Finally A Flash Steam Boiler That Works!!
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- Опубликовано: 18 янв 2022
- Finally, a working steam generator. It shouldn’t be this complicated but it’s because I’m trying to do this with solid fuel - timber. Usually these are powered by gas burners of some sort, which give more heat and are more constant, and also don’t need a chimney. But this one now seems to work, so who needs gas?!
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Amen to that!
It almost exploded. Not a good design.
Yes!
Tim, be careful using brass fittings at those temperatures, they will de-zincify, leaving a soft spongy material that will fail. Also be mindful of the dubious quality of the gutter bolts holding the lid of your pressure vessel on, best to replace them with some grade 8 or above when you start making pressure. Very interesting as usual! 👍
Good points - thanks
I liked the idea of water running through the grate a bit better than steam because keeping the steel at a lower temp would help keep it from rusting out. Guess that might have made the fire burn too cold and been a bad idea anyway. It sure is a nice design as is. The plasma cutter is the perfect tool for this stuff.
Your matches don't flame up because you've got so much steam that it's pushing all the oxygen away. Matches need a bit of air after the chemical oxidizer on the tip is used up.
I agree with your idea of running water through either the grate, or a portion of the tubing in the chimney. It takes a huge amount of energy to boil water, but only a bit more to superheat it. I think the reason the steam volume was so low is that the boiler needs more surface area in boiling section and less in the super heater. Also, I would suggest a larger firebox for more BTUs before having to add more wood.
I disagree with you here, you actually don't need a whole lot of steam in terms of volume to get work from it, the most important are temperature and thus pressure, this is exactly the reason why in every coal fired power station the water is boiled in the wall of the boiler and super heated in the heating elements in the fire box, especially as the system is self regulating once you are actually running at pressure, the best way to run this system would actually to be boil the water in the chimney, then going though the flu box and finally into the fire box.
The high pressure steam blasting out is blowing out the match. You can see the match starter burning completely. He should have pulled away as soon as they started to ignite.
Detroit "TRASH BURNER" at near INTERSECTION of I-75 + I-94 ...used a heavy steel conveyor grating to *BURN GARBAGE* ...FUEL OIL WAS SPRAYED ONTO GARBAGE TO IGNITE/ BURN WET GARBAGE ...SLOWLY MOVING GRATING/ CONVEYOR SLOWLY , METHODICALLY MOVED LEFT-OVER NON-COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL OUT OF FIRE BOX TO A DUMPSTER .....STANDARD BOILER TUBES (~5/8 thick ) ALLOY TUBES WORE THIN VERY FAST ...SO ...AUTOMATIC M.I.G. WIRE WELDERS COVERED ENTIRE BOILER TUBES WITH ~ 1/8 inch THICK STAINLESS STEEL .....IF YOU BUY A STEAM CLEANER MACHINE ...small WATER RESERVOIR or DIRECT CONNECTION TO A WATER HOSE (COMMERCIAL CARPET , STEAM CLEANING MACHINES ) ..."BOILER" IS 100% , ~1/2 inch O.D. STAINLESS STEEL TUBE IN A MASSIVE MULTI COIL ....ANYONE CAN EASILY INVESTIGATE , PHOTOGRAPH ",JUNK/SCRAP YARD" UNITS or ...NEW UNITS IN "SHOWROOM" ......IS EFFICIENCY EXCEEDING 15% .....MOST COAL FIRED POWER PLANT ELECTRIC GENERATOR (A.C.) are ~32 % efficient >>> coal in >>> electricity out ....they have a shredded metal rotating HEST EXCHANGER THAT RECOVERS HEAT FROM SMOKE STACK and FEEDS **HOT** AIR INTO FIRE BOX , RAISING EFFICIENCY ~5% (?) ....use a AXIAL , PERMANENT MAGNET A.C. GENERATOR *** NO STEEL NEAR WINDINGS *** and raise GENERATOR EFFICIENCY !! ... COMPARED TO COMMON ROTOR/ STRATOR type **1850** designs
Not sure if its been mentioned already, but depending on how much 'spare' steam you have, you could fit a blower up the chimney to increase the draught.
