johnnypayphone

Well, it's a "pain" in relationship to your situation. It's the challenge of any alt fuels project to make sure the money saved is worth your time. There are lots of people (especially in the third world) running these every day. I think in a stationary application it's particularly suited; managing your fire is just like running a steam engine or an all-day barbeque fire. Cars these days are supposed to be idiot-proof (though I can't see the benefit of putting idiots behind the wheel) so it makes something that requires finesse to run (like a grumpy old truck) seem like a huge pain.

We don't have a MV running on woodgas at the Shipyard (although we do have a DUKW here), but here's our Honda:

Trash Powered Honda - DIY - www.gekgasifier.com

I make these for a living. While we do sell them turnkey, I suggest you download the plans for free and make one on your own.

Good thinking- your gallon of gas equivalent is about 15 lbs for coffee grounds or walnut shells. Do the math on that one for a long trip. The nice part is, you can scrounge your own fuel. Those bio-degradable cellulose forks will work.

I am extremely interested to hear if anyone has run a deuce off of woodgas. The carb/fuel injector matchup is pretty straightforward- you can just guff dryer hose into the top of your carb and then make a little clothes-hanger choke if you want to do it quick. A clever little geegaw that would feed liquid fuel for lubcrication and supplement it with the producer gas would be awesome.