This is amazing! Just watch yourself with that boiler. Although it's probably fine something *might* weaken and break, and you don't want to be around for that.
I'm interested in building a small wood-fired steam boiler simply to create steam to heat water in a tank about 15-25 feet away (and more or less downhill.) I have a wood-fired outdoor water stove now, but it requires an electric pump to circulate the hot water, and I'm hoping to find a way to do something similar for a very small cabin without electricity. Can you recommend any books or other ways to learn about generating and using steam? Thanks!
Hi, free is always good. I working on a similar project using a mono tube boiler. I posted the project on the LynxWind forum in the steam section. If you have the time come join us. Again great work and I look forward to your test results.
Guys Question , Pls can someone answer ? Does boilers Store enough steam first and then the engine is started or it's constantly producing steam .. ? If yes It's hard to imagine how that much steam can be produced in that size of a boiler
It's a bit of both really - the boiler is heated first and stores the steam as it gets up to pressure, then the engine is run and as it uses up the steam then the boiler boils more water into steam to make up for it
I have a 75lb pressure relief valve, I am using used motor oil as a lubricant, about 6 to 8 ounces of oil for 12 gallons of water.. I have no sight glass for the water level.. I run it no more than 1 1/2 hours at a time...I put the oil in the boiler, then fill the tank 1/2 full with water, about 12 or 13 gallons...It is a very inefficient boiler and I've never had more than 50 lbs of pressure in it...
You NEVER operate a boiler without a water sight glass. You ALWAYS need to know where the water level is and have a way to put water into the boiler. It is not safe to operate a boiler and not have a way to know where the water level is. Steam is very powerful and if the boiler runs dry, the sheets can overheat and the pressure inside the boiler can bend/tear the sheets and a boiler explosion can occur. Even at 50 psi steam is very powerful and safe operation is a must. Motor oil is a very, very, very poor lubrication in a steam application. It will cook off and provide little to no lubrication. A proper steam oil is needed and should be pumped with a mechanical lubricator (or have a hydrostatic lubricator) into the steam delivery line to the cylinders. Oil should NEVER be added to the water. Oil floats on water and will cause a thin layer of oil to cover the water. This will cause the water to foam as the steam bubbles won't be allowed to break when the reach the surface of the water and it will foam like a pot of boiling water that has pasta in it. The foam can be carried over into the cylinders and will ruin any lubrication in the cylinders. If the boiler is foaming bad enough, when the safety valve lifts, the water can climb up the foam and escape through safety valve and can drain the boiler of water in a short order. Oil in the water won't lubricate the cylinders.
Thanx, I'll round up a few bucks and do that.. ! I've run this engine hundreds of hours using old motor oil mixed with the water, when the water gets hot, the oil seems to mix very well and makes this engine run more slippery than snake oil, and also, there is no metal to metal friction in this engine as it uses Viton O-Rings for the piston rings and slide valve seals. Thanks for your advice.. ...
Oil and water don't mix; never have and never will. Steam oil should be used with steam as it has additives to keep it from breaking down in high temperatures. (Steam at 50 psi is 298 F). Even with no metal to metal contact, there is still friction between the rings and the bores. This ought to be properly lubricated with steam oil, not motor oil. Nothing is a proper substitute for the proper oil.
Ernst Flow Industies has sight glasses. Make sure you the steam rated one if you buy from them. www.ernstflow.com/ LocoParts is a supplier for the Live steam hobby and they also have glasses. www.locoparts.biz/parts.html#Sightglass
With a stroke of 4 inches and a piston of 2 inches in diameter at 40 psi and 160 RPM it would produce about .2 HP per cylinder and 6.5 FLBS of torque per cylinder so twin single acting cylinders would be .4 HP and 13 FLBS, When you had it at 200 RPM it was at a little over .5 HP and again 13 FLBS of torque. I used a metronome and matched the chuffs. Just to give you a rough estimate.
Thankyou Branden, that seems about right, I wonder how much H.P. with 120 p.s.i. of steam, would you know ..? I don't trust that tank with that much steam pressure ....
@@emil.honganmaki5461 A flash mono tube boiler would be the way to go .. Right now I’m too busy building my 23 foot shoal draft sail boat .. Perhaps later down the road I’ll look into that . Thanx for the suggestion though ..
Michael Barron Seriously, get a pressure release valve. It costs like $10. One day something WILL weaken and fail and you want it to be a pressure valve.