Definitely worth doing.
Absolutely. Just a little exhaust from stage 1 will make a huge difference in efficiency.
I'm very glad that there's the addition of a pressure relief valve. That's certainly much more important than most people assume
Two working safety valves is critical. These are off the shelf components from model engineering suppliers. In you UK you have plenty of sources like blackgates
But I'm not in the U.K.
@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 oh! Where are you? Looks and sounds like the uk 🇬🇧. :)
@@chiefauditor1683 Ireland - so not so far away, except the import duties make buying anything from there crazy
@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 a lot of model engineering parts are made by people in the hobby. Still at reasonable prices. I’m not familiar with model engineering in your neck of the woods but I’m sure you have them. Well worth the time. Also take a look at a blower for the chimney. Basically a ring with very small holes. 1/64th. Tiny jet of steam up the chimney drawing the fire.
Hi Tim, just in case you burn yourself, keep a bottle of clean water near. In my experience (below 250°C), it's really helpful to lower your skin temperature as quick as possible (within seconds) after a burn. Then keep the injury under a tap for as long as it hurts. Thank you and Sandra for your great videos!
Good idea
And salt as well. If the burned skin is intact, just after heat contact, use cold water first and apply a lot of salt. It prevents from the 2nd degree burns and blisters, I think, due to osmotic draining of excessive liquid.
@@bonobo9904 dear bonobo9904, please, with no offense meant, look up proppper burn wound treatment online. Applying salt is one of the last things you should do as far as I am informed.
Keeps looking better each video Tim. Can't wait to see how well it boils water on charcoal
That's what i thought. Without knowing much about oven/boiler designing, the new design around 6:55 looks pretty darn good and professional! Reminds me of some vintage indoor ovens used in log houses? 😅
8:51 boy that wrench sure makes a funny sound!
I thought that too; I'm glad it is not just me.
Definitly you need now an compound steam engine, to drive the chip machine or the charcoal mill...! Fantastic things you made, you inspire me to build also an narro gauge railway (600mm) in my yard for log transport to my workshop! What an fun!!
I always want your videos to be like 30 minutes longer.. you've made great progress! My advice is, keep testing and redesigning like you already are. You're a great engineer.
This is fantastic! I'm loving watching this evolve. You've got a wonderful inventive mind.
I'm always very impressed how you never get frustrated! The idea of taking it all apart for the third or fourth time would have caused me to set the project aside for a while at least
I'm loving the progression of all this. Lovely stuff Tim!
What a clever project. Beautifully done Tim! Can’t wait to see what you come up with next. Make On my Friend
Such a clever little boiler box!
So compact and organized
I'm so glad you are getting closer to getting it running the way you hoped for . Brilliant 👏
Soo many know it all warriors and health and safety officers in here!
Congrats Tim! My favourite part is that you thought to conduct isolated system testing progressively at each stage. Good development methodology!
Thanks, D. : - )
Just found this channel. I really enjoy the subtle humor and delivery of the explanations.
Very entertaining.
Welcome aboard!
I just enjoy your work. Thanks for taking us along for the ride!
Incredible progress, Tim!
Can't wait to take a ride on your cross-country railway in a few years.
Try insulating your fire box/boiler and maybe even the section of your stack with the second stage coils so you won't lose so much heat to radiation. It works with stoves. Great job. I will give you credit when I imitate it to run a turbine generator.
At what pressure do you plan on operating the boiler at? Your feed water will have to have greater pressure then the boiler pressure to avoid a low water situation AKA turning it into a bomb. If you don't plan on making pressure greater than your standard water hose pressure a check valve would still be a good idea to prevent steam from entering your water pipes. Consider any pressure you make in a closed system will not be easily controlled you should try and have multiple safety valves. The water heater safety valve you currently have installed isn't meant for steam use but pressurized hot water. Good luck and safe boiling!
