Downdraft Gasifier

The most popular gasifier design for personal use is the downdraft gasifier. There are many good reasons for this:

1) The Imbert design was used to power parts of Europe during the war. This includes everything from cars to homes and factories. Over a million were in use.

2) Downdraft gasifiers are easy to build.

3) Downdraft gasifiers are great for common fuels like wood because they can crack the tars that are formed.

In a downdraft gasifier the fuel is loaded at the top and a fire is lit in the bottom. A suction blower draws in air either through an air jacket like in the Imbert design or down through the top like the FEMA design.

The incoming air allows partial combustion to take place in the lower hearth area. The heat from that combustion produces pyrolysis above and reduction below.

Once the gas leaves the hearth it's piped out to the cooling and filtration system before being used for work