Forget gas, fill up your tank with wood

published by Roger Bryant on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 11:14

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I love my truck, but I really hate when I have to fill up the 36 gallon fuel tank. As gas prices remain in the $3-4 range, it usually costs over $100 to fill up my Ford F150. I am always looking for ways to lower my fuel costs and increase fuel efficiency to offset the impact of higher gas prices on my wallet. Last month, I wrote about a way to lower my fuel costs by using the GasBuddy app to help find the cheapest nearby gas prices. I use the app every time I start thinking about stopping to fill up my truck.

What if I didn't have to worry the price of gas? That would be a great problem to have. One man, Wayne Keith, from Springville, Alabama, doesn't have to worry about the price of gas any more. He powers his truck with wood. That's right, WOOD! Mr. Keith has developed a system that converts wood chunks into fuel for his Dodge pick up truck. The process, called Gasification, uses a burner, a filter filled with wheat straw, and a complex system of tubes to capture the wood's energy and pass it on to the engine. He simply fills up the burner with wood chucks that he harvests from his own property and he's ready to go.

Mr. Keith describes the process and shows off his truck in the video below. It's quite impressive to say the least. I'm not sure how mainstream this technology could become, but it would be nice if we didn't have to rely on non-renewable energy sources, like gasoline, for powering our vehicles. Trees are a renewable resource that could be a very important part of our country's future energy needs.

Photo: Source