I made a single cylinder in much the same way many years ago. I love this style of improvised engineering, it shows great skill and ingenuity to get around the problems that arise.
Thank you! I've since changed my approach and now used brass bushings as pistons, as well as for the top and bottom cylinder seals, which saves me a lot of work. You can see those in my more recent videos. But I could still use a nice lathe ;)
***** I just looked at a local hobby shop for some large brass tubes but they didn't have any. I guess I'll just keep using copper pipe or see if I can order some online. They did have some pipe larger than the stuff I already had so I did buy that. I will use that to make a bigger valve. The valve on mine just can't handle enough steam.
Hi I really appriciate your work that impressed me alot.please send me some of the hints or some kind of information regarding diagrams of working of cylinder .I really appriciate your work .please send me some more information that clearify working of cylinders and crankshaft .THIS IS MY EMAIL naeem.farooq55@gmail.com THANKS .I would be very thankfull to you
Really nice work! You would probably enjoy a little lathe. I bought a Sherline table top 3" about 17 years ago and have since purchased a very used South Bend lathe.
gwheyduke Thank you! I was looking at hobby lathes a little while ago but right now, I have too many hobbies and not enough time. This particular engine was for me a proof of concept which I further refined as in the more recent videos. But yes, I'd like to make the next one on a lathe...
Amazing simple, ingenious engine. Well done! I made the same kind of engine several years ago working on the same twin cylinder, 90 degree out of phase crankshaft, however, mine was made of PVC piping and wire from a clothes hanger, so I could only use compressed air and not steam. It worked perfectly. It could only work in one direction of rotation. I noticed the forward stroke was a bit more powerful than the backward one because the cross sectional area of piston rod reduces the effective area of piston in front face compared to full area of rear face. It can also be adapted for a linear engine without crankshaft and flywheel. The way you join valve and main cylinders is really cool. I used short pieces of pipe to join mine. I also thought of doing a 3 cylinder one, 120 degrees out of phase but never really got to it.
That is fascinating, thanks for you comments! So what material did you use for your crankshaft? Yes a 3-cylinder engine would be fun to make and see, although the crankshaft would be difficult, in my technique anyway. I initially wanted to make a flat 4-cylinder, but realized there would be no advantage compared to a 2. Cheers and thanks for watching!
I used a single piece of stiff coat hanger wire, which I bent into shape. Not as complex as yours. A heavy flywheel did all the balancing for me. Tried it with water from the mains. It turned very slowly but with very high torque...difficult to stop it with my hand, a bit like a worm gear motor. With 2 cylinders, 90 degrees out of phase, it can never stall even without a flywheel but the torque on your forward strokes will be slightly more than that on your back strokes. 180 degrees apart will correct that but then it can stall without a flywheel but with 4 cylinders, the torque on each quadrant will be the same and it can never stall even without a flywheel. It would turn smoother but probably turn at the same speed (if you can give it 2X the steam) and have 2X the torque, so it could power a bigger generator but I agree for your purposes, you don't need more than 2 cylinders. These projects give me such satisfaction. It's like, now I have mastered understanding the steam engine.The valves used to be a mystery to me. I guess your project is a "confirmation of mine" because is shows that mine could be built in metal for steam. Take care and thanks for the video.
+robaxa That is what I like about the 2-cylinder, double acting engine with 90 degrees phase separation, it cannot stall and it is self starting. Upon checking my measurements, I found out that the piston surface area on the return face is 89% that of the main face. So the engine torque would go from 89% to 94% to 100% to 94% and back to 89% on a full 360-degree swing. Really cool! By the way I assume you saw the updated version at ua-cam.com/video/v6MdZKBydPI/v-deo.html or ua-cam.com/video/6IhDRgxZJQY/v-deo.html
The updated version is so much more powerful. Looking at it, one almost gets worried it could tear itself apart at high speed. I wonder how long it could survive at that speed.
+robaxa Haha yes it does get "lively" at higher RPM but it doesn't seem to mind it too much. The links between the piston rod and the connecting rods are probably the most vulnerable to premature wear, and they're also noisy. But they're also pretty easy to replace.
ch300fnqi They certainly help. Especially when it comes to making the cylinders. I’ve since sold my lathe and mill. I didn’t have much time for it anymore, Plus I feel like I just didn’t quite catch on to machining the way I should have. I was lucky to get back what I paid for it when someone offered!
Fantastic! I have also made single cylinder double acting steam engine after getting inspiration from you. But am little confused about crankshaft design of twin cylinder double acting steam engine for rotation in clockwise direction.I will be thankful if you could send me some more. infomation about crankshaft specification.
