So you've got a great start to your steam engine, however I think you'll need a different kind of boiler for your final product.most importantly, you should have at least 2 safety (pop) valves to prevent your system from overpressurizing the vessel or your piston (one set at your safe operating pressure and the other slightly lower). This is a must for your build no matter if you continue to use the compressed air tank or go with a different design. For one, you do have a very strong container, however it is highly inefficient because the tank has very thick walls, and the internal surface area in contact with the water is quite small, which also hinders heat transfer. Another way to do this is to use a coil of copper tubing in what they call a "water tube type" boiler. The copper is a great thermal conductor and your surface area/volume will maximize the amount of energy that can be transferred to the water. Not only will you be able to build up steam to operating pressure faster, but you'll also get more steam for the amount of fuel you'll use (less tending the fire & more run time for any given amount of fuel). Just note that you'll still use up water at the same rate. Nevertheless, stay safe out there and good luck on the build!
Thanks for the info! This boiler was definitely a temporary measure, I primarily used it because I wanted something super strong, and building an efficient boiler could easily take up a whole video!
Also consider using (VERY temperature strong) heat pipes (like the ones in a PC radiator) to transfer the heat from a coal fire to the inside of the boiler efficiently.
I want to add that a very important thing about steam boilers, is that most of the risk comes from running too low on water. Even if your safety valve fails, you are most likely to have an explosion if your water level is too low, which is why most "real" steam engines have an injector valve.
Just FYI, with steam, the cooling fins work against you because the steam is condensed and doesn't produce as much pressure lowering your efficiency. But great vid bud!
Yeah, the only reason you would ever want cooling fins is with superheated steam, and probably only if it’s >300°C which might make the engine slightly less pressure resistant.
@@djaydeved yes, that’s why I’m saying that overheating can be a problem with steam engines if the steam is too hot, and my point was that that’s the only time find on an engine can be useful
Heat loss is probably quite minimal without the fan shroud directing cooling air over them. Overall for such a crude steam engine and boiler setup (not saying it's not good or impressive, but it is still crude compared with a purpose-built steam engine) I'd think that's the least of his worries, and there would be a lot of other things that would make a bigger impact on performance. Particularly a better boiler. But it would be pretty trivial to wrap the whole thing in fiberglass exhaust header wrap or something, I doubt it would help much but it wouldn't hurt.
Maybe an old air compressor would be a good option, you could essentially reverse the whole system and use the tank as the boiler and the compressor as the engine. Air compressors are naturally rated for the heat, due to compressing air, and have lubrication. Imo it would be a great option. Looking forward to seeing how this progresses!
@@Hebdomad7 they're common in some free flight model planes as well, but i'm talking about using the compressor part with steam instead of compressed air.
Cool idea! My main concern would be using the tank as a boiler, since they are designed to sit around the same pressure I need to reach, but at room temperature.
As a steam enthusiast, I love this! However I’d recommend a stronger pressure vessel and definitely a water gauge, as in most steam engines if the water runs dry it may burst due to the heat.
I think he need an empty propane tank or something. Something with much more volume than the tank he used (the pressure dropped fast), that can also handle pressure.
Could definitely retrofit a steam generator similar to the antique Doble steam engine cars of the 20’s. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rUg_ukBwsyo.html
Could maybe block off the transfer port and partially fill the crank case with oil like a four-stroke engine, now that the crank case isn't needed for pre-compression.
The crank and rod has bearings so there isn’t that much performance if any to be gained the only thing oil will do is stop it from seizing but when the engine is that cheap it’s easier just to get a new one
Have you considered a Stirling Engine? It can directly transform a temperature difference to mechanical work. You also don't need to worry about steam pressure (either losing it or potential explosions). However, I'll never complain about more steam powered devices.
Please remove the tap/valve on the cylinder, or put the overpressure safety valve before it. Nothing goes wrong the way you expect it to. Atm nothing is stopping you from heating it with the valve closed. You'd think it's at 0psi, then when you open it your get hit with an engine explodeing at 5000psi.
I think that thing is epoxied in place, I couldn't budge it with a breaker bar and a torch. For a long term boiler absolutely it needs to come out, but for this test I kept careful eye on things for the reasons you mentioned!
