I have been getting excited about a gasifier that was used extensively to power vehicles during WWII. The Imbert gasifier. Since the gas has to be cooled before it gets to the motor fueled by it, a permanent fixture could provide gas, for a generator and residue heat for home or water heater. Would be great for homesteaders. So use the free heat, done properly you could, hook it up to an outdoor wood type stove or you could even power a refrigerator and or a air conditioner with the hot exhaust gas (RV equipment). Corn farmers, corn husks are excellent fuel for this operation. The limits of the use are your imagination. Look up Imbert Gasifier for the plans and information needed.
"We 'Prep.' to live after a downfall, Not just to survive."
It's proven technology that was used because it's simple and it works.
Some books and stuff on building one, easy stuff.
http://www.solar1234.com/
And speaking of Jim Mason, I cracked up when I read this in the Yahoo forum:
...an easy way to "get out of newbie jail for free".
build your first gasifier by removing a cigarette from your pocket. once it is removed from your pocket, you have completed fabrication.
operating instructions.
1. light the end, put the other end in your mouth and suck hard. you now have an updraft gasifier lit and operating. continue until fuel is consumed. inspect your lungs to gauge tar production.
2. get another cigarette and light the end. but this time, put the lit end in your mouth and suck. you are now operating a stratified downdraft. inspect your lungs to gauge tar production. things should be much better, but still not good.
3. get another cigarette and light the end. this time leave it sit there and slowly smolder through the fuel. you are now running a direct combustion pyrolysis reactor.
this completes your first gasifier build.
now rest easy knowing we already have a globally installed base of gasification devices. we're just currently applying them to less than ideal ends . . .
Jim Mason
AllPowerLabs 😀
"We 'Prep.' to live after a downfall, Not just to survive."
Did you know that during WWII, 80% of all vehicals in Sweden were fueled by a wood gasifier, and 40% of the same in the rest of europe.
A Step by step FREE PDF on how to build your own gasifier by FEMA? 😮 ... I have looked it over, and it contains most of the plans for building a gasifier, even a problem solving page. Here is the link, be warned it is a 90 page PDF.
http://www.woodgasifiers.com/docs/fema_wood_gas_generator.pdf
"We 'Prep.' to live after a downfall, Not just to survive."
In other posts I have mentioned uses for the by product heat that is produced by the Gasifier. Power to your propane fridge, heat for your watertank or house, here are a few other posible uses. Making a dryer for the wood chips that will be used as fuel (humidity level required is 20% or lower), and depending on the size of you gasifier, heat for a boiler to power a steam engine. I'm not talking about the locomotive type, but a small 1/2 to 1 HP engine that could be used to power an auger to keep your gasifier fed, or to pump water from a well or depending on the size power tools (belt driven). There is an endless use of heat here that would other wise be wasted. :geek: 
"We 'Prep.' to live after a downfall, Not just to survive."
In other posts I have mentioned uses for the by product heat that is produced by the Gasifier. Power to your propane fridge, heat for your watertank or house, here are a few other posible uses. Making a dryer for the wood chips that will be used as fuel (humidity level required is 20% or lower), and depending on the size of you gasifier, heat for a boiler to power a steam engine. I'm not talking about the locomotive type, but a small 1/2 to 1 HP engine that could be used to power an auger to keep your gasifier fed, or to pump water from a well or depending on the size power tools (belt driven). There is an endless use of heat here that would other wise be wasted. :geek:
So when are you going to build me one 😀
When I get the space to do so, also need a cutting torch or a shopsaw. 😕
"We 'Prep.' to live after a downfall, Not just to survive."