Steaming in the snow - a barstock Grasshopper engine

[Gas_mantle]

Hi all,

I decided today to give my little barstock grasshopper engine a run on steam, it's temporarily rigged up to my Tubal Cain 5" boiler and is running on coal. The video isn't the best quality but a lot of members here gave advice on how to build the engine and some asked to see it running on steam.

Firstly a picture of the temporary set up with a hand operated feed pump.



Here it can be seen running in all its glory 

At the moment my connection to the steam outlet on the boiler isn't my best piece of soldering and is leaking but it's just to give a temporary test before I add proper plumbing.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3knx3RvPY6w" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3knx3RvPY6w</a>



Peter

[Jo]

  That's running well 

Are you steaming up in the front garden Peter? I normally keep my model making quiet where I live for security sake. Not that I expect the local youth to show any interest in stealing my engines, they are more likely to want to run off with your mobile phone 

Jo

[Gas_mantle]

Thanks Jo,

Yes it in the front garden I have a small area at the back but it isn't level and at the front I have a raised concrete area to work on.

I take your point about thieves but it's fairly quiet where I live so things should be ok

[b.lindsey]

Thanks for the videos Peter. The cold air really emphasizes the steam too.

Bill

[sbwhart]

That’s steaming well Peter the cold air makes for a nice atmospheric effect

Stew

[Gas_mantle]

Thanks guys, the steam effect will be better once I route the exhaust up the chimney, at the moment I have just some temporary pipe as an exhaust to see what size works best. In the video the exhaust pipe is the same bore as the steam feed but I think the engine might breathe better with a slightly larger diameter exhaust.

I have also resoldered my pipe from the boiler and the leak is gone 

With no leaks I thought my Stuart 10h was about to go into orbit 

[Zephyrin]

very pleasant setup, nice to see lot of steam !

I wonder if a too rapid rise in pressure, with also means rise in temp in the burning coal, which easyly reaches forging temperature, could be harmful for the grate or the furnace ?

[Gas_mantle]

Thanks Zephryin 

I guess it wouldn't be a good idea to regularly increase pressure at such a rate but I did it as a one off to demonstrate what is actually possible.

[kvom]

On a locomotive all the walls of the firebox have water on the opposite side.  Is that the case with this vertical boiler?  And if the grate is open to the air then it's unlikely it could reach melting temperature.  Whether rapid changes in boiler pressure could cause stresses is another issue, but getting quickly to operating pressure wouldn't normally be a concern.

I can't tell from the video if the pressure gauge has a siphon, or if one is needed on a vertical boiler.  I also don't see if there is an oiler in the steam path.  Probably doesn't matter for infrequent use under steam, but the cylinder would need some attention after a run before storage.

I've thought it would be fun to run my engines with steam, but it seems like a hassle, and it's not allowed at shows.

[Gas_mantle]

Yes the firebox has a wall of water all the way around it and the gauge does have a siphon.

At the moment there isn't an oiler in the steam path so 'I've been reliant on adding steam oil manually before use, once I come up with something more permanent I will add a displacement oiler.

Running on steam isn't much hassle if you are happy with gas or spirit fuels, it's a bit more effort to use coal but it's a lot more fun