Cool thing man! Just something to add, as a mechanic, one of the most important things we are thaught is, lubrication is essential for a fine working engine. And that is a 2 strokes engine, wich uses oil mixed with fuel to lubricante not only the crankshaft but the piston, wich means that the comb. chamber and the crankshaft chamber are not hermetic like a 4 strokes engine The point is, you should add some sort of lubrication device to extend the lifespan of the engine, and it beeing a 2 strokes makes it much more harder. Greetings, keep beeing cool Apologies for my english.
Your english is excellent. Also, many steam engines had total-loss oiling systems that used oil injectors to add oil to the steam. Just like a 2-stroke with an oil injector. Fun fact!
@@trekintosh Oh! I didn't knew that. Thanks for the knowledge! So... steam engines work like a two strokes but they dump the oil instead of burn it, cool!
In terms of a boiler, you could look at doing a water-tube boiler. The book "Building the Clishay" has drawings for a water-tube boiler that engine would use. It's meant to drive a 2 cylinder marine engine, which should be similar to your needs. Also, most of the problems you are having are with getting the engine to start. As you're using single action (as you explained), getting to the right starting phase is difficult. A flywheel and a clutch could likely help get the engine running. That or running two of these "Steam engines" out of phase. Last thing to note is its worth looking at boiler code in your state. This is something the Little Amerricka guys could help with. EDIT: I was with a group that tried to put a Little Engines 0-4-0 crab on air by compressor. I see all the compressor comments and really can't recommend that route.... It was noisy and very inefficient. I think there are some videos of that Blue Mountain Crab out there.....
I'd think just spinning it over fairly fast would be the most effective method of starting it - perhaps use the same recoil starter it had when it was a gasoline engine. It also would have had a centrifugal clutch, but the engagement speed of that would be far too high to work with this.
He simply will need to put an oil tapper into the piston chamber. So it will slowly drip oil. It will get very oily and messy, but it will make engine safe.
I don't really watch your videos, but watching this and the previous minecart video, the quality in your videos and projects are exceptionally high and creative. Keep up the good work; from the small details to the bigger details, I assure you no detail in these passionate videos go unnoticed. Keep up the good work, looking forward to more of your stuff.
What you need, mate, is a proper Water Tube Boiler. Or in other words, a Tankless Water Heater like you'd use in your house. It heats a small amount of water in a coil of (usually) copper pipe until it flashes into steam. They're extremely efficient with a much lower risk of potential explosion. In fact, after about 1910, basically all steam powered cars (which were actually equal in popularity with internal combustion cars until the 1920's with the advent of the mass-produced Ford Model T) used a form of water tube flash boiler. The alternative is a Fire Tube Boiler, the type seen in larger steam machines like locomotives, ships, factories, and the like. In that, you contain a large amount of water in a vessel with an internal heating chamber, the firebox, and pass the hot gases through the water via dozens (sometimes hundreds) of flue pipes. They're much simpler to build and a more robust design, but much less thermally efficient, slower to heat up and raise steam pressure, and come with more dangers; if the top of the firebox, called the crownsheet, is allowed to be exposed with no water surrounding it, the heat of the fire can rapidly cause it to weaken, warp, even start to melt, compounded by the pressure of the steam inside pressing outward. If a gap opens to expose the inside of the boiler to atmospheric pressure, the remaining water inside will instantly flash to steam, causing the boiler to explode. Low water level is by far the most common cause of failure for fire tube boilers. There are safety devices to mitigate the risk, such as gauge glasses to monitor the water level, try cock valves that vent steam or water directly from inside at different levels as a more basic and reliable alternative, and fusible plugs made of a metal that will melt sooner than the firebox itself, venting steam and water into the firebox to more or less instantly put out the fire and relieve pressure at the same time (at the cost of potentially damaging the firebox, but better that than an explosion). Either way, the experts at the miniature railroad where you previously tested your minecart, and where I presume you plan to test this next one, would be invaluable sources of knowledge as they not only operate miniature steam locomotives regularly, but build brand new ones on site. If anyone knows steam tech, it's them.
Steam engines are truly reliable power, if you look at old videos of beat up steam locomotives running, no matter how worn out they are they keep running!
I would have never thought to change a combustion engine into a steam engine, really cool. Although one small nitpick, the furnace cart doesn't use water so I always guessed it was some form of a stirling engine instead of a steam engine. Anyway I am really exited to see where this project goes next.
If you plan to ypuse that steam engine for a prolonged time, youre gonna need a displacement oiler to inject steam oil into the cylinder. Also the reason the engine probably didnt start right away could be because the cylinder was cold, so as the steam endered the cylinder, it turned streight jnto water, and the high pressure was required to force all the water out and get it moving. The solenoid thing is also great, loved the video. Also the cooling fins on the engine probably are worsening your efficiency. Ideally you want to run on as little pressure as possible. A flywheel might also help but idrk
if you can, get an old flathead briggs and stratton engine and weld on two additional lobes onto the camshaft to have the valves open twice as often. I saw an example on youtube somewhere a few years back and it ran super smooth with plenty of power.
Kozo hiroko's books on steam engines are great for information on boiler building and safety as well as how to build all the parts I have the shay book and the climax book his books also have how to run the engines aswell
A larger flywheel will help this immensely! When i was experimenting with the compressed air powered version. I ended up using a heavy, cast aluminum platter off an old junk turntable. Then i just used one of those air dusters that hook to the compressor and some brass fittings. I ended up with a pretty torquey engine with decent revs.
Jay Leno has some videos on old steam cars from 1906. I would watch some of those. They’re basically what you’re making though complicated in some ways. Like using a burner with a pilot light like in a home. But the Stanley steam car has a big boiler wrapped in piano wire that won’t explode, and takes 20-30 minutes to create steam.
When you make the minecart furnace, would you be willing to make an extra minecart for a second passenger and make a "minecart train" similar to the game?
What about lubrication of the engine? Considering this is a 2 stroke that normally gets it’s lubrication from the mixed fuel that comes in. Wouldn’t this setup seize up within a short run time especially with the high temperatures of steam?
@@Henning_S. that’s cool to know… but I’m not seeing it on this model right here. So unless he adds it later on you’re looking at a serious chance of seizing everything which if not careful can lead to wheels locking up and potential accidents. If spectacular enough.
@@martijnklerks I think if he he didn't get all the water out of the engine after this steam test, the cylinder liner, piston rings and crankshaft bearings may already be rusty, so this engine won't last long, even if he adds a lubrication system later on. But maybe he did put some oil into the cylinder and the bearings before the test and just didn't show it in the video.
right now he's getting most of his lubrication n form the water condensing out of the "wet" steam and the fact that the engine uses cast iron rings on a cast iron cylinder liner. if he was using "dry" steam he would have to use lubrication ( in the form of steam oil; a specialized oil that mixes with water) to prevent seizure.
@@johnkuzma7066 dry steam is just overheated steam, as soon as it touches a cooler surface like the cylinder, it also starts to condense and becomes wet steam... And water provides a pretty bad lubrication, of course better than nothing, but it doesn't work good enough for the piston rings. It can work for fast rotating shafts without any side load like in the circulation pumps of a central heating system, but not in an engine...
hey joel not sure if you know this already but friendly reminder that 2 strokes need oil steam is not a great lube, put a side cover back onto the crank case and put a bearing in there along with put a oiler for the crank and also use steam oil for the piston rings, that way the engine wont explode itself from friction.
Slap some oiler lines on the crank bearings before you ruin them. Or turn the crank case into an oil sump and block off the transfers. This is pretty sick!
I think that you may have a bit better time using a four stroke OHV engine for this, that is if you play around with the valve timing to get the steam in and out right. Plus an added bonus is that you can lubricate the bearings so the engine can run at higher RPMs for longer.
before watching this, i had no idea how a steam engine works. after watching this, i still have no idea how a steam engine works, but was thoroughly entertained for almost 11 minutes
The open port of the valve wastes most of the steam. You should consider using a four stroke engine, it already has proper lubrication and valves, you just need to modify the camshaft. The best way is to make the camshaft rotate twice as fast, so that opens the valves on every revolution instead of every second revolution. The position of the inlet valve cam also has to be changed.