What is the separation in degrees on the crank shaft of the piston rod & the valve rod? 90 degrees is my guess. I'm attempting to build one like yours. Maybe bigger. I think the hardest part will be the crank shaft.
Hi Stephen. Yes you are right, the valve stroke is 90 degrees behind the piston stroke. You are also right that the crankshaft is the most difficult part to build. I built 4 crankshafts before I was satisfied, but you eventually learn techniques and it is gratifying in the end.
How come you have an exact stroke of 20 mm & a chamber that is only 20 mm long? Why not make it a little longer to leave room for steam to come into the piston chamber & push?
The stroke is 20mm and the piston is 10 mm long. Therefore you need a 30mm cylinder, minimum. In fact, i believe the distance between the 2 ports is 30 mm, and the overall length of the cylinder is a couple mm more at each end, for a total length of 34-35 mm. Hope this helps.
i´m trying to build one....can you tell me the rod connected to the pistons ´s diameter ? thanks !! i hope to be able to build it and have it running some day....
Going by memory (I'm away from home on vacation) I think the connecting rods are aproximately 1/8" or 3.2 mm. Good luck and let me know how you progress.
Hey brother, very nice steam engine and your job becomes more appreciable because you have not used any traditional machinery. I also like to make like this one, but I don't know the science and math behind valve rod and its timing with crankshaft, can you help me ??
could i theoretically make the pistons from an epoxy, molded from the inside of the cylinders, thereby ensiring an exact fit with minimal machining and soldering? or would they lose shape from the heat?
Hello. Love your engine. Looks like a great steam punk cell phone charger ;) I think I will try to build one. Would like some more details on the boiler if possible. Any plans yet? Cheers, Denis
Hi Denis, thanks for your comments. No unfortunately, no plans... As far as the boiler, it's really quite simple. A can of tomato juice... It will sustain 10 psi (i've tested one to 30) which is plenty sufficient to run the engine. The engine runs well with 5 psi. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
Caelum Rex Yes, the burner is a pipe with a bunch of holes along the top. Except you need to have a jet to draw the air in so that the gas burns with that bright blue flame. I simply hooked up a rubber tube to a regular propane torch. I had to block some of the the air inlets of the blow torch, using tape, otherwise it wouldn't burn properly.
Really awesome project! I love the fact that it's all doable without a lathe. How did you determine the dimensions of the valve rod? I understand that there's some overlap with the two inlets, lap and advance I think are terms. Did you just make an educated guess as to how much overlap of the ports was needed? Thanks for making these video and sharing your work!
Hi Thomas, thanks for your comments! That's a tough question... I think the simple answer is that when the piston is at TDC, the valve is also dead center in front of the steam port. A few degrees later the valve moves out of the way, letting steam in. These few degrees are governed by the port size, 3 mm, compared to the valve length (the length of the thick part of the rod, 5 mm). This relation dictates the time (degrees) required to move the valve out of the port's way. So yes, mostly guess work, while trying to reach a compromise between a theoretically optimal design and the limitations of imperfect parts. I've tried longer valves (7 mm I think) and it's hard to tell what difference it makes given other modifications to the crankshaft made at the same time.
ch300fnqi thanks for the quick response. I'm just starting to teach myself about pneumatic engines so I'm still getting a hang of the theort and I'm a rather mediocre combustion engine mechanic so I appreciate you laying it out for me. Am I correct in thinking that the distance between each valve center should be the center to center distance between the ports? -Tom
Tom, that is exactly right. The center to center distance between the valves is equal to the center to center distance between the ports. You're doing great :)
Boiler is a simple can of tomato juice. Without seeing your engine its hard to say what the problem is. My engines dont require much pressure, between 2 and 10 psi.
man i musta seen about 100+ of these things built and , i still dont f ing get it lol. how does the steam transfer through the two little holes into or back into the piston . is the back of the smaller tubes filled up or is that like and extra exhaust port when the piston pushes back? also i see the other piston on left is tied right into the system, how do you know they each get correct amount of steam or does it just kinda level out or doesnt matter since its so small? thanx still learning ^^
I'll try to explain. The steam goes into the main cylinder through the small hole, correct. Then when the piston comes back down (pushed from the other end, double acting), it pushes the steam and condensate out through the same small hole into the valve assembly, which at that point the valve leaves it open to the atmosphere. The used steam comes out by both ends of the smaller tube, given that it is a double acting piston (pushed by steam from both ends). It doesn't matter if one piston gets a bit more steam than the other. But there's no reason why they shouldn't get the same amount since they're connected to the same steam line.