You probably want to take this video down before a boiler inspector sees it. A boiler without a sight glass is unsafe and throws up a lot of red flags and can very easily attract the attention of local/state boiler inspectors.
CapnSchep Maybe you shouldn't mess with boilers.. Lubrication in the boiler won't cause it to blow up; low water, poor construction, poor maintenance, operator error/lack of knowledge and using the improper materials can cause that. You should feel very lucky that you were hurt. Steam and scalding hot water can cause 3rd degree burns very, very quickly and breathing steam can cook your lungs. This is why you should only operate a boiler when you have the proper knowledge and safety items and know how to properly operate and care for it. The general rule of thumb is that 1 cup of water can turn into 800-1800 cups of steam, depending on what the pressure and temperature are of the steam. That is a lot of power.
Great work man!
We need more videos on this! Please!
very interesting cylinder & piston arrangement !!!
Thank you, they are 2 foot operated air pumps ... Here's a video of this engine running on compressed air .. ua-cam.com/video/qTnid26YjKg/v-deo.html
Unbelievable, most people with a college degree probably couldn’t build this.
Thank you August, it just needs an efficient boiler ..!
hell yeah If the shit hits the fan the good ol country boys will always figure out a way. 👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Yessir, Murica ..!
I love it! I hope you still alive and have newer improved versions!
Aynway you could show how you built the valve and the cylinder and pistons?
how much machining did this require?
Zero machining ..
that flywheel need some balancing lol, but impressive being its made from pieces of scrap.
You are right sir ...!!
This is amazing! Just watch yourself with that boiler. Although it's probably fine something *might* weaken and break, and you don't want to be around for that.
Add a safety valve or something
Could the boiler run an air tool, like maybe an impact gun? And could the gun turn the alternator?
I'm impressed
I'm interested in building a small wood-fired steam boiler simply to create steam to heat water in a tank about 15-25 feet away (and more or less downhill.) I have a wood-fired outdoor water stove now, but it requires an electric pump to circulate the hot water, and I'm hoping to find a way to do something similar for a very small cabin without electricity. Can you recommend any books or other ways to learn about generating and using steam? Thanks!
Don’t know of any books on it but I’m sure they’re out there, there’s a guy on UA-cam that built a flash boiler ..
@@CapnSchep Thanks! I don't know what a flash boiler is, so that's a helpful search term. Appreciate it!
@@patrickcleburneuczjsxpmp9558 You’re welcome and good luck 👍 ..!
Five years later...is this engine still going?
Yes it is ..
@@CapnSchep 2022?
Ottimo lavoro, bravissimo!
We need more like you
Myke Marss Thanx Myke, for that positive comment ... !!
Great stuff....keep it up....
Hi, great work. Thanks for posting.Are you using a safety release valve?
Hi, free is always good. I working on a similar project using a mono tube boiler. I posted the project on the LynxWind forum in the steam section. If you have the time come join us. Again great work and I look forward to your test results.
Excellent, I will check it out, and thanx...!! Monotube is one hell of a lot more efficient..LOL..!!
Yes, I use a 70psi steam release safety valve ..
@@CapnSchep this one s not very rednackish XD great DIY build it works! That's the thing that matters
@@oscarverwey It works okay, just not very efficient .. Thanx for the positivity ..!
Could you possibly tell me how you're that ! It's quite a steam engine contraption
I would just add another post or a bar going from the flywheel to the table
Guys Question , Pls can someone answer ?
Does boilers Store enough steam first and then the engine is started or it's constantly producing steam .. ? If yes It's hard to imagine how that much steam can be produced in that size of a boiler
It's a bit of both really - the boiler is heated first and stores the steam as it gets up to pressure, then the engine is run and as it uses up the steam then the boiler boils more water into steam to make up for it
Do you have a water glass and safety valves on the boiler? What grade of oil are you using to lubricate cylinders?
I have a 75lb pressure relief valve, I am using used motor oil as a lubricant, about 6 to 8 ounces of oil for 12 gallons of water.. I have no sight glass for the water level.. I run it no more than 1 1/2 hours at a time...I put the oil in the boiler, then fill the tank 1/2 full with water, about 12 or 13 gallons...It is a very inefficient boiler and I've never had more than 50 lbs of pressure in it...
You NEVER operate a boiler without a water sight glass. You ALWAYS need to know where the water level is and have a way to put water into the boiler. It is not safe to operate a boiler and not have a way to know where the water level is. Steam is very powerful and if the boiler runs dry, the sheets can overheat and the pressure inside the boiler can bend/tear the sheets and a boiler explosion can occur. Even at 50 psi steam is very powerful and safe operation is a must.