His system isn't closed. The steam is free to escape through the copper tubing. There is not valve trying to over pressure the tubing.
@@jameskniskern2261 Yes, as long as the steam is not put to any work, the system is opened, but as soon as the steam sees an obstacle, such as trying to operate a steam engine, pressure will begin to build.
@@Gin-toki if the pressure builds there is a safety valve that is the blow off point. There is no collection reservoir to build pressure the pressure is created forward of the float valve. He may need a check valve on the water to prevent steam backflow. But with a safety valve at the 1st stage boiler, the entire steam generation system is protected by said valve.
I think he's going to build a vacuum steam engine... No scary high pressure!!!??
It's always great to see what you have made and your ideas.
Canadian Boilermaker here, if you allow your dry steam to be directed against an internal plate contained in a box it will remove the remaining water droplets from the "dirty steam" , the concept is called a steam drum, you should be able to find examples if not contact me and I can provide examples. sorry if this is late to the party, I am just looking for boiler ideas for a small project here at the farm.
Thanks - that's the bell-shaped thing on top of steam locos, right?
Hi Tim! I didn't doubt you for a second. I knew you could do it! That steam and matches trick was pretty great! I didn't know you could do that! I like your new grinder. I bet it's fun to use!
Thanks, Tracy. Yes, the grinder is suprisingly useful
@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 Tim, I cannot find you on Patreon. Can you help me?
When i saw the part where you just went "Meh, this is not good enough. I will do it over again" I was like: *Really? You will ACTUALLY rearrange it and start over ag...*
And you *ACTUALLY DID IT!*
What a madlad. Respects.
That's a much better design than your last one. Looking forward to seeing what you do next.
You have the mind of an engineer and old time ingenuity in you. Thanks for documenting your trials and errors, so we don't feel so bad when it doesn't work perfect the first time.
I installed carpet for 20 years 12 hour days +. I used to tell the boss I am going home because I am just making scrap. You and I have something in common.
Love this series, always makes my day when you poast.
Cheers and keep up the good work👍
Really cool build. And thanks for showing your success as well as your failures. To see what works and why is very useful to me.
Super awesome job TIm! I like the new design as it allows one to really warm up the smoke stack. I think you could cook a chunk of meat on that dry steam! Good job again. Looks like quite a lot of comments helped out!
That is really quite amazing. Superheated steam will set paper alight so if I had to guess I might reason the temperature of the steam still is not high enough. Perhaps a greater amount of a smaller diameter tubing in the firebox may do the trick. Enjoyable content as usual, cheers!
That was brilliant to watch, especially running the tube back through the fire. Looks like the matches are just getting blown out by the pressure from the steam, but maybe they're supposed to be fueled by it or something. At any rate others are much more clever than me will chime in, but I'm having a grand time watching your updates. Cheers!
Thanks, Albert : - )
you can use the steam to replace the oxygen in a kiln to make activated charcoal.
This is a great idea! I think he already makes charcoal on his property, and activated charcoal has lots of great uses
I’m just filling the comment section for RUclips- you’ve totally lost me but I loved watching this
I am. Liking this a lot. I hope to build a flash boiler myself and this has given me a lot of information. Thank you for posting it.
Another great piece of engineering as always, thanks for another great video
This is quite lovely. Looking forward to you using it in some way.
Very nice job there Tim. Your steam generator is coming right along. I can see you using a bigger verson to start drying the wood for your charcoal operation.
You are fantastic!!! Every new video from you brings a smile and joy to learn something new... 😀 btw have a blast of a great day 😜
Thank you! You too!
Rocket stove or no, your design is very clever.
Thank you for sharing and stay safe!
ingenious! this is excellent.
a hopper/fuel feed tube, piping to add more hot air /O2 to updraft to assist with second stage burning - black smoke should be clear.
An excellent design here. Reminds me of the Superheaters used on the Steam locomotives where the steam was passed through pipes in the boiler tubes to remove as much of the water in the steam.
My new obsession: stream power!
