CAR TALK is Ticking Again almost
 

Just heard Car Talk this morning what a surprise, the clampit brothers discussed more cars and less laughing and silly jokes, actually the callers were trying to be funny!

Did you hear the call by Auto: Woodchip driven car?
Any credence to this or was it just a red herring?

Yeah, I caught that one. It's not inconceivable in principle. I was shocked to hear that the first internal combustion engine ran on coaldust! Maybe real small woodchips, really small. What would the octane rating be on that? 2000? :)

Kuan

The way they run on woodchips is that the chips are burned in an oxygen deficient environment and the gases that are given off are the actual fuel. These gases are unburned fuel that will burn once mixed with the proper amount of air (oxygen). This is what can cause boilers to blow up - the flame goes out, the smoldering fuel gives off flammable gases and if air is added too quickly it can explode.

As I listened to Car Talk I thought about how much I love that show, and that I should post about it here. You beat me to it!

Engatwork, I am glad you have a plausible explanation for how that works; I was racking my brain!


Diesel-Lover,
It's the Tappet (from the valve lifter part) brothers, not the Clampits, sorry to corrrect you if you were being facetious.
-Tom

As I recall, the diesel engine was born while trying to find a way to use coal dust as a fuel.

Yes, the first Diesel engine was run on coal dust. First attempt to run it and it blew up, and Rudolph Diesel was nearly deaf for the rest of his life.

Gilly

PS Not that we know EXACTLY when his life ended; he disappeared one night from a ship going across the English Channel. Ooo, the ultimate "Unsolved Diesel Mystery"!

Here is a link for gasification.

http://bgg.mek.dtu.dk/gasification/

Engatwork,
Perhaps you should send the link and explain the process to cartalk, also inform them about this group and our sponsors.

aTOMic,
You got me, just trying to pull the chain!, I had actually stopped listening to them as I felt the show had turned to cheap comedy and no useful info, but the last show I heard was pretty good. Back in the 70s I learned a lot from their show when it had more content and less jokes. (They would actually provide some serious helpful and very interesting info in every show).

I look forward to seeing them turn their show back to its original quality.

Clampits or Tappets, I had no idea they have been doing the show that long!

History of Cartalk!
 

Here is the link I just looked up was curious myself!
A neat story!

http://cartalk.cars.com/About/history.html