I made a really nice 1:1 scale Minecraft chest in my woodshop class at school imagine if we put it in the minecart now we got a chest minecart. Also that steam engine is awesome! Can't wait to see what you do next with it!
Cool. As for my interpretation of the furnace minecart, steam engine is a good solution, but considering the furnace cart moves from just burning coal, I think a stirling engine, since it doesn’t require water and harnesses the temperature changes in the temperature of air trapped within the cells to run when a heat source is applied.
Good cylinder concept. In fact, thank Richard Trevithick for the idea; he pioneered locomotive development with his 1-cylinder "Pen-y Daren". Of course, his design was a double-stroke, where steam presses the piston in both directions. I would recommend either adding a second cylinder out of phase (at a 90-degree offset so one is in dead center while the other is mid-stroke) or assembling a system of rods called a valve gear. It works like the spark-plug solenoid you made, but more archaic. There are lots of different designs on the internet, but for simplicity's sake I'd go for Walschaerts' design.
A Garratt (often referred to as a Beyer Garratt) is a type of steam locomotive invented by British engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts.[1] Its boiler, firebox, and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bridge". The two other parts, one at each end, have a pivot to support the central frame; they consist of a steam engine unit - with driving wheels, trailing wheels, valve gear, and cylinders, and above it, fuel and/or water storage. Articulation permits locomotives to negotiate curves that might restrict large rigid-framed locomotives. The design also provides more driving wheels per unit of locomotive weight, permitting operation on lightly engineered track. Garratt locomotives produced as much as twice the power output of the largest conventional locomotives of railways that introduced them, reducing the need for multiple locomotives and crews
If I were you I'd use a 1 or 4 hp Gast pneumatic motor... They run great on low pressure steam, self starting, produce excellent torque, fairly cheap, no electronics and easy to mount to a surface. They also sound cool. I tested a gast motor on one of my steam tanks and it was pretty simple and exciting. I also have steam rocket jet packs on my channel.
Adding stern to the crank case won’t increase speed much but it will increase torque and efficiency as the piston would be pushed from both sides. Although you would likely have to block off the original transfer ports and add a new exhaust port or the steam will just go to the top side of the piston and fight its movement.
Since your weed whacker motor is two stroke, you need to find a way to inject oil into the cylinder in order to lubricate the cylinder walls. You still have the ports from when the weed whacker was still gas powered so you can utilize that. Also using a harbor freight engine might be a better bet. It has more displacement and therefore more torque. Edit: I also agree with a lot of the other commentators with that a proper boiler should be used. While yes your CO2 cylinder is rated for 200 psi. I don't think it was ever rated in an application with exposure to direct heat. The pressure cooker that exploded is rated for around 15 psi. Assuming a safety factor of 3, it was probably able to handle around 45 psi (I'm just guessing at this point). It usually has the same thickness of your cylinder, but it's probably stamped aluminum or stamped steel. Also I am probably on some FBI watch list as I was looking for the max pressure of pressure cookers. I guess this is why people advertise VPNs?
If you have two of these "pistons" linked together on the shaft at 90 degrees from each other. It may help overcome the dead spot when starting. Like others said, you may want to invest in some 'Steam oil' to help with the lubrication of the pistons.
There was entire class of locomotives called "fireless locomotive". It's basically what you have built - locomotive which runs out of pre-prepared steam (without actualy boiler or fire on locomotive itself). It was used in places where ordinary steam locomotive would cause risk of explosion (chemical factories etc). You can copy some ideas from there.
Color looks rly good now 👍 and very entertainin' clip... Next step buy some left over soviet uranium from shady website and get a boost for your steam 😅 awesome work once again my friend... Talk to u soon 💬
It's actually amazing how efficient properly built steam engines are, 40% efficiency, for comparison an internal combustion gets 30%, while photovoltaics (okay sure, they aren't exactly combustion powered but I needed something to bridge the chasm between engines and thermocouples) get 10%, if you happen to have perfect conditions and a load of money, and lastly there are thermocouples, which in their most advanced form can reach about 6% on a good day.