Great vid/proof of concept/work in progress.
Thanks!
(Liked n subscribed :)
Great to see you giving different things a try bro, as for what to do with the steam. Maybe a steam powered thing to move your stuff around on the railway. Safe travels
I think insulating the sides will improve efficiency even more. Nice simple design.
Wow! Very cool. I didn't know you could light a match with steam. 😊
The draft problem with the first version of the stove could have been solved by pre-heating the chimney with the torch. Keep something smouldering at the rim of the fire chamber to create a little smoke, then pre-heat the chimney until the smoke is drawn down and into the fire chamber, and THEN light the fire.
The velocity of the steam is putting the match out
It's the lack of oxygen in the stream of pure water vapour.
5:56 Pain is temporary, Glory is forever. IYKYK
Great work and determination.
a small steam whistle would be very cool
Awesome project and well thought through. Having an economizer, vaporizor and superheater, in the right places, and even using up/down stream heat transfering method is great. The only thing that could cause a problem now is the water. The minerals and salts in the water like cake up on the walls, reducing efficiency and insulates the steam pipes so they become hotter(the steam is cooling the pipes so they don't melt). If you're using a closed system you could use it for central heating and add a base to the water, NaOH or ammonia. When water reaches it's saturation temperature in open air, the pH actually falls down to around 6, which will slowly begin to corrode the piping. Keeping the pH around 9 prolongs the lifespan of the boiler.
Thanks, Rasmus - very interesting
Nice build!
I'm always a little scared about steam, burned myself to many times...
I find it very helpfull to bevel the pipe prior to welding. It makes cleaner and stronger welds.
Keep on building, there will be a range of trains soon! 😉
Thanks, Pieter - good idea
Hey Tim a really nice and better way to power machines would be wood gas as you can use it to power normal combustion engines 😄
Yes, I might have a go at that too, one day. It's all very interesting.
Hello from Detroit Michigan USA Great video guys 👋👋
I think bending the tube would have a couple advantages. Firstly, I guess I'm not certain how it applies to steam, but for fluids like water or air, a long sweeping curve allows for greater flow without interruption or eddy currents. It would also eliminate your problems with welding and pinholes. If you find a spring that fits nicely either inside or outside of the tubing, this will allow you to make 180 degree bends without kinking the pipe. A lot of people suggest filling the pipe with sand, this works well but I think it is far too time consuming.
I'm sure it would work for bigger radii, but for bends this tight?
Maybe just use elbow fittings, and instead of using Teflon tape just use old-fashioned packing?
Nice idea. The only problem I see is the thickness of the tube wall and the radii you want here are not practical for it to work ..... and spring bending only works with copper pipe so the grate is out for that!
Your pinhole problem can be fixed (next time, because there is always a next time) by grinding the cut edges of the tube to be welded at 45 degree. This would allow for deeper penetration of weld rather than just the surface .... the finished weld will look better too ;0)
It is a bit out of fashion nowadays but Gas welding might give the best results with the grate but is probably not worth it unless you are doing production runs.
If you had run your gas torch on the original chimney it could have started the draw causing the exhaust fumes to then take over the heating ..... but your fix was more elegant!
I have just found this channel ..... Well worth a sub!
@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 trumpet 🎺 and other brass horn makers use frozen soapy 🧼 water. Soapy enough to easily blow bubbles with the water.
Freeze it then bend it.
You'll also want to use a very high grade of stainless steel tubing meant for this type of heat exchange.
At superheated temperatures 🌡, the steam will actually begin to break down some and into hydrogen and oxygen. And will rapidly degrade the steel otherwise.
In this case the extra turbulence is likely beneficial to the longer exposure of the liquid/vapor to heat. Nothing to solve, but good thiunking when flow is the restriction (it isn't here).
This is brilliant.
Simplest feedwater setup I've ever seen!
Firebox could be bigger.
Thanks. Yes, you're right about the firebox.
omggggggg !
all that plumbing would make a Fire Lorry envious !