LaCarrindanga It's brass, but it really doesn't matter. It's whatever material you can get at the hobby shop, as long as you can solder it. Yes the pistons are hollow.
At the end of the video in the given description, it says &"the valve stroke is 12 mm"... can someone please explain what does it mean?? This is the only part I didn't understand. please help...
It's a bit hard to explain without a diagram but essentially, the valve rod travels back and forth inside the tube to cover and uncover the ports, and that movement, from the bottom to top stroke is 12 mm. I could have made it so that the valve only has a 10 mm stroke or whatever; the limitation is in making the crank: it's sometimes easier to work with larger dimensions rather than too small. Hope that helps clarifying things.
ch300fnqi Thank you very much for replying. yes it would definitely help me understanding the valve stroke I asked about. I would be more thankfull if I could get plan of this engine or the diagram you're talking about. (skapilx25@gmail.com)
Thanks! It used to be a lot of work with a random rate of success. Now I've made my life a lot easier by using brass bushings for the pistons. They fit pretty much exactly in the cylinders, they're already drilled in the centre to accomodate the piston rod and they're cheap to buy :)
I made a single cylinder in much the same way many years ago. I love this style of improvised engineering, it shows great skill and ingenuity to get around the problems that arise.
Very impressed that you managed this without a lathe! Great stuff!
Thank you! I've since changed my approach and now used brass bushings as pistons, as well as for the top and bottom cylinder seals, which saves me a lot of work. You can see those in my more recent videos. But I could still use a nice lathe ;)
Very ingenious and very well done, especially without a lathe!
Thank you :)
That's awesome! I really really like the simple approach to the valves! Some really beautiful craftsmanship there! Nice job! Thank you!
Thanks Makerj101 :) Really appreciate it.
***** I just looked at a local hobby shop for some large brass tubes but they didn't have any. I guess I'll just keep using copper pipe or see if I can order some online. They did have some pipe larger than the stuff I already had so I did buy that. I will use that to make a bigger valve. The valve on mine just can't handle enough steam.
Hi I really appriciate your work that impressed me alot.please send me some of the hints or some kind of information regarding diagrams of working of cylinder .I really appriciate your work .please send me some more information that clearify working of cylinders and crankshaft .THIS IS MY EMAIL naeem.farooq55@gmail.com THANKS .I would be very thankfull to you
Congratulations on your work. I was impressed by how well you aligned the components on the crankshaft.
Thank you!
Would like info on how you built your engine? Want to build a larger scale to power my home...can you give more info on the valance assembly?
A true engineer If I ever saw one!! great work I will try to replicate this engine...hopefully It will inspire my kids
Haha thank you! I am an engineer... chemical. Just poking around really.
Really nice work! You would probably enjoy a little lathe. I bought a Sherline table top 3" about 17 years ago and have since purchased a very used South Bend lathe.
gwheyduke Thank you! I was looking at hobby lathes a little while ago but right now, I have too many hobbies and not enough time. This particular engine was for me a proof of concept which I further refined as in the more recent videos. But yes, I'd like to make the next one on a lathe...
Amazing simple, ingenious engine. Well done! I made the same kind of engine several years ago working on the same twin cylinder, 90 degree out of phase crankshaft, however, mine was made of PVC piping and wire from a clothes hanger, so I could only use compressed air and not steam. It worked perfectly. It could only work in one direction of rotation. I noticed the forward stroke was a bit more powerful than the backward one because the cross sectional area of piston rod reduces the effective area of piston in front face compared to full area of rear face. It can also be adapted for a linear engine without crankshaft and flywheel. The way you join valve and main cylinders is really cool. I used short pieces of pipe to join mine. I also thought of doing a 3 cylinder one, 120 degrees out of phase but never really got to it.
That is fascinating, thanks for you comments! So what material did you use for your crankshaft? Yes a 3-cylinder engine would be fun to make and see, although the crankshaft would be difficult, in my technique anyway. I initially wanted to make a flat 4-cylinder, but realized there would be no advantage compared to a 2. Cheers and thanks for watching!
