Steampunk Calliope

[WonderousMountain]

I'm planning on building a miniature calliphone for a friend,

Any suggestion on what boiler system might work well are appreciated. Hoping to use a liquid fuel like alchohol.

Thnks,

Mountain

 

[GWRdriver]

If it's actually steam operated then is it not a calliope rather than a calliphone? In either case my first thought is that all things being equal, that is if the boiler is of a reasonable size and proportionate to the instrument as a whole and capable of producing enough steam not to run out of breath, an alcohol burner of a size proportionate to the boiler will not produce enough heat to keep up with the demand. It might, if the boiler was oversized and the whistles were kept very small. The next obvious fuel choice would be propane.

 

[Ed T]

Your post piqued my interest since I didn't know what a calliphone is/was. Turns out it's an air powered calliope. Calliopes are steam powered while, I gather, calliphones are the same thing powered by air. In either case, you probably need lots of low pressure air or steam so a High volume/low pressure device is called for (my opinion). Your most direct path to some good info may be to contact the Miner company in Iowa. They still make them and profess an interest in preserving the devices so they may be able to help with sizing a source of air or steam. I have no clue what a low pressure/high volume steam boiler looks like, but it will be a big project compared to an electric centrifugal blower of an appropriate size.

 

[WonderousMountain]

Yup, it's a Calliope.

Thanks got my work ahead of me.

Mtn

 

[fcheslop]

I'm certain there was a design for a toy one in the Model Engineer but cannot help with a date.
best wishes Frazer

 

[tel]

Check yaw email - info heading your way.

 

[WonderousMountain]

Got it, looks pretty good.

I'm not really to the point where I can debate finer points of machinery, so it'll be by the numbers for me.

Can't thank you enough.

I'll pay a royalty for the plans if he's still among us.


May the frustrations begin!

Mountain

 

[xo18thfa]

Andrew Thompson did a calliope article in June 1977 Live Steam. Did not talk about boiler however. He does go into great detail on whistle dimensions for the musical notes.

His whistles are rather large. I'd guess you would need a real steam producer. Don't know if the whistles can be scaled or not.

If you need, I will scan and send.

 

[terrywerm]

Popular Mechanics ran an article with plans for an air powered mini-calliope in December of 1982. One gentleman that built one has posted some videos on YouTube. One of them is available here:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1p_BRlQySI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1p_BRlQySI[/ame]

The article and plans are available on Google Books. Due to copyright laws I will not post a link here, but if you wish to search Google for "Popular Mechanics calliope" you'll find it. I will leave the complications of copyright infringement between you, the reader, and Google.

Granted, it is not related to plans for a boiler, but if you were interested in an air operated unit, this set of plans may be useful for you.

 

[PTsideshow]

Biggest problem will be steam/water condensate doesn't scale well past a certain point. Don't know what you mean by a miniature one. The last plans that have been published in the Live steam magazine.
The series was in the first 5 issues of 2003 By Conrad Milster's it is a full size one and requires a large steam supply. It was tested at the Pratt institutes boiler room. Covers casting bells, wax work machining and the tuning of the whistles.

the horn and whistle forum more than most would care to known

COAA is devoted to enjoying, preserving, and sharing knowledge of all outdoor mechanical musical instruments; including band, fair, and street organs, calliopes, and hand-cranked organs of all sizes.

Mechanical Music Digest's
Calliope Home Page

MMD Calliope System Design Site
A collection of technical discussions]=http://www.mmdigest.com/Calliope/Sys/index.html]MMD Calliope System Design Site
A collection of technical discussions

Great book on steam whistles
The Engines moan, by Edward Fagan, Astragal press
The above should help! :big: