Heinrich Lanz HRO
1 model in this series
Heinrich Lanz HRO (D 9006): water-cooled single-cylinder wood-gas tractor with 29.3 kW and 3,500 kg from the final war years 1943 to 1945
During the Second World War, Heinrich Lanz of Mannheim converted Bulldog series to wood gas, since mineral oil was scarce and reserved for the military. The HRO series was among the versions from these war years powered exclusively by wood gas.
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The D 9006 is powered by a water-cooled single-cylinder engine that produces 40 hp, or 29.3 kW, at 630 rpm, and runs exclusively on wood gas. At a weight of 3,500 kg, a length of 3,855 mm, a height of 2,295 mm, a width of 1,792 mm and a wheelbase of 1,977 mm, the machine reaches a top speed of 18.6 km/h.
An upstream wood-gas generator gasified wood under oxygen-starved conditions into a combustible gas mixture, which was fed to the engine in place of crude oil or petrol. Compared with oil-fired Bulldogs, this operation required regular refilling of wood and cleaning of the generator, but kept motorised pulling power available to agriculture where fuel was scarce. Operating the generator required some practice but no specialist training.
When buying such a wood-gas tractor, the condition of the cylinder and piston matters, since gas operation left different wear traces than oil operation, along with the radiator and water pump for leaks. The gearbox and brakes should be checked for function; spare parts for this rare wartime series can now only be obtained through a circle of collectors.
Sources: SpecCodex-Register: Kennwerte des Modells Heinrich Lanz D 9006
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Tractor in 3D section
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