🤣😂😇
Very exciting stuff. I think you just looking for reasons to play with plasma cutter haha. The redesign is very clever it looks easier to insulate now too.
Very exciting to see the dry steam, I wonder how much you can get out of it with insulation and a larger fire. Can't wait to see what's next!
That was fantastic! I thought you had added some humorous sound effects while tightening up the fittings on the boiler. Nope! Just a real life donkey with excellent comedic timing.
I have just come across your channel and found this video very informative and educational, I'm currently building a small engine myself and look forward to watch some more of your videos 👍
Welcome aboard!
that's the funniest, strangest and uniquiest boiler i've seen, loved it.
Wonderfully brilliant
Yet again I stumble upon ye on my niche tinkery endeavours, you truly seem to have dabbled in all backyard personally doable innovations
I have a CNC plasma cutter and you are right, it sure helps when making things like this. You are quite the engineer. I think I heard the donkey give his approval. Good to see you and keep on creating things.
Thanks, you too!
Man do I love your videos - this is just how I build things and how handy folks have been doing it for generations. I wonder if your original designs (or at least the version at the start of this video) draft problem could have been fixed with a little door at the bottom of the chimney. When starting the fire in the main firebox you could stuff some paper in the bottom of the chimney (through the little door) and light that. Perhaps it would start the draft and once the little door is closed the already started draft would make the primary fire draft up through the chimney. Just a thought - I have no idea if it would work.
I've been wondering that myself!
Pat, what a gent for that generous gift!
Yes - he was very generous
Very impressive. The whole thing is a boiler, not just stage 1 - you have boiled water to dry steam in 3 stages. A cyclone separator between stages 1 and 2 might improve efficiency and would certainly extend the life of the boiler, as water droplets going into stage 2 will tend to cause errosion. Stage3 is in fact a superheater as the steam ought to be dry saturated as it exits stage2. Obviously if you vent stage 3 to atmosphere this cannot be demonstrated. Your matcheads burn demonstating that the steam is dry. Don't expect a visible flame from a match in a hurricane!
Great job Mr Tim. Step by step, building on lessons learned, a proper development programme.
Mk II may need to be built with a fire brick lining, that fire looked pretty decent and a few months use will see the bottom and sides start to suffer. When I built my second wood burner I designed it around the cheapest rectangular fire bricks I could source.
You're right David, but I'm still prototyping so there's no hurry
Alot of cold air in the chimney and pipes would have certainly affected updraught..a simple pilot light or candle burning in the firebox would burn up that cold air methinks..great content as usual Tim..thanks
Thank you Tim and Sandra for your video s awesome ! In us were I worked we bent a lot heavy wall pipe we did it the old fashion way we welded a cap on one end Of the pipe pack with dry sand fill weld cap on end make fixture heat take your time bending we used heavy wall it won’t kink I’m was told u can use wax never tryed just something to think about
Thanks, Terry. But how tight were you bends?
@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 the heavy wall tube we used had multiple bends 90 O on one end sand packed tight proper heat should bend what you want
Good Job!
Well done!
perhaps a later try could include a small pyroliser, a can to heat wood, to produce gas and charcoal to fire the boiler together, gas for a secondary burner after the grate or something.
You might be able to make popcorn with the steam, or if it is hot enough, maybe rice crispies!
I like it!
And here I was telling myself I just don't need a new subscription. Oh,well.
Here's a thought. I was just looking at the videos of the boilers of battleship Texas. The boiler with the three main drums is a common marine design. There is footage of the internals and just what was done to separate water from steam. Well presented,it just might give you some ideas to fiddle with.
I was quite impressed by your use of the empty fuel cylinders . Smart. And you already own them,no fiddling required.
All the best.
Thanks for the video
With such a nice boiler you can do some nice steam distillation of essential oils on a very nice scale :P
Very fragrant side project when not used for other things and there are flowers growing or some other things :)
By the way most steam locomotives use excess steam in the starting cycle, to vent smoke out the flue. As soon as steam is being made, it is used to draw the smoke out the stack.
