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Thank you, I am glad you found it interesting.

Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed the clip. And thanks for the book tip. I never came across that title before, but I have just ordered the book and look forward to reading it! Cheers.

Thanks for sharing that idea. I will have to try that one out :-)

Yes, the nut has some effect on the rpm set point, but it does not give a _lot_ of flexibility. The pulley's gear ratio is, as you mention, much more important. Small steam turbines are really fast, much faster than piston steam engines. I've read they are in fact so fast that model builders have had trouble with the durability of the innermost toothwheel connected to the turbine wheel because it is exposed to a lot of wear. In your case, you will probably need some gearing to the turbine anyway because turbines develop very little torque, so you may just need to attach the pulley for the governor after the gear train.

@@RetroTechyNerdyStuff Replacing the Spring with a stiffer/softer one woul be an Option too. I'm aware of the RPM/Gearing Issue; my current "Plan" is to put a 7:1 DIY Epicyclic Gear right on the Turbine Output Shaft, and then drive the Governor via a 10:1 Worm Gear. 300 RPM on the Governor for 21,000 RPM on the Turbine sounds like a reasonable Starting Point for Trial and Error to me. The Epicyclic Gear also has the Advantage that it makes the Turbine look longer and more realistic than just a relatively short Disc.

Indeed it is. One could also argue that it's a very elaborate way to use 100 mg paper patches to weigh the Fischertechnik chain links.

@@RetroTechyNerdyStuff agreed, I would say that's the most intricate use of 100 mg paper patches I've ever seen lol

It's great to hear you are having fun with your own set. Yes, it takes a bit of "un-training" to build in the new way compared with lego. But I find it's faster and requires less planning ahead when not building from construction drawings. It's great that you show it to youngsters - it broadens the horizon early on to know that there are many different construction systems with their own pros and cons. Best wishes.

@@RetroTechyNerdyStuff I just got my self a new toy, it is a small Stuart steam engine i wanted for many years Will see if i can set up something fun with it with the pneumatic tanks for the Fisher kit, to show the kids in the spirit of Your videos!

I'm glad you liked it. This particular alloy activates at 65 degrees Celsius. But other alloys exist which have different activation temperatures.

@@RetroTechyNerdyStuff Awesome! I wonder if one can use this to drive or somewhat control things like mini model railroad vehicles, ultra light model aircrafts, etc with heat from a small bettery or rails...

I've taken some measurements: power piston diameter is 8.0 mm, and is made of graphite. Displacer cylinder inner diameter is 25.9 mm, inner height is ~20 mm. The displacer piston (foam) diameter is 24.5 mm and 11 mm in height. I wish you the best of luck making your own. I believe the critical part is the spring mechanism on top which balances out the forces against gravity.

@@RetroTechyNerdyStuff Thank you very much, i really appreciate you taking the time to do that for me,👍👍👍👍 It should be a tremendous help. Just one more thing if i may, when the brass rod on the power piston comes to contact with the lower plastic spring, where abouts in the bore does the actual graphite piston come to in the bore, is it protruding or is it level with the edge of the bore or is it still inside the cylinder by a certain amount. kind regards Kev

No problem; I would estimate the bottom of the power piston is above 3 or 4 mm above the lower edge when it hits the plastic spring at the bottom.

@@RetroTechyNerdyStuff great thats very helpful, thankyou very much. as soon as i get back off holiday i will be in the workshop using your dimensions. again thankyou for your time and help.👍👍👍👍

@@MrFactotum Hi, please let us know if it is working now? I think the graphite piston must have made all the difference ? Hope your brother in law's health is better now.

It smells less than gasoline and you won’t need a complicated carburetter.

@@RetroTechyNerdyStuff do you have a valve to handle air inlet or just handle the butane? (Like diesel engine)

They are the notches in the disc you can see lining up just before opening the lock.

In theory yes, but since the fuel cell produces hydrogen very slowly it would have to run for many hours to fill a balloon. Also, making several litres of hydrogen to fill a ballon would pose a safety risk, so I guess not.

@@RetroTechyNerdyStuff can you make video test show me?

​@@RetroTechyNerdyStuffi savings money to buy it too😢 please test and show me 🙏🥺

The site where I originally bought it does not carry this version anymore. Your best chance is probably searching for it, it seems Amazon do carry some variations of the Galton Board.

I'm glad you found the video useful; I'm aiming to make the channel educational as well as interesting to watch.

Mine didn't initially spin the generator when I got it factory new either. First, I checked for steam leaks. Safety valve first; then the throttle valve. To make it tighter, I lifted the throttle valve's stem and dropped a few drops of steam oil into the valve and then turned it several times to get a tighter seal. Then there's the turbine gears. Make sure everything is running smoothly with almost no friction. It's tempting to oil the gears but I wouldn't as the oil might gum up. Then the generator: try removing the bulb before starting the generator and see if it runs. The turbine needs a lot of pressure to run well, so don't start it until about the time when the safety valve begins to release steam.

Thanks for your kind words. It was fun to make the video and see how the sling unhooks.

I’m afraid I haven’t seen these models offered for sale for some years. I got mine from gyroscope.com many years ago, but they don’t carry them anymore.

The engine was designed by JAXA, the Japanese space agency. I bought it as a kit several years ago. You can find more information in the video's description. Thanks for watching.

The SP8 looks very nice too, and a few years ago Mamod also made a beam engine, the SP8. I too have been somewhat put off by Mamod's quality control. This is the only Mamod engine I've owned and it had several problems out-of-the-box. If I may ask, which specific aspects of the quality put you off buying more?

@@RetroTechyNerdyStuff it would take all day to air my concerns. Check out my shown and special traction engine call something like "has manor changed in the last 8 months". It will give you a good idea. They ate under new ownership now, so maybe things will change. I have a SP8 beam engine. One of the best I had from them, but the general enthusiasts didn't go for it.

@@PLAYINGAROUND You tickled my curiosity so I watched your video. Very interesting, and an excellent walkthrough of the embarrassing mistakes in the workmanship. Mine also had defects, although less severe, probably since it's a less complex engine with fewer things to go wrong. It's sad that quality is sliding with these engine, but to be fair to Mamod in my experience they are not the only steam engine manufacturer which has let the quality slide over the years.