This is a fantastic little (but serious) rig. I gotta say and no offense intended, I love how you talk about this like there's a bunch of junior Casy Joneses at home who are going to be tweaking there micro steam engine gen sets😂 LOVE IT DUDE!
Is this some sort of permanent magnet alternator? He never shows any wiring other thn the battery connections and doesn’t discuss any modification to the alternator, so I’m assuming that has to be the case.
Has anyone ever used a diesel exhaust turbo unit as a steam turbine? is there a way to build a small home-made boiler and turbine or steam engine to make about 4000 watts with steam power from wood fire?
I had to watch the video twice because I was so amused by all this, i didn't listen to a word you said! 😊 Did you build every bit of this unit by yourself? It is amazing, really love steam engines and boilers, I worked on steam for many years and I enjoy watching people with passion and persistence preserve our history. Congratulations, very nice work. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Apparently it's possible to super heat the steam by running it through a metal coil and using heat over 100c ... poss by placing the coil around the boiler or around the combustion exhaust pipe ?
It sure looks like a ball Valve being used effectively as a throttle valve, to modulate steam pressure and flow to the engines, the valve with the yellow handle? If so, perhaps this is just temporary but using a ball valve for that purpose. Especially with steam, is really not a good idea. Ball valves are made to be used as isolation valves and intended to be fully open or fully closed. Some sort of proportional valve would be better suited as a steam throttle valve. I guess in the case of this tiny set-up with limited hours of operation, it may work for a while. But if the machine gets used a lot, the ball valve will eventually start to deteriorate and will start to fail. Generally speaking. Globe valves are better suited as throttle valves for steam, for various reasons (they will last significantly longer), but a glove valve is better because of its linear operation. Some live steam modelers claim to use gate valves, but gate valves are not really linear either. Real vintage steam locomotives used throttle valves that were very specifically engineered for their use. A ball valve is very hard to use when you want to operate it only partially open for slower running...ie. Ball valves have very non-linear flow profiles as you rotate the handle. Also, except for very low pressure low temperatures the valve seals on a standard plumbing grade ball valve will likely deteriorate if used as a steam throttle valve. When using ball valves for on/off isolation in a steam system be sure the ball valve (and its seals or valve seat material) is listed for use with steam as noted by a marking of WSP or SWP (Working Steam Pressure or Steam Working Pressure). Most commercial and residential plumbing ball valves are not intended to be used for steam.
The next 20"boiler will cost about $5,975.00. I will complete it in late April. The steam engine with alternator is $5,675. You can see them on ebay. Search "steam off grid" Ross
The next 20"boiler will cost about $5,975.00. I will complete it in late April. The steam engine with alternator is $5,675. You can see them on ebay. Search "steam off grid" Ross
Great build Ross. A fine compact unit with the steam engine tucked up nice and close ( that you built ) . Great for running some smaller equipment while not taking up a great deal of storage space while not in use. Well Done . Michigan