1 brazing over the ground welds.
2 please learn what a locomotive steam "Dome" is and how and why they work.
3 never let a steam boiler of any kind run dry. NOT EVER NO MATTER THE REASON.
4 Please continue your experiments and consider keeping all pressure experiments inside a walled roofless enclosure perhaps made of used tires.
5 ( My personal favorite) Practice screaming the word RUN!!!!! AS you set your best foot work example.
This has the added benefit of making sure no one relocates your tools or enters your shop area without a phone call or a previous reservation.
You're going to need annual boiler inspections now.
BTW, they make cheap thick walled bends. In the size you want them mandrel bends are very very cheap.
They have wide and narrow radii to choose from too.
The thing is the way you've done it may make for more efficient heat transfer than smooth bends but it is worth knowing they're out there.
thanks - I had no idea they were out there
The flash boiler on the Whites Steam cars was coiled steel tubing. 1/2", if I remember correctly. Saves welding in tight corners.
You can't talk steam without the idea of a steam engine.... but that might be beyond a DIY project... however a single cylinder steam engine hooked to a dynamo would provide a quick energy source :)
Collab with Keith Appleton?
One way to increase the temperature is to add a blower. It's basically just a valve you can open & close to let steam out of the smokestack to draft the fire and suck more air in. This will drastically increase the heat and by extension, the steam production.
Armstrong hydroelectric machine may be of intrest-he was contiunously charging 33 square feet of a battery array or(perhaps lieden jars) .If you in England it can be found a Newcastle Museum.
when doing the heat transfer, start with the coldest part of the fire (the top of the chimney) and work your way closer to the hottest point, so that the hottest part of the fire is heating the hottest steam
Good evening Sir, OUSTANDING ENGINERING 👍👌🧐 Keep up your OUSTANDING research and video's Sir 👌👍🧐 All the best Cheers 🍻
Thanks very much : - )
@@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299 😇👍🍻
I love it Tim, very clever :)
Many thanks!
Next time Bend the pipe with a pipe bender to make your round ends so you can weld straight bits.
Also to weld 90* corners like that your going to want to use a brazing torch and high temp brazing rod.
Here is a suggestion for how to power a locomotive: a Stirling engine, you heat the hot side with anything that burns, it is much quieter than a internal combustion engine, it does not need to store heat as energy as steam (but you want a flywheel), and to power the loco:s drive axis a clutch and some gearbox. you might even replace your diesel woodchip-er with this if you could find a way to connect it (i am sure you can), perhaps even mount the woodchip-er to railcar.
i think this full fills all your requirements.
Thank you for sharing all your interesting tinkering.
I think they're very difficult to get working properly and have very little power
I find that I need to get some draw up the flue of my rocket stove, before lightimg the main firebox. Otherwise the convection from the firebox comes straight out, rather than up the flue.
In my case, I can shove a burning rag down the burn chamber and into te base of the first flue riser. Once the draw is there all is good.
Looking good
I think it needs a tiny bit of back pressure that will raise the boiling point and increase the density of the steam in the pipes allowing for better heat transfer
Yes, I was thinking the same thing. But t hat will come when I connect up some sort of exit restriction valve
I have found that stick welders do a good job on inside corners.
I don’t quite follow, but it looks like it works.
It is like a huge Samovar crossed with an Appalachian moon shine still.
Can’t wait to see how you use it.
Very interesting
Frank
nicely done!
to get the fire to reverse directions you should use a fan a the top of the chimney to pull the fire through at first. then when it gets up to temp use a steam blower to keep it flowing. This is how it works with real locos; the fire is pulled through the fire tubes with the blower. Even with your improved design it would help to get it started and become more efficient. it would also be better if there was a larger area for the steam to come out of the boiler or a wider boiler. the seam can only escape though the little cracks between the float valve and the boiler walls, and because its at such a low pressure at that point the steam is not escaping efficiently.
hope this helps!
I am!
Most impressive!