A small steam engine

[NickG]

Rich,

Yeah, that's the thing ... it runs and it runs well, and it looks nice, that must be what you had hoped for. :bow:

We also haven't forgotten about your other fantastic boiler and you can apply Sandy's knowledge to that one.

Well done.

Nick

 

[firebird]

Hi

I mounted the separator and lubricator on their little posts, not ideal I know but better than fixed directly to the base. The pipes were then shortened to suit. I have lagged the two main steam inlet pipes. A dab of super glue on one end of the pipe to hold the string in place then wind it round and fix with super glue the other end and trim off.



Then paint with tippex to give a nice white finish.



Some photos of the finished lagged steam pipes.







And now another steam up.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oshObkuaP3w[/ame]

I have decided not to do any further mods to this engine now. It runs ok, I'm really pleased about that. ;D ;D ;D I think re-doing anything else now I may end up spoiling or damaging it.

Cheers

Rich

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Very nice Rich. Thank you for posting a wonderful thread. It was interesting and fascinating and I learned a lot.

Great bands around the boiler, neat wheel...well I could go on.

I also enjoyed seeing outside your windows once in a while. ;D You have a cheery workshop.

 

[firebird]

Hi Carl

Thanks, I must learn to watch the background when I take photos though. The wife would go mad if she knew her washing was on the internet. ;D ;D ;D

Cheers

Rich

 

[arnoldb]

Rich, and well you should be pleased
You've done a great job on this display piece :bow: - and I love every bit of it!

Once again, very well done Thm: - and thank you very much for the hints, tips 'n ideas; I'll definitely be using many of those in upcoming projects

Regards, Arnold

 

[NickG]

Haha!

That is great Rich, seems to be running better and the lagged pipes look the part too. I was going to ask for a chimney shot ... it's fantastic! That will be a family heirloom for many years to come.

Nick

 

[Deanofid]

The lagged pipes add even more to it, Rich, which is hard to do, since it was a beauty to start with.
I love watching it run!

 

[Noitoen]

Very nice engine Thm:. I think you should make a little "polished" stainless tray to catch the little drops below the cylinder

 

[ChooChooMike]

Rich,

It's been a pleasure watching you build your boiler and engine :bow: :bow: I've learned so much from your postings. I sure hope your build becomes the next Project of the Month, it sure deserves it !! :big:

Mike

 

[joe d]

Rich:

Another fine piece of work :bow: :bow:

I've really enjoyed following along, thanks!

Cheers, Joe

 

[SandyC]

;D ;D

Hi Guy's,

Rich, The small changes you have made to your set-up have most certainly made a great difference and you are to be congratulated on such a great piece of work.

In an earlier post, you asked about some items and their possible effects so I thought it would be a good time to take a slightly deeper look at STEAM and how certain things are related.

The document attached is the result... it is quite long.

I have tried to explain the whole process, and hopefully, where applicable to your steam plant, answer your questions in the process, in language, which both you, and any other interested party, can fully understand. i.e. as NON-TECHNICAL as I can make it.

Some of the things discussed/suggested in it you have already done, and I am sure you know why you needed to do them, however, I feel sure the reasons behind you doing them may not be fully understood by everyone/anyone else that may be following your build. Some of the other content will be of interest to you for when you come to use your first boiler, or for any new steam plant you choose to build.

I would have got this posted sooner, however, other things in life conspired to distract me from the task of composing it, then I got sidetracked by someone 8) : on an allied subject, but I will let that someone explain... as and when the time comes... I am staying mum. :big: :

Happy reading.

Best regards.

SandyC ;D

 

[SandyC]

: :-X :'( :'(

OOPS.... forgot to add the attachment.

SIlly old ****

Try again.

SandyC :big: :big: ;D

View attachment STEAM NOTES FOR RICHARD.pdf

 

[vlmarshall]

Impressive document, thanks for sharing it with the rest of us, Sandy! :bow:

 

[firebird]

Hi

Thanks to Joe, Mike, Helder, Dean Nick & Arnold.

Sandy, I've just finished reading your attachment. Brilliant :bow: :bow: :bow: I will be reading it again and again until hopefully it all sinks in. My initial thoughts are:

1. I can't do much about the height of the boiler but I could raise the engine, at least a couple of inches by making 4 legs with a smaller base ( a bit like a table ) thus shortening all the pipes.

2. Mount the lubricator and separator on brackets on the side of the boiler. That would help to reduce heat loss.

3. Improve the burner, possibly with a multi jet similar to the type I experimented with on my other boiler.

4. Reduce the water level to around 60% and fit a water feed pump.


Its unlikely I will carry out any of the above mods on this particular engine but lessons have been learned that will be applied to future engines.