Motor oil is a very, very, very poor lubrication in a steam application. It will cook off and provide little to no lubrication. A proper steam oil is needed and should be pumped with a mechanical lubricator (or have a hydrostatic lubricator) into the steam delivery line to the cylinders.
Oil should NEVER be added to the water. Oil floats on water and will cause a thin layer of oil to cover the water. This will cause the water to foam as the steam bubbles won't be allowed to break when the reach the surface of the water and it will foam like a pot of boiling water that has pasta in it. The foam can be carried over into the cylinders and will ruin any lubrication in the cylinders. If the boiler is foaming bad enough, when the safety valve lifts, the water can climb up the foam and escape through safety valve and can drain the boiler of water in a short order. Oil in the water won't lubricate the cylinders.
Thanx, I'll round up a few bucks and do that.. ! I've run this engine hundreds of hours using old motor oil mixed with the water, when the water gets hot, the oil seems to mix very well and makes this engine run more slippery than snake oil, and also, there is no metal to metal friction in this engine as it uses Viton O-Rings for the piston rings and slide valve seals. Thanks for your advice.. ...
Oil and water don't mix; never have and never will. Steam oil should be used with steam as it has additives to keep it from breaking down in high temperatures. (Steam at 50 psi is 298 F). Even with no metal to metal contact, there is still friction between the rings and the bores. This ought to be properly lubricated with steam oil, not motor oil. Nothing is a proper substitute for the proper oil.
Ernst Flow Industies has sight glasses. Make sure you the steam rated one if you buy from them. www.ernstflow.com/
LocoParts is a supplier for the Live steam hobby and they also have glasses. www.locoparts.biz/parts.html#Sightglass
Yahh how are you doing now is there any improvements ?
No, I haven’t messed with it in quite a while, been busy on a bunch of other things ..
With a stroke of 4 inches and a piston of 2 inches in diameter at 40 psi and 160 RPM it would produce about .2 HP per cylinder and 6.5 FLBS of torque per cylinder so twin single acting cylinders would be .4 HP and 13 FLBS, When you had it at 200 RPM it was at a little over .5 HP and again 13 FLBS of torque. I used a metronome and matched the chuffs. Just to give you a rough estimate.
Thankyou Branden, that seems about right, I wonder how much H.P. with 120 p.s.i. of steam, would you know ..? I don't trust that tank with that much steam pressure ....
@@CapnSchep make a water pipe boiler or a single pipe boiler they can withstand pressure. and a small amount of water is safer.
@@emil.honganmaki5461 A flash mono tube boiler would be the way to go .. Right now I’m too busy building my 23 foot shoal draft sail boat .. Perhaps later down the road I’ll look into that . Thanx for the suggestion though ..
Can u help with the boiler only, like can u share ur work on the boiler part of the engine.
There's not much to it, it's just an air tank rated for 120 PSI half filled with water ...
What did you use
2 bicycle pumps with viton O-rings ...
where is your water glass for the boiler?
and your safety valves
Michael Barron Seriously, get a pressure release valve. It costs like $10. One day something WILL weaken and fail and you want it to be a pressure valve.
Burke Moras Thanx Burke, but it's already got one,,,
if you had put the camera one inch closer, we would have seen better!
That's not 100A... Your ammeter is faulty
Apparently you're not paying attention because he said it was not working
You probably want to take this video down before a boiler inspector sees it. A boiler without a sight glass is unsafe and throws up a lot of red flags and can very easily attract the attention of local/state boiler inspectors.
CapnSchep Maybe you shouldn't mess with boilers.. Lubrication in the boiler won't cause it to blow up; low water, poor construction, poor maintenance, operator error/lack of knowledge and using the improper materials can cause that.
You should feel very lucky that you were hurt. Steam and scalding hot water can cause 3rd degree burns very, very quickly and breathing steam can cook your lungs. This is why you should only operate a boiler when you have the proper knowledge and safety items and know how to properly operate and care for it.
The general rule of thumb is that 1 cup of water can turn into 800-1800 cups of steam, depending on what the pressure and temperature are of the steam. That is a lot of power.
It done blowed up...!! It done blowed up real goood...
Yawn ...
That is not something that you should be proud of...
It ain't nothen but macheenra ..!! Kerblewie ..!!
+CapnSchep how big was the boiler explosion?