The Wood Gas Workshop

by Andrew MacDonald

We were originally expecting a half-dozen folks for the workshop on using wood gas. At least 41 showed up for David Shackleton's interactive talk and the interest isn't going away as you'll see. Readers will remember that wood gas is a cheap (compared to oil), renewable and carbon neutral alternative energy that was much used in Europe during WWII but almost completely abandoned when cheap oil and gas became available again. Like 8-track tapes, wood gas technology faded into history after the war. It's now the province of a small number of enthusiasts with only a couple in Canada.

Saturday's Oso Hall crowd shows there's keen local interest in alternative energy and a concern about practical solutions to energy prices. Attendees, many of them men who work with their hands, demonstrated that one of the vital skills in country know-how is alive and well here: the ability to join forces to get something done.

With Logan Murray stepping up to take the manager's role, some ten people formed a club right there to build a prototype local "gasifier" - a special stove that heats wood enough to release gas that can be used directly in generators or internal combustion engines. That would be a first local gasifier, but presumably most of the folks who will construct it will want one of their own. But that's to be decided by the club. The money and welding equipment for number one have been raised already and a first meeting will happen in January.

If other readers want in on the action, they can contact Logan Murray and help choose the date of the first meeting. Who could call? An off-the-grid person looking to run your generator more cheaply, someone willing to work in the hopes of getting off gasoline? Realize there's some work involved. That's because the technology behind wood gas is inexact and it's fallen into disuse; you can't buy a kit at Tim-br Mart. But a gasifier can be built by non-experts with a blueprint, tinkering ability and attitude, all of which the club has.

This is a ripe time for off-grid energy sources such as wood gas and the strong attendance shows that locals recognize it. Frontenac has the potential to develop something that could be of interest to many others, here and elsewhere . . . but for now, the first gasifier! To contact Logan Murray and join the Wood Gas Club, call 613-335-2599; email loganmurray@xplornet.com. To see other workshop pictures and background wood gas information, or to sign-up for email updates on the club, visit www.FrontenacResilience.org.

Do you have a skill others could benefit from knowing or is there one you'd like featured? Contact Country Know-how by calling 613-279-1966 or emailing countryknowhow@frontenac.net. Thanks to Pat Furlong and Eric Joss who volunteered future sharings on Saturday!

Upcoming: Making Christmas Candles, mini-workshop with Dorina Friedli, Friday, December 4, 1PM, near Verona. First six persons. Materials cost only. Telephone 613-374-5254.