Wood-Mizer 20'TH Anniversary Party Update

Bibbyman · July 12, 2002, 12:03:58 PM

Some of you that attended the Wood-Mizer Anniversary party may have noted one little metal building between the exhibitor's tent and one of the large buildings. If you didn't take a closer look, you would think it was an incinerator or something. Well, it was "or something". It was a Stirling engine fueled buy wood waste (or chicken dodo) that generated electricity.

I've just been doing some rooting around on the WWW and come up with some info on the Stirling engine and Wood-Mizer's involvement in bring this technology to our century.

Don Laskowski (founder of Wood-Mizer) has been working on this project for several years.

Here is a link to an interview with Don on the development of the Stirling engine. It also gives some history on Don and the Wood-Mizer Company.

http://www.gatheringweb.com/entre_giving.htm

Here is a to a page on the Department of Energy web site with more info.

http://www.eren.doe.gov/biopower/projects/ia_pr_sm_IN.htm

Here is Don and Tom - Just two ol' buds at the WM party.

You thinks some day we'll have Wood-Mizer electric mill ran on the sawdust it makes? Don, you've got a new goal!

Scott_R · July 14, 2002, 05:02:42 AM

DanG, now I really wish that I had gone to the shindig! I knew that WoodMizer had bought Sunpower but didn't know much more. Was the stirling engine on the tour or locked up? Any word on when a shipping version will be available to the general public? I think that I will have to see if I can get on the list for testing sites. Sure would be cool to power my future house and shop with waste from the bandmill and then capture the waste heat from the engine to heat them both also. Thanks for the headsup Bibbyman! Scott_R

Bibbyman · July 14, 2002, 06:48:37 AM

I think they are gearing up for production but I don't know if that will be next fall or 2020? We signed up to be put on an information list so maybe we'll learn more on this.

Here is the building the Stirling engine set in (beyond the LT15).

As you can see, it was open to the public. They were very excited about talking about it. 8)

The engine itself is only about 3' long and sets in that open metal box on top. The rest is the wood furnace and lots of controls, etc.