I used a single piece of stiff coat hanger wire, which I bent into shape. Not as complex as yours. A heavy flywheel did all the balancing for me. Tried it with water from the mains. It turned very slowly but with very high torque...difficult to stop it with my hand, a bit like a worm gear motor. With 2 cylinders, 90 degrees out of phase, it can never stall even without a flywheel but the torque on your forward strokes will be slightly more than that on your back strokes. 180 degrees apart will correct that but then it can stall without a flywheel but with 4 cylinders, the torque on each quadrant will be the same and it can never stall even without a flywheel. It would turn smoother but probably turn at the same speed (if you can give it 2X the steam) and have 2X the torque, so it could power a bigger generator but I agree for your purposes, you don't need more than 2 cylinders.
These projects give me such satisfaction. It's like, now I have mastered understanding the steam engine.The valves used to be a mystery to me. I guess your project is a "confirmation of mine" because is shows that mine could be built in metal for steam.
Take care and thanks for the video.
+robaxa That is what I like about the 2-cylinder, double acting engine with 90 degrees phase separation, it cannot stall and it is self starting. Upon checking my measurements, I found out that the piston surface area on the return face is 89% that of the main face. So the engine torque would go from 89% to 94% to 100% to 94% and back to 89% on a full 360-degree swing. Really cool! By the way I assume you saw the updated version at ua-cam.com/video/v6MdZKBydPI/v-deo.html or ua-cam.com/video/6IhDRgxZJQY/v-deo.html
The updated version is so much more powerful. Looking at it, one almost gets worried it could tear itself apart at high speed. I wonder how long it could survive at that speed.
+robaxa Haha yes it does get "lively" at higher RPM but it doesn't seem to mind it too much. The links between the piston rod and the connecting rods are probably the most vulnerable to premature wear, and they're also noisy. But they're also pretty easy to replace.
You did better than me, and I had a real lathe and mill! I’m very impressed.
Thanks! It took a couple of trials but it worked out in the end. I would love to own a lathe and a mill !!
ch300fnqi They certainly help. Especially when it comes to making the cylinders. I’ve since sold my lathe and mill. I didn’t have much time for it anymore, Plus I feel like I just didn’t quite catch on to machining the way I should have. I was lucky to get back what I paid for it when someone offered!
Fantastic! I have also made single cylinder double acting steam engine after getting inspiration from you. But am little confused about crankshaft design of twin cylinder double acting steam engine for rotation in clockwise direction.I will be thankful if you could send me some more. infomation about crankshaft specification.
What is the separation in degrees on the crank shaft of the piston rod & the valve rod? 90 degrees is my guess. I'm attempting to build one like yours. Maybe bigger. I think the hardest part will be the crank shaft.
Hi Stephen. Yes you are right, the valve stroke is 90 degrees behind the piston stroke. You are also right that the crankshaft is the most difficult part to build. I built 4 crankshafts before I was satisfied, but you eventually learn techniques and it is gratifying in the end.
How come you have an exact stroke of 20 mm & a chamber that is only 20 mm long? Why not make it a little longer to leave room for steam to come into the piston chamber & push?
The stroke is 20mm and the piston is 10 mm long. Therefore you need a 30mm cylinder, minimum. In fact, i believe the distance between the 2 ports is 30 mm, and the overall length of the cylinder is a couple mm more at each end, for a total length of 34-35 mm. Hope this helps.
Very nice project...one of the best! Compliments!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.
I successfully made one based off your design it looks rough but runs pretty smooth. Wanna see?
i´m trying to build one....can you tell me the rod connected to the pistons ´s diameter ? thanks !! i hope to be able to build it and have it running some day....
Going by memory (I'm away from home on vacation) I think the connecting rods are aproximately 1/8" or 3.2 mm. Good luck and let me know how you progress.
Hey brother, very nice steam engine and your job becomes more appreciable because you have not used any traditional machinery. I also like to make like this one, but I don't know the science and math behind valve rod and its timing with crankshaft, can you help me ??
you didn't mention the valve rod machining measurements and exhaust, can you please give to me.?
Can provide the assemble diagram of this engine please
could i theoretically make the pistons from an epoxy, molded from the inside of the cylinders, thereby ensiring an exact fit with minimal machining and soldering? or would they lose shape from the heat?
Yes, I've seen someone who molded his piston successfully using JB Weld!
Hello. Love your engine. Looks like a great steam punk cell phone charger ;)
I think I will try to build one. Would like some more details on the boiler if possible. Any plans yet?
Cheers, Denis
Hi Denis, thanks for your comments. No unfortunately, no plans... As far as the boiler, it's really quite simple. A can of tomato juice... It will sustain 10 psi (i've tested one to 30) which is plenty sufficient to run the engine. The engine runs well with 5 psi. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
ch300fnqi Hi. I was actually how to make the burner. Is it just a pipe with holes drilled in it?
