Intro | DIY Build Instructions | Fabrication Method | GEK Licensing

ALL Power Labs offers open source “How to” wood gasifier plans and CAD drawings to help you build the GEK wood gas generator.  The most recent GEK gasifier plans and instructions are maintained in the GEK wiki sandbox under the “How to build and run the GEK Gasifier” section.  When you are ready to build, consult the wiki for the current best state of the GEK, and related info on how best to operate it.

In the interim, here’s the summary of “How to DIY build a GEK”, and “How to start manufacturing it in your area”.

DIY Building Options

The GEK building scenario let’s you decide the relative amount of “effort vs cost” you want to invest towards your finished unit.  GEK vessel dimensions are based on common propane and air tanks found around the world.  Thus you can build the GEK for minimized money (though maximum effort) using junkyard scrap tanks and the dimensions, instructions and CAD files provided here.

The more elegant and accurate way to build the GEK is from purposed cut and rolled sheetmetal.  Starting with good purpose cut sheet metal will let you spend your enthusiasm welding and running the GEK, not sunk in greasy obtainium tank recovery.  You’ll thank yourself later for taking the high road . . .

ALL Power Labs offers complete sheet metal and plumbing kits which self-jig together and make welding easy.  The kits also provide the rest of the plumbing and accessory parts you’ll need, down to the last nut and bolt.   If you want to do it on your own, you can use our CAD files to get the same sheet metal parts cut via a “manufacturing on demand” provider in your area with cnc plasma or laser cutting services.   With some hassle you can similarly cut the sheet metal parts manually using a hand plasma cutter, torch or sawzall.   Most of the remaining accessory parts can be found in your local hardware store, largely in the plumbing and fastener sections.

Whichever route you choose to build the GEK, the final unit is the same, and thus experiments and customizations are easily sharable across the GEK user community.  Hopefully one of the above scenarios will find a good match with your abilities, time and money available.

Manufacturing Multiples

The GEK project set out to solve the long-standing problems of small scale gasification.  Along the way we found we needed to solve the manufacturing and distribution problem as well.  To make gasifiers actually impactful in the world, we needed to learn how to make them inexpensively and flexibly, in configurations that are optimized for contemporary manufacturing methods.

The result is the GEK fabrication method.  It is a low tech, digitally enabled method that makes it possible for you to fabricate your own GEK for personal use.  Most of the “fabrication process” is a set of digital files on your desktop, a stack of common sheet metal, and a CNC machine to cut out the puzzle pieces.

In our own shop we have demonstrated that small scale manufacturing is again possible and market competitive using new desktop CNC and CAD/CAM tools.  “Desktop manufacturing” or “Digital Manufacturing” gives the small operator access to manufacturing solutions previously only possible at large scales and high capitalization.  We designed the early GEK to leverage these new tools.  This has fueled our rapid development and let to the more mature form of the product you see today.

See here for details on the GEK fabrication method.