs
to wherever your going to use them, split the logs stack the logs,
allow the logs to dry, haul the logs, burn the logs, now dispose

of the
ashes.

get a job at a mini mart its probably more cost effective and a

lot
less work.

Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was

proud
of it.

I asked about how many hours it took his family for all the work

vs the
money saved.

he would of done far better at minimum wage:(

The look on his face was priceless...........


I suspect the look on his face was because he couldn't believe

someone
would make such a clueless remark.


LOL. Your comment is spot on. How clueless is it to write about
pollution from fires when all this person appears to want to do is to
export the pollution caused by his/her heating into someone else's
backyard and to inflict it on the people who live where the
electricity plants are located.



Farm1 August 9th 06 02:51 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
wrote in message
Doug Miller wrote:
Google "Stanley Steamer". :-)


The Stanley Steamer was powered by petroleum-based fuel.


Not the one I saw. It was powered by solid fuel and had a boiler like
an ancient marine vessel. Mind you Australia has had some
exceptionally rare cars come in from around the world because we had
no manufacturing base for a long time. It used to be a favourite
collecting place for rich American car enthusiasts.





Harry K August 9th 06 02:58 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 

Larry Caldwell wrote:
In article om,
) says...
Years ago I knew a fellow who heated his home with wood and was proud
of it.

I asked about how many hours it took his family for all the work vs the
money saved.

he would of done far better at minimum wage:(


Back in the days when fuel oil was $0.17 a gallon, I can see that
working out. Nowadays, I doubt that very much, unless he was in
absolutely lousy physical condition. Wood is my primary heat source,
and I don't spend much time putting up wood. Three or four days a year
is all, call it a couple weekends, and my labor is tax free. The
payback is worth several hundred dollars, plus tax. That's pretty good
pay.

--
For email, replace firstnamelastinitial
with my first name and last initial.


I piddle around with it about 1 trip every week during the summer/fall.
If I counted only the cost of labor, it would be a losing proposition.
But there are the health benefits, the enjoyment of being out there in
nature, the money saved by not doing something else for recreation,
etc. The cost of a club membership to get the same excercise would be
considerable by itself.

Yep, I could make more money clerking a gas station for example but
would be totally bored doing it and would hate every minute.

Harry K


Michael Daly August 9th 06 06:23 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
Farm1 wrote:

LOL. Your comment is spot on. How clueless is it to write about
pollution from fires when all this person appears to want to do is to
export the pollution caused by his/her heating into someone else's
backyard and to inflict it on the people who live where the
electricity plants are located.


Cheap wood stoves are dirty. The most efficient wood stoves are quite clean.
The kacheloven, properly constructed and used, will burn so hot that you can
safely burn softwood with no creosote buildup and no significant pollution. Not
many people will pay for them, though.

Mike

Michael Daly August 9th 06 06:27 AM

Wood Powered Car ?
 
Rich256 wrote:

100 years from now there will quite likely be nuclear plants all over
the country producing electricity which will be used to make Hydrogen.


Ahhh, the hydrogen myth again. 100 years from now, rechargable battery
technology will be so much better than today that no one will waste their money
on something as silly as hydrogen. Battery electric cars have already been on
the streets available for ordinary consumers (albeit in small numbers - from the
old Baker Electric to the EV1). How many hydrogen cars have been sold in the
last 100 years?

Mike


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