Caelum Rex Yes, the burner is a pipe with a bunch of holes along the top. Except you need to have a jet to draw the air in so that the gas burns with that bright blue flame. I simply hooked up a rubber tube to a regular propane torch. I had to block some of the the air inlets of the blow torch, using tape, otherwise it wouldn't burn properly.
Really awesome project! I love the fact that it's all doable without a lathe. How did you determine the dimensions of the valve rod? I understand that there's some overlap with the two inlets, lap and advance I think are terms. Did you just make an educated guess as to how much overlap of the ports was needed? Thanks for making these video and sharing your work!
Hi Thomas, thanks for your comments! That's a tough question... I think the simple answer is that when the piston is at TDC, the valve is also dead center in front of the steam port. A few degrees later the valve moves out of the way, letting steam in. These few degrees are governed by the port size, 3 mm, compared to the valve length (the length of the thick part of the rod, 5 mm). This relation dictates the time (degrees) required to move the valve out of the port's way. So yes, mostly guess work, while trying to reach a compromise between a theoretically optimal design and the limitations of imperfect parts. I've tried longer valves (7 mm I think) and it's hard to tell what difference it makes given other modifications to the crankshaft made at the same time.
ch300fnqi thanks for the quick response. I'm just starting to teach myself about pneumatic engines so I'm still getting a hang of the theort and I'm a rather mediocre combustion engine mechanic so I appreciate you laying it out for me. Am I correct in thinking that the distance between each valve center should be the center to center distance between the ports?
-Tom
Tom, that is exactly right. The center to center distance between the valves is equal to the center to center distance between the ports. You're doing great :)
How do you make the boiler...? I cannot make a boiler to create enough pressure to turn the cylinders at the desired speed. Any advice / vids?
Boiler is a simple can of tomato juice. Without seeing your engine its hard to say what the problem is. My engines dont require much pressure, between 2 and 10 psi.
man i musta seen about 100+ of these things built and , i still dont f ing get it lol. how does the steam transfer through the two little holes into or back into the piston . is the back of the smaller tubes filled up or is that like and extra exhaust port when the piston pushes back? also i see the other piston on left is tied right into the system, how do you know they each get correct amount of steam or does it just kinda level out or doesnt matter since its so small? thanx still learning ^^
I'll try to explain. The steam goes into the main cylinder through the small hole, correct. Then when the piston comes back down (pushed from the other end, double acting), it pushes the steam and condensate out through the same small hole into the valve assembly, which at that point the valve leaves it open to the atmosphere. The used steam comes out by both ends of the smaller tube, given that it is a double acting piston (pushed by steam from both ends).
It doesn't matter if one piston gets a bit more steam than the other. But there's no reason why they shouldn't get the same amount since they're connected to the same steam line.
hrm cool stuff thanx.
Did you use brass or copper for the cylinders ? are the pistons hollow ?
LaCarrindanga It's brass, but it really doesn't matter. It's whatever material you can get at the hobby shop, as long as you can solder it. Yes the pistons are hollow.
Super silnik:)👍👌👏
This is good invention but seems to be powerless as in comparison with the ones having exhausting ports shown in this channel earlier
very nice
please tell me how to solder?
can we use copper pipe instead of brass pipe?
may I have measurements
This is AWESOME!!!
Thanks, hope this helps. If you have any questions just ask.
Excellent
At the end of the video in the given description, it says &"the valve stroke is 12 mm"... can someone please explain what does it mean?? This is the only part I didn't understand. please help...
It's a bit hard to explain without a diagram but essentially, the valve rod travels back and forth inside the tube to cover and uncover the ports, and that movement, from the bottom to top stroke is 12 mm. I could have made it so that the valve only has a 10 mm stroke or whatever; the limitation is in making the crank: it's sometimes easier to work with larger dimensions rather than too small. Hope that helps clarifying things.
ch300fnqi Thank you very much for replying. yes it would definitely help me understanding the valve stroke I asked about. I would be more thankfull if I could get plan of this engine or the diagram you're talking about. (skapilx25@gmail.com)
I have a problem with exuast mesures
May I just buy it from you?
Trent, you can send me an email at pierre12@gmail.com
do you have plans?
Sorry, no plans yet. A project for next winter.
Impressive for a dremel and a drill press
Thanks! It used to be a lot of work with a random rate of success. Now I've made my life a lot easier by using brass bushings for the pistons. They fit pretty much exactly in the cylinders, they're already drilled in the centre to accomodate the piston rod and they're cheap to buy :)
nice...
like it...
please help me