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You can see wood gas if you make a fire.... fresh log on top starts giving off these whitish vapors. The 'fire' on the log starts when the vapor combusts. Vapour mix depends on humidity, O2 content etc and is different kinds of -thanes (methane, propane...) + volatile compounds like alcohols

And I'll be damned, turns out wood gas is way more useful today, than the shitty old ones from early 1900s that everyone thinks of. They still make and sell the wood gas converters that can be attached to a normal gas car without any change needed. Roughly 25 lb of wood per gallon of petrol in a car:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas

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Scruffy_Nerfherder@wolfballs.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
This really becomes interesting when you apply it to SHTF scenarios where you're largely on your own.

Imagine a scenario like a real pandemic where you are one of the few people left. Wood gas is easy to make and with a little ingenuity can power lots of stuff.

Gas is always better, but I can't make that.

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- iamtanmay@wolfballs.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
  It definitely is. To answer the storage question, according to what I read, they don't store it, rather the 'digestor' creates gas from wood for immediate use. There are a lot of wood gas powered cars around the world today - mostly in very poor places.
  
  I wonder how you DIY create one to hook it to a car
  
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  - Scruffy_Nerfherder@wolfballs.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfznunVzKY
    
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    iamtanmay@wolfballs.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
    I have huge respect for that man. He is an every day Joe, but he investigates so many interesting projects, and he gets the job done
    
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  - Scruffy_Nerfherder@wolfballs.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
    The digester isn't hard, hooking it to a car would be beyond me ATM.
    
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    iamtanmay@wolfballs.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
    You know what would be smart ? Cooking the wood beforehand with parabolic mirrors, aka solar heating, storing the gas and using it later
    
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    iamtanmay@wolfballs.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
    Same guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=522BaxM0Jnk
    
    Basically, you can pipe the digestor directly to the engine instead of a gas tank. Won't work with a diesel engine, because it won't ignite without a small amount of starting diesel. Like the guy says, gas engines work fine... some kinds like 2 strokes need lubricant oil in addition.
    
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