Once again many thanks Sandy for taking the time and trouble to pass on such valuable knowledge. Thm: Thm: Thm:

Cheers

Rich

 

[NickG]

Sandy,

Cracking document, :bow: I've read it rather quickly so forgive me if I've missed anything. Not sure if it's all gone in ... think my brain might be full, so I'll keep a copy on my hard drive!! :big:

Just a couple of questions you'll be able to answer.

With coal fired boilers, we have things like blowers (I see that as injecting a flow of steam into the chimney which draws air through the fire thus creating more heat) and specially designed blast nozzles (exhaust is specially placed with a shaped nozzle to provide the best flow to draw air through the fire and create the right amount of heat.)

Do these things apply if you have a gas burner, or is the amount of heat from that simply controlled by how much the gas valve is opened and assuming you have enough air to burn it?

The next question is on superheating (routing of the steam through pipes back into firebox before going to cylinders). I presume this helps you maintain the level of dry saturated steam on route to the load by passing it through pipes that will be as hot as or even hotter than the boiler? Is that right, and how much of a difference would it make on an engine like this? Also, you'd need your steam valve before the superheater for safety reasons.

That's another thing, with rich having the steam valve on the engine, doesn't that allow condensate to collect in the pipes?

This is a very intriguing subject, and until you had given us all of this information I had never considered it in such detail ... there's so much to think about to make a successful steam plant so Rich must be commended on his effort.

Thanks,

Nick

 

[SandyC]

;D

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the compliment; I am pleased that my DRIVEL was of some use to you... :-\ :-\ : :big: as well as, hopefully, answering some/most of Rich's original questions.

As for taking it all in... well, as you say, it is a complex subject and it can take a lot of time to absorb it all.

You have asked some interesting questions and I will do my best to answer them for you, and the other guy's, however, I think it would be better to do so by starting another thread, rather than taking Rich's small engine thread too far off topic.

I will post the new thread under QUESTIONS and ANSWERS a bit later on so keep an eye open for it under that heading.

I will call it 'STEAM ANSWERS' or something similar.

More later.



Rich,

As you say, to change everything would require a lot of work and even then you may not like the end result, from a eye pleasing point of view.

From a layout point of view, you will probably gain the largest benefit from mounting the OIL TRAP on an insulator, (such as a piece of nicely polished wood) rather than on a bracket or a metal stand off... the LUBRICATOR is OK as it is.

From an operational point of view, improving the HEAT OUTPUT RATE from the burner would be of the BIGGEST benefit, since this would allow/help you to keep the pressure, and hence the temperature, of the STEAM higher during running... it would/might also pay you to think about how you control/vary the output from the burner... THINK, STATIC MODE and DYNAMIC MODE.

You could also increase the operating PRESSURE to say 25psi or even 30psi... since that would also give you more HEAT to play with in the beginning... although, naturally, this would have some implication for the burner design/control.

Whilst raising the entire engine would certainly shorten the pipe work, the saving in heat loss would not be very much in the grand order of things... By far the majority of heat loss has more to do with the MASS of the engine, rather than an inch or two of feed pipe, and this would still remain.

As you say, some items/things to keep in mind for the next project... and the next... and the next... we never stop learning.

How far you choose to take it, on this one, is for you to decide.

Whatever, be rightfully proud of you achievements to date Rich... you've come a very long way in a very short space of time... you certainly have my admiration.

KEEP HAPPY.

Best regards.

Sandy ;D ;D

 

[firebird]

Hi

I'll look forward to that Sandy.

A couple more questions.

Should the boiler be emptied of water after use or is it OK to leave the water in it. I'm using filtered rain water.

I took the engine to work today to show off a bit. Everyone liked it but the one thing they all wanted to know Whats it worth???? Thats something I hadn't thought about. Of course I'd never sell it but how do you value these things for insurance purposes.

Cheers

Rich

 

[CrewCab]

Rich,
This has been a wonderful and enjoyable thread and, thanks Sandy for your invaluable contributions :bow: between the two of you I think you have raised the profile of "Steam" over "Compressed Air" at least ten fold

For my 2c worth, Rich I agree with you, the Mk1 Firebird Steamer works well and is a lovely looking engine, it should just go on display ........... I'd save the modifications for the Mk2 .......... then of course the Mk3 ........... etc ........

It's been a pleasure to accompany you all for the ride, cheers 8)

CC

 

[NickG]

Thanks Sandy, we really appreciate the education we are getting here. :bow:

Rich, that's a good point. Will send you a PM about insurance valuations.

Great stuff.

Nick

 

[Maryak]

Should the boiler be emptied of water after use or is it OK to leave the water in it. I'm using filtered rain water.

Depends on how long you plan between steamings.

For short term say 3 months the boiler should be completely filled with water i.e. water wedged some anti oxidant added and sealed shut.

For a longer term the boiler should be completely empty, dried out and some powdered lime added. The boiler is then sealed.

Techo terms are WW - water wedged and ECL - empty closed and limed.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards