@@octane613 - *ANYONE* who builds a boiler with no safety valve has NOT got the right spirit, and I don't give a damn whether they're 'hobbyists' or professionals. Look for info on the injuries even an empty aerosol can will cause if you throw it on a fire.
the chinese definitely believe that "any publicity is good publicity" since they happily give out discount codes and free items to people who give them negative reviews, because ultimately they know that even a bad review will drive sales they otherwise wouldn't have gotten, since the people who watch this who think it's a bad product never would have bought it anyways, but people who would buy it regardless of the bad review may not have been exposed to it without the bad review. the chinese are the ultimate capitalists
@@lmm ROTFL Anyways, I loved your review. It's nothing but honest and i really, really hope that someone who made this engine will work with it and smooth out those little things. It's just so strange to me, that this engine on one hand looks amazing, futuristic, it is well machined (so obviously someone who did it, had to have his way with tools in the workshop), yet there are so many small details, which an engineer would never screw up. Kind of like taking a Gucci tie and making a granny knot to finish it off... One thing hit me when i first saw that burner... My little experiment with trying to get a better flame from an alcohol burner. It was primary school and i kind of lost some eyebrows then🤣. Basic idea was: if alcohol fumes are burning, and when you heat up the pot, alcohol evaporates quicker, let's stack it up!!! And i made a small bottle cap burner on the bottom and another one hanged over it... It was fun.😋
crazy! my grandad built model steam engines in his garage using copper and brass. this looked way more technical than what he did but he seemed to have ticked much more boxes than this company. what's crazy is he passed not too long ago and this gets recommended to me! oh ill also add the copper and brass was often donated to him from pubs that were refurbished, they would donate the metals from pumps or plates that wrapped around the bar. true genius was my grandad, rip, miss n love you loads.
I don't know why YT suggested this video for me, and I wouldn't have bought a steam engine model if it _did_ work. However this is by far one of the best reviews I've ever seen for any product. It's got everything - broken laws, engineering that is simultaneously brilliant and awful, legitimate danger for the operator, misunderstanding of physics. Even instructions on how to use a simple wrench!
Cleary YT picked up you and me might find this interesting despite lack of interest in buying steam engines. Almost a bit scary. So while I am not in the market for a steam engine (even if I do find machines overall interesting) I do agree that this was a pretty good review.
Hahaha same for me! I am not now, nor have I ever been, in the market for a small steam engine. Yet this was recommended, and I watched it from beginning to end, and enjoyed it so much I subscribed.
I love how Lawrie has full knowledge of the fact that so many corners where cut it would be a circle. Yet he puts it indoors, in his house, next to him and at least 2 computers... XD
Indoors means a better film. It also means I can see the flame better, as can you. The pcs are off. The water from the valve gear goes up, then back in the general area. You can clearly see the splash zone around the engine. I don't wear gloves or goggles when driving or firing full size locomotives, I'm not going to use them for a mini.
@@lmm But still, the instructions did recommend wearing goggles while you operate it... Also, I saw a potential problem, while yes you are going to need a safety valve, you're going to need to tune the valve to vent steam if it goes beyond the maximum pressure otherwise adding a safety valve would be entirely useless. Not once did I see the valve actually vent steam before the steam engine vented steam. It indicates that the safety valve was not tuned correctly and with that being the case, it's better off having the tapped screw in than having the valve at all.
China is pretty prolific with what could arguably be called 'cargo cult product development'. They see something, they think "hey, I could make and sell that", and that's all the thought process that goes into it. As long as it looks like the original idea, someone will buy it, because they have never experienced the original, only seen it. And so the cycle continues. Safety, material science, efficiency, and sometimes functionality outright, are lost along the wayside.
‘Cargo cult product development’. Excellent work sir. Exactly explains the situation. Richard Feynman introduced the concept of ‘Cargo cult science’ in a famous speech, and of course ‘Cargo cults’ themselves developed during WWII. I’m jealous, of course, that you made the cognitive leap before me. You’re a smart cookie. Sadly, the effects are wide spread. 20 years in the electrical wholesale/retail trade, and I’ve watched the Chinese factor, wreak havoc in more ways than people would credit.
I remember building a watts dual piston steam engine from scrap, no kit all I had was 2 pages of design drawings. Took me nearly a year to finish, spent just about every night in my old mans machine workshop. Won first place when I entered it into the end of the year science project, not bad for a 12y old even the teachers were amazed. Great skills to learn as a kid, machining & metal fabrication became handy for me later in life.😁😁
Any reasonably thinking (read non-twit) would view this engine as something to engineer. I and my friends have had this trait since about the age of six. We would cap the wick openings and go to one TRIMMED wick. We'd never light a dry wick. We'd try different fuels. We'd mount that stack deeper or change it. We'd design a safety valve. We'd improve the throttle. We'd feed the excess water to a feed tank with a valve. The UK has nanny stated the people so much they have lost the ability to dream, dare and innovate.
Exactly. THIS is where chinese stuff shines. I have sooooo much chinese garbage where the base is excellent. Watches, electronics, toys and tools of various types. My fucking car.
All the more reason I try to steer beginners towards makes like Mamod, Wilesco, and Jensen. They're safety-tested, fitted with proper safety valves and other "don't melt your face off and/or blow yourself up" features, and they're made with materials that you don't have to worry about letting go all of a sudden.
Jensen's steam engines aren't too dissimilar to Wilesco's, made in the USA since 1932. Little less polish on the finish perhaps, but engineering wise they're quite well made. Have a #75, the biggest in their "Hobby Line", has a working Stephenson valve gear along with a regulator, whistle, safety valve etc. Only complaint I have is the paint on the boiler house burnt and flaked off, and the steam exhaust isn't routed to the chimney like on a Wilesco, but it's been a good little engine, was a bit cheaper than its Wilesco equivalent.
I don't know which was more disappointing,.... the steam engine or the guy in the video whining about it or the comments whining about it. It has a safety valve here 17:40. The whole thing leaks like a sieve.
When I first started collecting (and restoring) vintage steam engines I found this out the hard way. The vintage Bing plant I purchased did indeed have a pressure release valve but it was corroded to the point of being locked up, fortunately I ran it on air pressure first but did not monitor the pressure on my compressor and blew the boiler cap off the top of the boiler, It would have been bad if I had been steaming it at the same PSI. Now, even if the pressure release is working, I hydro test the boilers first. Thanks for posting.
Why would it have been bad? You would have just blown the boiler cap off the top of the boiler with steam pressure... people are not smart and say and think really dumb things to fit in and to get attention.
@@thomgizziz …. You are clearly the protagonist of your little “seeking attention” example. Blowing the boiler cap off a boiler while steaming could potentially cause extremely bad burns. I’m going out on a limb here when I say you should probably stay away from ANYTHING that involves fire.
@@thomgizziz The thermal and latent heat in steam means it has a lot more energy than compressed air. You get a much bigger bang and now there is hot shrapnel coming for you.
Not forgetting that (if you blow the Boiler Cap off with steam pressure), the temperature of the steam when it meets atmospheric pressure is several degrees above the Boiling Point. A real danger when compared to running your steam engine on compressed air...... You will always find the 'knockers' who will challenge you on this point, and it is not worth writing back to them. Let them all find out the hard way.
Backing out the 3-4 through bolts and taking the top plate off would be ideal. Being safety vented at 15psi (appx 1bar) and loss on every other stroke I wouldn’t have worried about the pop off valve as a paintball gun, cylinder engine and other aluminum bored equipment like nail guns operate at 90-120psi. I’m sure there’s an engineering formula to prove the point of boiler volume at any level of fill couldn’t reach critical with flow volume at minimum, but I’m just going to leave it at sensible working pressure of like equipment being 8-10 times the pressure at much higher flow volumes work. Safety valve doesn’t hurt anything if installed, if not, I wouldn’t have bothered. But I’m American, we do things like that then pay our own medical bills to help us learn so our government doesn’t have to protect us from ourselves
Yes, I found it a bit disconcerting that the Tap used wasn't even cleaned from its previous use. Also looked out of square. But then what would I know. Only in my 50th year of trade experience as a Certified Toolmaker.
Aluminum is perfectly fine for a tiny boiler of that size! I’m guessing, it could operate at 400 to 600 psi with no issues at all. (Depending on the thickness of the aluminum and the type of aluminum used.) The safety valve sure, the boiler strength not a problem
coffeemakers are also made of aluminium. That's not the problem. As stated, it's the missing valve......and a few other things that make this a piece to look at maybe, but never use it! Nevertheless, personally I think "design" should follow function and not just reflect weird ideas.
I love how the sales page has this very video embedded on it, so you go to the page to buy the engine, and there's a TH-cam video with the thumbnail reading "Dangerous and Illegal!" emblazoned across it 🤣
Im not convinced that it is illegal... people like to use that word for clickbait a lot but some society not thinking something is designed well doesn't make it illegal.
@@thomgizziz This is technically a steam pressure vessel. I assume that technically all steam pressure vessels need to be pressure tested and need to have a pressure release valve. Now, technically that is not a pressure vessel, because it only becomes one, when you connect something to the outlet. That something could be for e.g a straight piece of pipe. Still not a pressure vessel. The straight piece also happens to fit the engine, but this also not a pressure vessel. Only when bending the tube and connecting all three pieces it magically becomes are pressure vessel, missing the pressure release valve. Now as one commenter put it: It is a lovely little compressed air engine. Place a regulator in front of it and let in run slowly.
@@thomgizziz steam engines have a lot of restrictions, even here in North America due to how dangerous a steam vessel can be. I am forwarding this to a US expert, but he did explain that in the UK it would be illegal without the safety featurese he added before using, and a quick search on code for my state lists a safety valve directly affixed to the boiler/reaction vessel is required by state law. Yes, this is a toy, but just as a toy working firearm is still legallly a firearm, this is a working steam engine subject to simple safety rules.
My grandfather built the house for his family. In the basement he had a boiler and the house had steam heat. I learned a lot about boilers from my grandfather and one of the things was the importance of a slight glass so you would know the level of the water in the boiler.
Yeah, even Mamods have some means of seeing of the water level is correct. (A gauge glass on newer ones, on mine it's just a simple plug; when water starts coming out you know you have filled it enough).
It definitely needs fire control. Whoever designed this needs to learn from old oil lamp wick adjusters. With a wick adjuster you can raise or lower the wick and even put out the flame as needed.
The engine runs quite smooth even at very low pressure. But whoever designed it has no idea how a boiler should work. If they sell it without a boiler it would be very ok. But that boiler is a no go. Very bad design and outright dangerous.
I have a beautiful WWII SOE steam generator for charging batteries for agents in France etc, batteries were often needed for spy radio sets. After a few calls inquiries I gave up on the possibility of seeking boiler certification.
Since you added the much needed safety valve, you could bypass their safety system. If you would plug the the hole to atmosphere on the control valve block you would use less steam and have possibly have better speed control. This will use less water and help insure you do not run out of water before fuel. Make a project: put the lower device on wood or longer screws so the steam line is level. Make the steam line shorter and solder in a tee. with the one tee leg aimed down solder on a drain valve. A good review and the possibility of saving an injury. I was a senior engineer at a stream plant, people do no realize the danger in a pressurized vessel.
I used to watch MythBusters. Every time, they would give anxious looks at the camera and talk about how much they hate working with pressure vessels. Then came the episode where they built a framework of model floor and roof to building code, and simulated a water heater with its P&T valve blocked. It launched through two floors and a roof, and kept going. Pressure vessels are scary.
A rocket is a pressure vessel with a hole in it. A bullet is a pressure vessel with a hole in it. My aunt opened a pressure cooker too soon (made a hole in it), there was tomato sauce everywhere. I worked in a steam power plant , pressure is to be respected. When pressure testing a feedwater heater the heater is filled with water. Then air is used to raise the pressure. The pressure gauge was monitored at a distance with a scope, just in case. Love them MythBusters. @@johnladuke6475
Wow. That definitely seems "designed" rather than "engineered", and it's a showpiece of what one can do with laser-cut metal and a nice catalog of generic parts. There are some fascinating details like the fact that the screw holes in the block of metal visible on top of the boiler at 5:34 have slots to the perimeter, which I think are there to make it possible to cut them with a waterjet while cutting the outside. It is almost as completely removed from traditional machining as it is from any engineering calculations or judgement. I would be entirely surprised if the throttle blowby that Lawrie talks about is intended as a safety mechanism; that seems far more thought than was put into any of the rest of it. My guess is that, instead, the "made from off-the-shelf generic bits" throttle that they cobbled together is simply leaky. Also, it seems to me that this is less likely to explode than to have the bottom sheet on the boiler flex enough to leak around the perimeter and blow out its entire contents in a shrieking banshee blast of flash-boiled steam. This is not clearly an improvement.
I’m amazed you ran this indoors, on a desk practically in your face! But props for the yellow car transporter on your desk, haven’t seen one of those in years. 👍
To help reduce the steam turning back to water in the pipes, insulate them with asbestos... I mean, it's no more dangerous the the stean engin itself! 😄
@@kabob0077 You'd get thrid degree burns followed by Asbetosis... Acualy, when I was a kid my Dad repaired the burner on one on my engins by filling it with asbestos fiber. But that was in the 60s.
Of course, you do need to actually breath in the asbestos for it to be dangerous, so makes sure to saw it roughly with a power tool, or break it up a bit.
Thanks for stressing the safety valve, that thing is an unintended pipe bomb. Not to mention a huge fire hazard. Looks cool, but I don’t like being scalded, burned, or perforated by shrapnel! This was recommended after I researched locomotives last night, glad I found you!
Get some egg shells and soak them in strong vinegar. When the shells disintegrate, strain the liquid through a cloth. Add denatured alcohol to the liquid and scoop out the gel that it makes. You now have dry alcohol fuel that stores forever in a sealed jar. It can be regulated on flame/temp a lot better.
Unrelated to steam engines but a lot of RC helicopters (large dangerous ones not toys) use aluminum parts and steel screws to hold in all together. Now it seems to me using steel bolts to hold the blades in a 1.5m span rotor spinning at 2200rpm in the aluminum blade grips (not to mention the stainless steel bearings seated in the grips) would be a recipe for disaster, yet it seems all of them do this. What would be a better materiel for the bolts and bearings that woulds also be strong enough to hold up to that much force though?
That part about aluminium losing its corrosion resistant properties as you heat it up is also why metal plants love to show that work safety video of what happens if you expose hot aluminium to water... Basically, its "corrosion resistance" comes from it being so reactive that it almost instantly corrodes a protective layer of aluminium oxide for itself when exposed to oxygen. If you continually remove this layer or keep it from growing one however... It reacts really, REALLY quickly, with an earth-shattering "kaboom".
Many pressure cookers are aluminium. However aluminium in contact with a brass safety valve will corrode horribly. You should fit a stainless piece between the valve and the boiler. Or just polish it and put it on the shelf where it belongs.
A pressure cooker only gets one atmosphere more than ambient pressure, its not very high. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if they have an aluminum shell, like the body of a car, while the inside container that actually holds the pressure is steel + the lid, like the chassis of said car. That's how the old pressure cooker that my mom had was built, if I'm right.
Our pressure cooker is aluminium throughout. I am not qualified to answer the question as to what constitutes a boiler that does/does not require a boiler certificate, as the regulations have changed since I last looked. Suffice to say a pressure cooker and a moka pot both require a safety valve, which this does not have. It's illegal.
I put a safety valve in it, so we're talking 20psi top wack. It was brand new at that point, and an explosion was unlikely. I was expecting more leaks though!
I wonder if it would be worth trying to upgrade it, replacing the wick burner with a coal/wood burner, adding a sight glass, better funnel, just trying to make it better
Why would anyone try to upgrade this? For a model too sloppy made (too far from the real thing) For a toy too dangerous. Something you buy to make a video review, wind yourself up about the missing safety and then put it to the metal recycler (or land fill?) Average people will fail to appreciate the difference between this monstrosity and a "home built" model. th-cam.com/video/dVLSX_WCMI0/w-d-xo.html
Funny how it has a pressure relief valve on the top and you take extra care to not allow any closeups of it throughout the video 😂 He treats his viewers like thier dumb because they are
4:28 - My new screen saver 😂 But, my good gods above me - that engine is ALL of the dangerous!!😮😮 I trust you had an escape route and a fire extinguisher to hand old chap? I mean, that 'reactor'... Sheesh...!!
The flames licking up the side of the boiler alone make this a ridiculous and dangerous piece of kit in my opinion! Never mind all the other safety deficits!😮
It's pretty poor. As mentioned making the wicks shorter caused it to spill meth onto the burner which then dripped down the side on fire. Meth burns with a faint blue flame. One of the reasons for being inside as the flame is raiser to see!
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🚂 *Basics of Steam Engines* - Overview of the safety valve in a typical steam engine. - Introduction to the components inside the newly unboxed steam engine kit. - Discussion about the reactor (boiler) terminology used in the instructions. 02:30 🧰 *Steam Engine Kit Assembly* - Instructions and tools provided for assembling the steam engine kit. - Challenges in aligning and connecting steam inlet and outlet pipes. - Highlighting the use of a spanner (allen key) in the assembly process. 06:40 ⚖️ *Legal Issues and Safety Concerns* - Discovery that the engine lacks a safety valve, making it illegal under UK law. - Concerns raised about the use of aluminum in the boiler, affecting its corrosion resistance. - Explanation of the safety valve retrofit to address legal and safety issues. 08:16 🚨 *Engine Test and Safety Valve Modification* - Attempt to test the engine after retrofitting the safety valve. - Discussion on the design and construction flaws in the steam engine. - Observation of alarming features, including flames around the boiler. 11:12 🌪️ *Engine Operation and Regulation* - Demonstration of the engine's operation, including regulator and pressure gauge. - Issues with the regulator not providing a complete stop, leading to potential safety concerns. - Evaluation of the engine's efficiency and challenges faced during the test. 14:21 🔧 *Mechanism and Efficiency Concerns* - Examination of steam path inefficiencies, including condensation and water buildup. - Critique of the design flaws affecting the engine's efficiency. - Discussion on the regulator's inability to control the engine effectively. 17:35 💸 *Pricing and Market Placement* - Evaluation of the engine's pricing in comparison to other available models. - Assessment of the engine's suitability for collectors, enthusiasts, and children. - Identification of design shortcomings affecting the engine's overall value. 20:09 🤷♂️ *Final Thoughts and Recommendations* - Recap of issues with the burner, wick consumption, and overall performance. - Expression of gratitude to Engine DIY while acknowledging the engine's limitations. - Conclusion on the inability to recommend the steam engine kit to viewers. 20:23 🔥 *Engine Performance Evaluation* - Critique of the engine's fuel consumption and loud, rattly, and loose operation. - Concerns expressed about the lack of a safety valve, highlighting its illegality in the UK. - Recommendation to explore better engine options on Engine DIY's website. 21:02 🤔 *Mixed Feelings and Pricing Concerns* - Expressing a desire to like the engine more despite the overall dissatisfaction. - Commentary on the engine's affordability if priced at £100 but deeming it too expensive. - Fears and reservations about the engine's overall quality and functionality. 21:29 🛠️ *Building Challenges and Placement Dilemmas* - Mention of the challenges in finding a suitable place for the engine due to its design. - Discussion on the need to build a base for the engine for stability. - Personal contemplation on potential modifications to improve placement options. 21:42 🌐 *Recommendation to Explore Engine DIY's Website* - Encouragement to check out Engine DIY's website for alternative and better engine options. - Emphasis on the availability of various engines on the website. - Final suggestion to consider purchasing a different engine instead of the one reviewed. Made with HARPA AI
“Prevent Danger” is brilliant from a legal perspective. If anyone gets hurt, and litigates the company, all the company has to do is prove the person didn’t prevent danger ⚠️ which is impossible 😅🎉😢
I put that in the same bin as instructions that tell you to do some step, "carefully". I'm never quite sure if that should be a smidgen of "careful", or a bucket of "careful". I also wonder if left-handed "careful" is as good as right-handed "careful".
"Prevent danger" is (obviously) a translation for a phrase which probably makes succinct appropriate sense in the origin language. Hence the use of the word "reactor". Professional translation and proofing, a corner that's often cut.
1) It could be set up/mounted on a step, so that the engine steam intake is level with the boiler output, reducing the risk of priming. 2) The Burner could have the outer wick-holes blanked off, thus relying on the single centre wick. Slower to heat up but much safer. Also, a more densely woven wick would help. 3) A good model engineer could install a sight-glass on the side of the boiler for water level. 4) The slide valve could probably be adjusted or remade to fully cover the port. 5) A cheese-head screw, suitably fettled, could replace the Regulator bolt, thus taking out that backlash. 6) The steam-port piston could probably be re-engineered a la Mamod style. Thread the chimney hole for a more permanent, stable solution. Overall, despite the dodgy, it has the capability of being a good model. But NOT at that price.
Ohhh yeah. As soon as I saw the color of the metal I knew what was up. In eBay Seller Engrish, that's "brass tone" -- it's aluminum anodized to sorta-kinda-if-you're-drunk-and-squinty-enough look like brass, but it very much is NOT brass, it's what brass looks like if you've never actually seen it and only heard it described over a telephone with an unusually buzzy connection. The similar, but slightly different "bronze tone" is their fake copper look, and it's just as egregious. Not to mention it's gushing out wet steam and... that is NOT a safety mechanism by any means, that is a time delay on your improvised shrapnel generator if you run that thing dry by accident. The cherry on the whipped cream on the whole poo fudge sundae being that it's bloody incontinent, which means that not only are all the screw threads _cast_ instead of cut, they're cast _badly_ ... a brilliant piece of kit, but only if you're a fool, a madman, or a hitman whose target takes after Rube Goldberg just a little _too_ well. I'm by no means a steam engineer, and my mechanical engineering skills are, in general, dubious at best. But, as my grandmother would say -- even Stevie Wonder could see just how awful this is. Whatever isn't useful as scrap bits for making something far better (not a challenge by any means) is purest bin fill, nothing more or less.
@@lmm Oh dear Lord in Heaven. Easy on the praise, there, I say, chap! Wouldn't want it to go all to my head -- I might explode, a bit like that boiler's liable to if you don't watch it like a meth'd-up hawk... Seriously, though, thank you :3 I am but a humble tinkerer, and I do not feel worthy, but I shan't argue...
Oh, forgot to mention. FIX THE PRORBLEMS> Every single deficiency you showed me could be mitigated with some more tapping and insertion of screws and/or drilling and tapping. There's no interest in another train like you showed as an alternative. That little engine is DOPE and as it is designed, it can be improved greatly. Even the Jenky screw just needs a larger screw in it. Dress it up and use a titanium screw or something awesome. Fix it. You already put a regulator on it so keep going. Consider slower burning wicks and possibly water your fuel down a bit/use other slower burning fuel. REINVENT THE WHEEL! You certainly have knowledge.
While bare aluminium has corrosion issues at higher temperatures, anodized aluminium, depending on the kind of anodization of course, can have good characteristics. This being said, if they neglected to put in a pressure relief valve, i have my doubts they were thinking that when they were anodizing the thing yellow.
So, with flames running up the side of the boiler, I guess the entire boiler barrel is now technically the crownsheet? 😬 I believe the Mamod safety valve opens at around 20psi, but a safety valve won't do you any good if the boiler itself isn't good for 20psi. I think you've got yourself a decent compressed air engine, and a bit of aluminum scrap.
The engine isn't even decent as its letting half the air / steam go to atmosphere workout doing any work! I don't want to try and work out where a crown might be on this. Mamods are 10 or 15 I think. This is 20 The instructions say the engine runs at 15 so I figured a fair guess.
If you want to test the pressure vessel, then pressurize it with air using a regulator and check where it goes boom at room temp and getting it really hot with a heat gun. That would work effectively but is one time destructive testing. If I have bolts in my neck and frankenstein stitches in my head, then you know why LOL
A better way to pressure test a boiler is hydrotesting: fill it with water (or other non-compressible, non-toxic, non-flammable fluid) and apply pressure to that. If it lets go, as soon as it does the pressure goes away and the pieces of boiler stop accelerating -- vs. the continued push and explosion you get with steam or compressed gases.
@@scottwillis5434 Not only a better way, but the proper way. Really high pressure tanks, like scuba tanks, are hydrostatically tested. If I recall correctly, to somewhere over 3000 psi.
I love the fact that this video is now on their website, apparently to promote the product. Jeez... Edit: Now removed from their website... Edit the second: Now put back with added comments about possible illegality in the UK.
"The collector" may want high end steam engines, like the Wilesco D32 (droooolll), but I can see the appeal of the Jank-master 9000 and similar engines. I just wouldn't run it on steam. Perhaps compressed air from a pre-regulated source.
I think the wicks are way too long and therefore the fire is way to big. It's made of aluminum (which i know you're not used to) so the heat transfer should be fantastic. Just a little flame underneath should be more than adequate. That may fix a lot of the other issues you are having.
Exactly. The wicks are supposed to be trimmed down a bit. It's the same thing I have to do when I buy new candles. The high flames was causing it to get way hotter than it needed to be.
Yeah, I was surprised it had some many wicks when just one would have been enough to heat something so small. It would just take a little longer to build up pressure but that would also make it safer.
"A company sent me this product. It's illegal, potentially massively harmful, and performs terribly even after significant modification... So the link is in the description, go check them out!" ngl Lawrie I'm not convinced 😂 (I'm paraphrasing for humour, I know he didn't really say this)
Thank you for sharing this It's something that a complete novice like me wouldn't consider, nor be aware of legal requirements. It looks amazing but is an accident waiting to happen. Glad we also have the video's you've put out on safe steam models
Well I certainly would NOT have tested that indoors! It looks more dangerous than my 1970s primus stove, and I had one of those go bang some years ago, outside fortunately, damn lucky I wasn't hit by shrapnel.
Yes, I felt a little anxious as the pressure built up. Plus a meths burner licking excessively large flames everywhere. It looks like three bars secured by friction fit, outboard of the boiler, are all that resists pressure. Guessing 2 inch bore, that's nearly 50 lb force at 15 psi. Not even tiny screw threads holding it together? Can you turn the burner off, or snuff it out?
@@BillDavies-ej6ye - A water spray bottle is effective, but I would not have run this inside. The only way to be more dangerous is to run alcohol as the fuel and as the liquid in the boiler so the steam engine blows flames when running 😱😱💣💣💩💩 😎👍
A boiler without a safety valve on it is not a boiler; it's a steam-powered bomb, this thing is just straight up a bomb as it comes from the manufacturer.
A victory of styling and a novel concept over Form and Function. It is also a bit suspicious that they seem to go to some effort to not describe the pressure vessel as a "boiler," presumably on the rather dodgy grounds that in correct operation it shouldn't be able to sustain pressure. I wonder if the lack of gaskets is also intended to be a safety feature along the same lines.
I am pretty certain that the pipe is straight so that it is not an pressure vessel. The boiler without restriction would just boil water to steam at atmospheric pressure. Only by intervention of the buyer it builds pressure.
That's not on the instructions. When I ran it a second time with reduced wicks, it just sucked up the meth and over spilled onto the burner top, and then ran down the side of the burner, on fire.
For everyone fretting over UK certifications, keep in mind this a country that requires wall outlets to turned on and off via wall switches ANNNNDD, banned a pancake flipping contest as too dangerous. 'Nuff said.
The most worrying thing about this engine is that some comments on the website are like "Ideal Gift for kids". I hope that it is just some bot, or the Chinese manufacturer trying to increase his sales. But that the thing these days, and it isn't limited to China, happens also in Europe and USA: many people don't even recognize that they are making crappy designs!
They seem to think that if the computer models work that it will work in real life. Sadly a lot of these new model engines are designed and built in China where they don't adhere to the same quality standards to as you said obtain cheap sales. As I have mentioned in my comment is same quality standards also being seen in other items like computer tech, power tools and even models being built by highly regarded model manufacturers.
The Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) is restricted to pressure vessels with a capacity over something like 1 litre. If it is smaller the PED does not apply and so it is possible to claim it does not apply to something small like this boiler. I don't know if the boiler regulations would apply to something as small as this but there are standards for miniature steam locomotive boilers so they may be applicable. I think the starting pressure of 15 bar (about 220psi) is confusing atmospheric pressure which is about 1 bar with 15psi which is also about atmospheric pressure.
At least for pipe bending - get a brake pipe bending tool. But that's probably the smallest issue. I'd prefer to use a brake hose instead of a rigid pipe. I'd prefer to have the pressure gauge on the boiler. And in addition to the safety valve also have a blasting tin that goes into a hose that should go into a water filled bucket to take care of dangerous steam release. So the main issue is the boiler as I see it. So just run the engine on compressed air and it would be a lot nicer and less dangerous unless you overrev it or do some other stupid things.
@@lmm I agree that it's not a good engine, but it's reminding quite a bit of the earliest steam engines made and those weren't good either. They did work about as well as this engine, and If I'm right they actually had the power stroke from the condensation of the steam, not the injection of the steam.
I can see someone kinking the tube, either in initial assembly or when setting it up later, and then be wondering why nothing seems to be happening when it explodes. James Watt, like Thomas Newcomen before him, did indeed build atmospheric-pressure engines which depended on condensing the steam to produce a pressure differential for the power stroke (and he started down the road to his separate-condenser design when he was tasked with repairing a model of a Newcomen engine.) Watt was opposed to high-pressure engines on account of the danger, but you can't make an efficient and high-specific-power steam engine without going that route.
I don't know which was more disappointing,.... the steam engine or the guy in the video whining about it or the comments whining about it. It has a safety valve here 17:40. The whole thing leaks like a sieve. They use water to pressure test pipe pipe because it isn't compressible. Using air to test pipe is almost as dangerous as using steam.
The Federation of Model Engineers Societies (FMES) has got to be the most British thing EVER! It sounds like The Worshipful and Ancient Order of Bowler hats and cricket bats. You don't want to be trying to smuggle in unregulated miniature pressure vessels and steam boilers into the UK or you'll have the FMES on you case before you can say "Oh Crikey!"
To measure the amount of water left in the boiler, could you remove the safety valve and stick a wooden skewer in, seeing how far up the skewer was wet?
Scary. Where is the water level gauge? Why no pressure gauge on the boiler? Too much of a risk but if I was going to put it together I would stand the engine on a block so that the steam pipe was straight.
Uhm......Thats the issue with ordering from overseas, when you purchase effectively factory direct local regulations dont really apply. Yes, licensed businesses in a country/county/city are obligated to abide by the local regulations and laws. An entity across the internet can sell literally anything that wont cause an international incident. And there is ABSOLUTELY NO POSSIBLE AVENUE for local laws to be enforced in a foreign country....that is kind of the entire point of sovereignty. They (the brokers attached to the chinese factory districts) are under no obligation to be truthful, not to mention act in your best interest in any way, they are obligated to make sales. You, us, anyone, as the buyer have to be knowledgeable enough in the products we purchase to spot BS listing ratings and blatant garbage construction. Never, EVER, trust an unknown seller, assume its a polished turd until proven otherwise. Never, EVER, assume its a bargain from a minimalist manufacturer being your pal in not charging you for the big name label. Most of these products are runs to keep the factory going and run out left over plastic, casings, components. The big names pay for the best QA, the cheap sites like alibaba and wish (and amazon) are mostly factory district brokers using scripts to manage listings on multiple seller accounts with only enough QA to confirm it wont let the smoke out....probably. If you buy a product, assume its built to be safe, and blow your hand off.....thats on you. At worst theyll just close that account and move the listings over to another one. Think like a broker that doesnt give a shit about anything except making a sale. Thats what 90% of these seller accounts are. And no, they dont care. There is literally no punishment they have to worry about. Hell, Amazon has no simple method at all for users to flag false listings and dangerous products. Why? because they know these brokers will just have their bots go and flag competitors, like how they give all their other seller accounts positive feedback to boost their listings. No oversight means this capitalist practice of screw the customer runs rampant. Funny how a communist country is capitalizing harder than the capitalists...almost like that subtle narrative that creeps around The Mans™ big bad broadcasting companies transmissions isnt being entirely truthful...possibly even priming people to remain divided so they cant come together as a cohesive group against their interests (ie, investments).....Nah! Thats crazy talk......right?
Hi, thanks for your demo. I agree it looks good, but it stops there. I have always wondered why all or most steam engines send the steam down to the cylinders? Heat rises, so it would make sense to put the cylinders above the boiler. As this would reduce water building up inside! Yes, this would be the opposite to how steam engines are made. If someone could apply my suggestion, they could be on to a winner. Thanks again. 🇬🇧👍
Cheap Chinese toot isn't even cheap anymore. Interesting looking at their marine and mill steam engines that bear uncanny resemblances to Stuart Turner engines, even down to the fine details in the castings.
@@lmm Yep. The Mill Engine is a Stuart S50, it has the same detail on the steam chest cover, and the Marine engines are based on the Twin Launch. There is another that looks a lot like a scaled down No1, and others with details that ape the 4A.
Very interesting video and I agree this should have a safety valve being a pressure vessel and the gauge should be on the vessel. However, it seemed a bit of a risk running what appears to be a hazardous piece of kit indoors with a naked meths fuelled flame 😮
They sent these to the schools here in kitsap county a couple years ago. I know nothing about steem engines however just now seeing this video and knowing Schools in the US have been uning them almost unmodified as far as i know (here in kitsap they dont use the burner it comes with they use a lab bunson burner) i think it is interesting to note the "not presure valve screw on top that needed replacing to the best of my knowledge has not been replaced.
A friend and I built a very simple steam engine from scratch. Literally the first part we ordered was the safety valve. Everything else we machined, silver soldered, etc ourselves but that one part was commercial and reliable. We further tested it with an air compressor repeatedly.
pressure test it using hot water (fill it completely so that there is no air left inside) and try raising pressure with a pump - not more heat. If the boiler fails in this situation the pressure will drop really fast.
They pressure test pipe with water. Using air is almost as dangerous and steam. I don't know which was more disappointing,.... the steam engine or the guy in the video whining about it or the comments whining about it. It has a safety valve here 17:40. The whole thing leaks like a sieve.
@@jcgoogle1808 as the video does kinda reference, that's a fail of a safety valve. it only protects the engine, not the boiler. it works when everything is functioning properly, but what if something pinches off the pipe supplying the steam to the engine? now the boiler is just going to keep building pressure until it creates a new blowoff.
@@kirbyhans5261 I think the reason they burn down is because the liquid fuel runs out, but the flame keeps going until the substitute solid fuel (the wick) is no longer exposed to the air. Good burners tend to either have a non-flammable wick, or one that can be retracted to control or extinguish the flame. I do agree that running less wick would likely result in a more manageable flame, too. The excess flame going up the sides isn't just dangerous, but is probably a large part of the "steam generator reactor's" inefficiency; you want invisible hot air going up the sides, not a visible flame. I would seriously consider running just a single wick in the centre, and stopping up all six of the outer holes in the burner. And lagging the steam pipe to reduce condensation. And reducing the slop in the regulator mechanism, somehow. And for me personally, I'll stick to running my steam engines inside a computer…
I have absolutely no experience with steam engines of any sort or boilers. But I do have experience with many different forms of HPA or nitrogen. This honestly sketches me out quite a bit. I've seen pressure vessel failures. I really really don't want to be in the same vicinity as them when they fail. I was quite close to a failed regulator. If I was a few feet in the other direction I probably would have died. It required tools to get it out of the tree. The pressure vessel rupture I witnessed I was quite far away from and I honestly was worried about shrapnel. There is absolutely no way you can convince me to go near any sort of pressure vessel without any safety mechanisms. This is honestly quite alarming but not surprising at all. Considering all of the rather dangerous stuff I've ordered off the internet. This just is on the very high end of the danger scale. Also I would recommend a CO2 fire extinguisher if you don't have one. Even a very small one would be fine. CO2 is far less likely to have any of the itching compounds and doesn't really make a mess. So people are far more willing to use it before a situation gets two out of control. I would also probably have a dry powder extinguisher in case the fuel fire gets a bit out of hand. If you're going to be screwing around with things like that it's better to have all your safety bases covered. Just a friendly safety suggestion for anyone messing around with this sort of thing especially inside of a structure.
I used to work at East Grinstead Regional Plastic Surgery unit. Super heated steam injuries are truly awful things to behold. Years of rehab and endless surgeries. Be safe with steam kids. This thing is a disaster waiting to happen.
They should s-can the explosion generator and sell it with a fish-tank bubble pump since it will run on such low pressure...clearly marked *"NOT FOR USE WITH STEAM"*
The pressure gauge is in the engine, so if the pipe between the engine and the boiler blocks, with no safety valve (as shipped), you will build hand grenade pressure in the boiler without even knowing it. No amount of sloppy tolerances in the engine and venting of steam there will protect you from that particular flaw. Having said all that, it is a very entertaining little "toy" all be it one that is somewhat dangerous. Fit a small stand on top of the boiler and all that waste heat could be put to good use keeping your coffee warm. ;~) OK it would make it even more of a tip hazard, but what the heck, we are already getting spattered with scalding water, and risking fragmentation injuries, so a mug of hot java is the least of your worries.
Why does the steam line come out of the bottom of the boiler where there is water and not steam? should the line not come from the top of the steamer where there is steam and not water?
The way those flames went up the outside of the boiler, is exactly what happened to Greenville Tower. Should be banned immediately, Lawrie if it had gone up then your Insurance Company would not have paid out as it's basically a bomb.
Grenfell Tower? Also, I don't think the reasons for the tower burning and the steam boiler having flames around it are even slightly close enough to merit comparison
I'm so amused, and impressed, with your safety measures. As an engineer, I wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole. I hate messing with pressure vessels. On the other hand, as an American, it wouldn't even occur to me to check with a regulatory commission about anything hobby or model scale.
Are you being sarcastic? I was under the impression that all steam locomotive boilers have pressure safety valves built in, and multiple water level safety features as basic parts of the boiler/ firebox...
@@larrystuder6378 Could be wrong I suppose. I do know that I have heard of far more explosions from boilers running *dry* than over-pressurizing. Could be they have a safety and that’s why… But it has never been something I have visibly noticed or heard about existing on steam locomotives personally. Almost certainly exist in building hot water/steam systems though.
@@RryhhbfrHhgdHhgd356Dry boilers weaken the boiler metal so the safety isn't low enough to keep the residual pressure from bursting the boiler, and any remaining superheated water from instantly turning to steam, expanding by 400 times and turning the boiler into a rocket. You need some water left in the boiler to explode, but enough metal not cooled by water turning into vapor to allow that part of the boiler to overheat.
I believe you can adjust the chimney stop block to increase length of the chimney down tube to go further into the block, making it more secure, still not great, but should be better.
This thing can't pass any safety regulations, not those for steam boilers only. The chance to get burned by flames or boiling water at some point is very real.
@@jeffhiner i don't agree completely about that - have a lot of respect for water which > 100 degrees celsius and in this case .... 120 celsius ? Water directly from a pressurized boiler is hot.
When I was a boy in the 50's I built a steam engine from a Popular Mechanics design called Naclio using a tin oilcan as a boiler and there were no warnings as to the possibility you could get scalded or burnt fingers......apparently, we were more intelligent as teenagers in those days compared to kids of today and some grown ups too. After the first model we used baked bean tins and soft solder for the boilers......the steam pressure rarely exceeded 20 PSI.
I would take it to the steam workshop and have them look at it and test it that boiler looks kinda iffy to me .Keith Appleton on you tube is the person that would tell you about them
You don't have to bend the pipe. Set the furnace on a block to raise it to the level of the reactor if the pipe is intended to be straight. Otherwise gravity should allow condensation to form within and dribble out one end under the influence of gravity. Also bending metal pipe can constrict it's volume at the bend... as exemplified by exactly what we saw happen. And I think the squeek upon use relates to the fact that it is annodized so the surface will abrade irregularly with releated contact with another annodized aluminum surface upon heating and subsequent cooling circumstances.
They did an excellent job making that desktop steam engine terrifying in every possible way. And I'm amazed that you identified all of this and still chose to run it in your office, without protection, and oriented in a way that meant you'd have to reach around a tower of flames to adjust the governor.
That's an astounding number of issues for a single product. It makes me wonder what the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Office for Product Safety & Standards, or our respective customs agencies could do about these unsafe items purchased by the unsuspecting public. It's certainly made difficult by the lack of a local company responsible for importation, distribution, and of course liability.
From my experience from ordering sketchy things off the internet. You've probably got about a 95% chance of not having a problem receiving it. They might do something about it if you file a complaint, but until that happens they probably won't do anything. Unless you fill out all the proper paperwork then there's a lower chance you'll get the item. Which is quite frustrating because when you do things the right way you're far more likely to get your stuff taken away even if they do comply with all regulations. Although I've never tried to order a steam engine before so no idea on that aspect. But considering I received an uncertified HPA tank which I refuse to use and decommissioned. I would say the chances are quite low that they'll catch it. That probably scares me more than the steam engine. At least the boiler not a 5,000 psi bomb.
4:33 won't there will still be some pressure sent to the piston? In the open position steam can move both out the exhaust port and toward the piston? Unless you're saying the valve opens the exhaust and completely closes the intake at the same time.
I'm going to hazard a guess and say that there is some legal work around that involves the person purchasing having some involvement in the construction. You bending and connecting the tube, satisfies some legal definition.
I was worried for his facial hair for a second. 😂 Having burned my own beard more often than I would normally cut it back, I know too well how easily it can happen lol
![[UNCUT] เก็บ "สจ.โต้ง" เอี่ยวมาเฟีย รู้ตัวคนบงการ ก่อนสั่งลั่นไก I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์ I 13 ธ.ค.67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/o-J_p62D40w/mqdefault.jpg)
They've now included this video on the product page, not the direction I'd go to make my product look good but it's a strong move
They got the right spirit. Those fellas are strange, but above all they're hobbyists.
@@octane613 - *ANYONE* who builds a boiler with no safety valve has NOT got the right spirit, and I don't give a damn whether they're 'hobbyists' or professionals. Look for info on the injuries even an empty aerosol can will cause if you throw it on a fire.
the chinese definitely believe that "any publicity is good publicity" since they happily give out discount codes and free items to people who give them negative reviews, because ultimately they know that even a bad review will drive sales they otherwise wouldn't have gotten, since the people who watch this who think it's a bad product never would have bought it anyways, but people who would buy it regardless of the bad review may not have been exposed to it without the bad review.
the chinese are the ultimate capitalists
Just an update... the video has now been removed from their site.
Indeed a bold move
Those “guards” are designed to produce a nice grid pattern as you leave your skin on them😂
Perhaps they are conceived as some sort of vertical barbecue?😂
@@MathijsWijersoh good, I've been looking for one of those to make shawarma at home
So you look like you rolled around on the BBQ like in JackAss LOL
it's part of the company's branding. 🐄
Company trademark at steroids.😁
I feel like someone made a semi-decent compressed air engine and they said, "Lets make it steam powered instead". And now we have this ... thing
I think you think more thinking went on there than it did 😂
😂
@@lmm ROTFL
Anyways, I loved your review. It's nothing but honest and i really, really hope that someone who made this engine will work with it and smooth out those little things.
It's just so strange to me, that this engine on one hand looks amazing, futuristic, it is well machined (so obviously someone who did it, had to have his way with tools in the workshop), yet there are so many small details, which an engineer would never screw up. Kind of like taking a Gucci tie and making a granny knot to finish it off...
One thing hit me when i first saw that burner... My little experiment with trying to get a better flame from an alcohol burner. It was primary school and i kind of lost some eyebrows then🤣.
Basic idea was: if alcohol fumes are burning, and when you heat up the pot, alcohol evaporates quicker, let's stack it up!!! And i made a small bottle cap burner on the bottom and another one hanged over it... It was fun.😋
Yeah, it seems like it was designed by a competent engineer, just not one who knows much about steam engines
@@lmm Indeed. I'm just sitting here idly, thinking "that is open...why did they just cut a hole in it when the piston moves open??"
Tested on your desktop, no hood, no safety goggles, reaching over the bomb. Good lad! Safety squint!
Even the instructions said to wear goggles. And having seen the engine run, we now know why.
I agree 💯 percent with you.
No safety tie. How dare he?
crazy! my grandad built model steam engines in his garage using copper and brass. this looked way more technical than what he did but he seemed to have ticked much more boxes than this company. what's crazy is he passed not too long ago and this gets recommended to me! oh ill also add the copper and brass was often donated to him from pubs that were refurbished, they would donate the metals from pumps or plates that wrapped around the bar. true genius was my grandad, rip, miss n love you loads.
I don't believe in coincidences. Ur grandad sounds amazing btw RIP
❤
I love stories of awesome grandpas. I had one too!
@@CONSCIOUSMINDED thank you, he truely was, taught me sooo much.
@@asdf9890 thats cool we all need an awesome grandad/godparent/someone.
I don't know why YT suggested this video for me, and I wouldn't have bought a steam engine model if it _did_ work. However this is by far one of the best reviews I've ever seen for any product. It's got everything - broken laws, engineering that is simultaneously brilliant and awful, legitimate danger for the operator, misunderstanding of physics. Even instructions on how to use a simple wrench!
Cleary YT picked up you and me might find this interesting despite lack of interest in buying steam engines. Almost a bit scary.
So while I am not in the market for a steam engine (even if I do find machines overall interesting) I do agree that this was a pretty good review.
Brilliant
Hahaha same for me! I am not now, nor have I ever been, in the market for a small steam engine. Yet this was recommended, and I watched it from beginning to end, and enjoyed it so much I subscribed.
Best comment ever 😂
@@FriendlyNeighborhoodNitpickerOutlaw rally
I love how Lawrie has full knowledge of the fact that so many corners where cut it would be a circle.
Yet he puts it indoors, in his house, next to him and at least 2 computers... XD
without heat resistant gloves or goggles...
really deflates a lot of his (legitimate) criticism. A poor choice. "Do as I say, not as I do".
Indoors means a better film. It also means I can see the flame better, as can you.
The pcs are off. The water from the valve gear goes up, then back in the general area. You can clearly see the splash zone around the engine.
I don't wear gloves or goggles when driving or firing full size locomotives, I'm not going to use them for a mini.
China is all about cutting corners, not making things correctly.
@@lmm But still, the instructions did recommend wearing goggles while you operate it...
Also, I saw a potential problem, while yes you are going to need a safety valve, you're going to need to tune the valve to vent steam if it goes beyond the maximum pressure otherwise adding a safety valve would be entirely useless. Not once did I see the valve actually vent steam before the steam engine vented steam. It indicates that the safety valve was not tuned correctly and with that being the case, it's better off having the tapped screw in than having the valve at all.
China is pretty prolific with what could arguably be called 'cargo cult product development'. They see something, they think "hey, I could make and sell that", and that's all the thought process that goes into it. As long as it looks like the original idea, someone will buy it, because they have never experienced the original, only seen it. And so the cycle continues.
Safety, material science, efficiency, and sometimes functionality outright, are lost along the wayside.
There's some great ideas in it. Just not from a steam engine perspective!
‘Cargo cult product development’. Excellent work sir. Exactly explains the situation. Richard Feynman introduced the concept of ‘Cargo cult science’ in a famous speech, and of course ‘Cargo cults’ themselves developed during WWII. I’m jealous, of course, that you made the cognitive leap before me. You’re a smart cookie. Sadly, the effects are wide spread. 20 years in the electrical wholesale/retail trade, and I’ve watched the Chinese factor, wreak havoc in more ways than people would credit.
Steam engine with chinese characteristics
I got the idea from comunism with chinese charactaristics
I remember building a watts dual piston steam engine from scrap, no kit all I had was 2 pages of design drawings. Took me nearly a year to finish, spent just about every night in my old mans machine workshop. Won first place when I entered it into the end of the year science project, not bad for a 12y old even the teachers were amazed. Great skills to learn as a kid, machining & metal fabrication became handy for me later in life.😁😁
I'm sure you did a much better job too!
Any reasonably thinking (read non-twit) would view this engine as something to engineer. I and my friends have had this trait since about the age of six. We would cap the wick openings and go to one TRIMMED wick. We'd never light a dry wick. We'd try different fuels. We'd mount that stack deeper or change it. We'd design a safety valve. We'd improve the throttle. We'd feed the excess water to a feed tank with a valve. The UK has nanny stated the people so much they have lost the ability to dream, dare and innovate.
Exactly. THIS is where chinese stuff shines. I have sooooo much chinese garbage where the base is excellent. Watches, electronics, toys and tools of various types.
My fucking car.
You get the QC done yourself, and the cool toy too, both together and end up with something that would be way more expensive
All the more reason I try to steer beginners towards makes like Mamod, Wilesco, and Jensen. They're safety-tested, fitted with proper safety valves and other "don't melt your face off and/or blow yourself up" features, and they're made with materials that you don't have to worry about letting go all of a sudden.
Big fan of Mamod and Wilesco, I have no experience of Jensen - what are they like?
Jensen's steam engines aren't too dissimilar to Wilesco's, made in the USA since 1932. Little less polish on the finish perhaps, but engineering wise they're quite well made.
Have a #75, the biggest in their "Hobby Line", has a working Stephenson valve gear along with a regulator, whistle, safety valve etc.
Only complaint I have is the paint on the boiler house burnt and flaked off, and the steam exhaust isn't routed to the chimney like on a Wilesco, but it's been a good little engine, was a bit cheaper than its Wilesco equivalent.
@@lmm th-cam.com/video/JfA6oja7Ack/w-d-xo.html&pp=gAQBiAQB
I don't know which was more disappointing,.... the steam engine or the guy in the video whining about it or the comments whining about it.
It has a safety valve here 17:40.
The whole thing leaks like a sieve.
@@jcgoogle1808 Lol that's what I'm saying! It's got one, and it's permanently open!
When I first started collecting (and restoring) vintage steam engines I found this out the hard way. The vintage Bing plant I purchased did indeed have a pressure release valve but it was corroded to the point of being locked up, fortunately I ran it on air pressure first but did not monitor the pressure on my compressor and blew the boiler cap off the top of the boiler,
It would have been bad if I had been steaming it at the same PSI.
Now, even if the pressure release is working, I hydro test the boilers first. Thanks for posting.
Why would it have been bad? You would have just blown the boiler cap off the top of the boiler with steam pressure... people are not smart and say and think really dumb things to fit in and to get attention.
@@thomgizziz …. You are clearly the protagonist of your little “seeking attention” example. Blowing the boiler cap off a boiler while steaming could potentially cause extremely bad burns. I’m going out on a limb here when I say you should probably stay away from ANYTHING that involves fire.
@@thomgizziz The thermal and latent heat in steam means it has a lot more energy than compressed air. You get a much bigger bang and now there is hot shrapnel coming for you.
Not forgetting that (if you blow the Boiler Cap off with steam pressure), the temperature of the steam when it meets atmospheric pressure is several degrees above the Boiling Point. A real danger when compared to running your steam engine on compressed air...... You will always find the 'knockers' who will challenge you on this point, and it is not worth writing back to them. Let them all find out the hard way.
@@thomgizziz What a silly comment
As a little suggestion, the next time you are going to tap threads try holding the piece upside down so you don't get filings into the vessel.
Or fill the tap flutes with grease. Swarf gets trapped in grease and does not fall through hole.
Backing out the 3-4 through bolts and taking the top plate off would be ideal. Being safety vented at 15psi (appx 1bar) and loss on every other stroke I wouldn’t have worried about the pop off valve as a paintball gun, cylinder engine and other aluminum bored equipment like nail guns operate at 90-120psi. I’m sure there’s an engineering formula to prove the point of boiler volume at any level of fill couldn’t reach critical with flow volume at minimum, but I’m just going to leave it at sensible working pressure of like equipment being 8-10 times the pressure at much higher flow volumes work. Safety valve doesn’t hurt anything if installed, if not, I wouldn’t have bothered. But I’m American, we do things like that then pay our own medical bills to help us learn so our government doesn’t have to protect us from ourselves
Yes, I found it a bit disconcerting that the Tap used wasn't even cleaned from its previous use. Also looked out of square. But then what would I know. Only in my 50th year of trade experience as a Certified Toolmaker.
@@bustergonad3975 They were just matching the quality of the product
You're worried about the swarf and here I am unable to get past how off square it is.
Aluminum is perfectly fine for a tiny boiler of that size! I’m guessing, it could operate at 400 to 600 psi with no issues at all. (Depending on the thickness of the aluminum and the type of aluminum used.) The safety valve sure, the boiler strength not a problem
coffeemakers are also made of aluminium. That's not the problem.
As stated, it's the missing valve......and a few other things that make this a piece to look at maybe, but never use it!
Nevertheless, personally I think "design" should follow function and not just reflect weird ideas.
This thing is simultaneously over-engineered and under-engineered.
I love how the sales page has this very video embedded on it, so you go to the page to buy the engine, and there's a TH-cam video with the thumbnail reading "Dangerous and Illegal!" emblazoned across it 🤣
Genius move in my opinion, this video probably sell more than you realize!
Im not convinced that it is illegal... people like to use that word for clickbait a lot but some society not thinking something is designed well doesn't make it illegal.
@@thomgizziz This is technically a steam pressure vessel.
I assume that technically all steam pressure vessels need to be pressure tested and need to have a pressure release valve.
Now, technically that is not a pressure vessel, because it only becomes one, when you connect something to the outlet.
That something could be for e.g a straight piece of pipe. Still not a pressure vessel.
The straight piece also happens to fit the engine, but this also not a pressure vessel.
Only when bending the tube and connecting all three pieces it magically becomes are pressure vessel, missing the pressure release valve.
Now as one commenter put it: It is a lovely little compressed air engine. Place a regulator in front of it and let in run slowly.
@@thomgizziz Given the British nanny state tendency to ban and/or loicense everything, it probably is.
@@thomgizziz steam engines have a lot of restrictions, even here in North America due to how dangerous a steam vessel can be. I am forwarding this to a US expert, but he did explain that in the UK it would be illegal without the safety featurese he added before using, and a quick search on code for my state lists a safety valve directly affixed to the boiler/reaction vessel is required by state law. Yes, this is a toy, but just as a toy working firearm is still legallly a firearm, this is a working steam engine subject to simple safety rules.
My grandfather built the house for his family. In the basement he had a boiler and the house had steam heat. I learned a lot about boilers from my grandfather and one of the things was the importance of a slight glass so you would know the level of the water in the boiler.
Yeah, even Mamods have some means of seeing of the water level is correct. (A gauge glass on newer ones, on mine it's just a simple plug; when water starts coming out you know you have filled it enough).
Someone definitely put a lot of thought and time into the design. It's to bad they stopped a couple steps short of a good model.
It definitely needs fire control. Whoever designed this needs to learn from old oil lamp wick adjusters. With a wick adjuster you can raise or lower the wick and even put out the flame as needed.
On the plus side, it is historically accurate!
Unfortunately I think this is a case where "a lot" wasn't really close to "enough".
The engine runs quite smooth even at very low pressure.
But whoever designed it has no idea how a boiler should work.
If they sell it without a boiler it would be very ok.
But that boiler is a no go. Very bad design and outright dangerous.
I have a beautiful WWII SOE steam generator for charging batteries for agents in France etc, batteries were often needed for spy radio sets. After a few calls inquiries I gave up on the possibility of seeking boiler certification.
Since you added the much needed safety valve, you could bypass their safety system. If you would plug the the hole to atmosphere on the control valve block you would use less steam and have possibly have better speed control. This will use less water and help insure you do not run out of water before fuel.
Make a project: put the lower device on wood or longer screws so the steam line is level. Make the steam line shorter and solder in a tee. with the one tee leg aimed down solder on a drain valve.
A good review and the possibility of saving an injury.
I was a senior engineer at a stream plant, people do no realize the danger in a pressurized vessel.
I used to watch MythBusters. Every time, they would give anxious looks at the camera and talk about how much they hate working with pressure vessels. Then came the episode where they built a framework of model floor and roof to building code, and simulated a water heater with its P&T valve blocked. It launched through two floors and a roof, and kept going.
Pressure vessels are scary.
A rocket is a pressure vessel with a hole in it.
A bullet is a pressure vessel with a hole in it.
My aunt opened a pressure cooker too soon (made a hole in it), there was tomato sauce everywhere.
I worked in a steam power plant , pressure is to be respected.
When pressure testing a feedwater heater the heater is filled with water. Then air is used to raise the pressure. The pressure gauge was monitored at a distance with a scope, just in case.
Love them MythBusters. @@johnladuke6475
A condensate drain at the bottom outlet wouldn't hurt lol
Nice review. I have a Mammod Steam Roller still in the garage I have had for probably 45 years
Wow. That definitely seems "designed" rather than "engineered", and it's a showpiece of what one can do with laser-cut metal and a nice catalog of generic parts. There are some fascinating details like the fact that the screw holes in the block of metal visible on top of the boiler at 5:34 have slots to the perimeter, which I think are there to make it possible to cut them with a waterjet while cutting the outside. It is almost as completely removed from traditional machining as it is from any engineering calculations or judgement.
I would be entirely surprised if the throttle blowby that Lawrie talks about is intended as a safety mechanism; that seems far more thought than was put into any of the rest of it. My guess is that, instead, the "made from off-the-shelf generic bits" throttle that they cobbled together is simply leaky.
Also, it seems to me that this is less likely to explode than to have the bottom sheet on the boiler flex enough to leak around the perimeter and blow out its entire contents in a shrieking banshee blast of flash-boiled steam. This is not clearly an improvement.
True. Instead of something that will outright kill you, it will only make you wish it had.
In short: "looks good but will try and kill you" 😅
I’m amazed you ran this indoors, on a desk practically in your face! But props for the yellow car transporter on your desk, haven’t seen one of those in years. 👍
To help reduce the steam turning back to water in the pipes, insulate them with asbestos... I mean, it's no more dangerous the the stean engin itself! 😄
It's not like the cancer was will get you before the engine does...
@@kabob0077 You'd get thrid degree burns followed by Asbetosis... Acualy, when I was a kid my Dad repaired the burner on one on my engins by filling it with asbestos fiber. But that was in the 60s.
Of course, you do need to actually breath in the asbestos for it to be dangerous, so makes sure to saw it roughly with a power tool, or break it up a bit.
@@johnpearcey - The Vitamix blender makes good powder out of it...
There is non asbestos lagging available from the model engineering shops such as Polly and Reeves.
Thanks for stressing the safety valve, that thing is an unintended pipe bomb. Not to mention a huge fire hazard. Looks cool, but I don’t like being scalded, burned, or perforated by shrapnel!
This was recommended after I researched locomotives last night, glad I found you!
Get some egg shells and soak them in strong vinegar. When the shells disintegrate, strain the liquid through a cloth. Add denatured alcohol to the liquid and scoop out the gel that it makes. You now have dry alcohol fuel that stores forever in a sealed jar. It can be regulated on flame/temp a lot better.
you also don't want aluminum and steel together due to the galvanic reaction. This looks like a classic case of no one has died so far lets sell it.
Oh yeah...didn't mention that. So many issues, so little time
Unrelated to steam engines but a lot of RC helicopters (large dangerous ones not toys) use aluminum parts and steel screws to hold in all together. Now it seems to me using steel bolts to hold the blades in a 1.5m span rotor spinning at 2200rpm in the aluminum blade grips (not to mention the stainless steel bearings seated in the grips) would be a recipe for disaster, yet it seems all of them do this. What would be a better materiel for the bolts and bearings that woulds also be strong enough to hold up to that much force though?
@@atomicskull6405 I have no idea. But the big rc helicopters scare me!
loving the way they proudly put this video on their website featured right in the description!!!
Video was reviewed by them first too!
I was just going to mention that.
"I can see why you need goggles", says goggle-less Lawrie! You know no fear my friend 😂
I don't normally bother with them for minis.
Safety squints engaged
@@LeePorte that's the one!
What an absolutely spiffing review!!! So bloody amusing and quite frankly, terrifying too!!! Thank you so much.
That part about aluminium losing its corrosion resistant properties as you heat it up is also why metal plants love to show that work safety video of what happens if you expose hot aluminium to water...
Basically, its "corrosion resistance" comes from it being so reactive that it almost instantly corrodes a protective layer of aluminium oxide for itself when exposed to oxygen. If you continually remove this layer or keep it from growing one however... It reacts really, REALLY quickly, with an earth-shattering "kaboom".
Many pressure cookers are aluminium. However aluminium in contact with a brass safety valve will corrode horribly. You should fit a stainless piece between the valve and the boiler. Or just polish it and put it on the shelf where it belongs.
Moka pots are cast aluminium with brass safety valves (opening at, I think, about 30 or 40 psi) and probably get far more use than any model engine.
@@mikebrown3772 Moka pots are hardly known for not corroding though.
A pressure cooker only gets one atmosphere more than ambient pressure, its not very high. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if they have an aluminum shell, like the body of a car, while the inside container that actually holds the pressure is steel + the lid, like the chassis of said car. That's how the old pressure cooker that my mom had was built, if I'm right.
Our pressure cooker is aluminium throughout.
I am not qualified to answer the question as to what constitutes a boiler that does/does not require a boiler certificate, as the regulations have changed since I last looked. Suffice to say a pressure cooker and a moka pot both require a safety valve, which this does not have. It's illegal.
I don't know, I just know that aluminium is not a material that is accepted for boiler building.
"I'm dubious about this machine"
Proceeds to test it 2 foot from himself in the house.
I put a safety valve in it, so we're talking 20psi top wack. It was brand new at that point, and an explosion was unlikely.
I was expecting more leaks though!
@@lmm but the fuel leaking off the slab onto the table/ground? seems not ideal
I wonder if it would be worth trying to upgrade it, replacing the wick burner with a coal/wood burner, adding a sight glass, better funnel, just trying to make it better
You would still have to boiler built from the wrong material, and a very inefficient engine that wastes boiler pressure.
Why would anyone try to upgrade this? For a model too sloppy made (too far from the real thing) For a toy too dangerous. Something you buy to make a video review, wind yourself up about the missing safety and then put it to the metal recycler (or land fill?) Average people will fail to appreciate the difference between this monstrosity and a "home built" model.
th-cam.com/video/dVLSX_WCMI0/w-d-xo.html
A great gift for children with scientific curiosity. Look little Jimmy,I got you a miniature 3rd degree burn machine.
Funny how it has a pressure relief valve on the top and you take extra care to not allow any closeups of it throughout the video 😂
He treats his viewers like thier dumb because they are
It really is amazing how some people can't actually watch a video correctly.
Like the whole section where we tap the boiler to take a safety valve.
@@lmm your right I skipped probably 40-60% because it was too drawn out
Besides this really concerning “toy” I am almost concerned with Lawrie’s taste of wallpaper. 😂
Not my choice, I assure you of that
He has a point
4:28 - My new screen saver 😂
But, my good gods above me - that engine is ALL of the dangerous!!😮😮
I trust you had an escape route and a fire extinguisher to hand old chap?
I mean, that 'reactor'... Sheesh...!!
The flames licking up the side of the boiler alone make this a ridiculous and dangerous piece of kit in my opinion! Never mind all the other safety deficits!😮
I thought just reduce the amount of wick sticking out of the burner
did he not say it uses ethanol(90%)? that means clear flames so you think it's safe so it's even more dangerous
@@Aaron-zu3xn Hadn't thought of that! You are right, Ethanol flame is virtually invisible in daylight!😮
It's pretty poor. As mentioned making the wicks shorter caused it to spill meth onto the burner which then dripped down the side on fire.
Meth burns with a faint blue flame. One of the reasons for being inside as the flame is raiser to see!
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 🚂 *Basics of Steam Engines*
- Overview of the safety valve in a typical steam engine.
- Introduction to the components inside the newly unboxed steam engine kit.
- Discussion about the reactor (boiler) terminology used in the instructions.
02:30 🧰 *Steam Engine Kit Assembly*
- Instructions and tools provided for assembling the steam engine kit.
- Challenges in aligning and connecting steam inlet and outlet pipes.
- Highlighting the use of a spanner (allen key) in the assembly process.
06:40 ⚖️ *Legal Issues and Safety Concerns*
- Discovery that the engine lacks a safety valve, making it illegal under UK law.
- Concerns raised about the use of aluminum in the boiler, affecting its corrosion resistance.
- Explanation of the safety valve retrofit to address legal and safety issues.
08:16 🚨 *Engine Test and Safety Valve Modification*
- Attempt to test the engine after retrofitting the safety valve.
- Discussion on the design and construction flaws in the steam engine.
- Observation of alarming features, including flames around the boiler.
11:12 🌪️ *Engine Operation and Regulation*
- Demonstration of the engine's operation, including regulator and pressure gauge.
- Issues with the regulator not providing a complete stop, leading to potential safety concerns.
- Evaluation of the engine's efficiency and challenges faced during the test.
14:21 🔧 *Mechanism and Efficiency Concerns*
- Examination of steam path inefficiencies, including condensation and water buildup.
- Critique of the design flaws affecting the engine's efficiency.
- Discussion on the regulator's inability to control the engine effectively.
17:35 💸 *Pricing and Market Placement*
- Evaluation of the engine's pricing in comparison to other available models.
- Assessment of the engine's suitability for collectors, enthusiasts, and children.
- Identification of design shortcomings affecting the engine's overall value.
20:09 🤷♂️ *Final Thoughts and Recommendations*
- Recap of issues with the burner, wick consumption, and overall performance.
- Expression of gratitude to Engine DIY while acknowledging the engine's limitations.
- Conclusion on the inability to recommend the steam engine kit to viewers.
20:23 🔥 *Engine Performance Evaluation*
- Critique of the engine's fuel consumption and loud, rattly, and loose operation.
- Concerns expressed about the lack of a safety valve, highlighting its illegality in the UK.
- Recommendation to explore better engine options on Engine DIY's website.
21:02 🤔 *Mixed Feelings and Pricing Concerns*
- Expressing a desire to like the engine more despite the overall dissatisfaction.
- Commentary on the engine's affordability if priced at £100 but deeming it too expensive.
- Fears and reservations about the engine's overall quality and functionality.
21:29 🛠️ *Building Challenges and Placement Dilemmas*
- Mention of the challenges in finding a suitable place for the engine due to its design.
- Discussion on the need to build a base for the engine for stability.
- Personal contemplation on potential modifications to improve placement options.
21:42 🌐 *Recommendation to Explore Engine DIY's Website*
- Encouragement to check out Engine DIY's website for alternative and better engine options.
- Emphasis on the availability of various engines on the website.
- Final suggestion to consider purchasing a different engine instead of the one reviewed.
Made with HARPA AI
“Prevent Danger” is brilliant from a legal perspective. If anyone gets hurt, and litigates the company, all the company has to do is prove the person didn’t prevent danger ⚠️ which is impossible 😅🎉😢
Not in the U.S. anybody can sue anybody for anything anytime regardless of disclaimers. Also it's made in china, you can't sue them.
I put that in the same bin as instructions that tell you to do some step, "carefully". I'm never quite sure if that should be a smidgen of "careful", or a bucket of "careful". I also wonder if left-handed "careful" is as good as right-handed "careful".
"Prevent danger" is (obviously) a translation for a phrase which probably makes succinct appropriate sense in the origin language. Hence the use of the word "reactor". Professional translation and proofing, a corner that's often cut.
1) It could be set up/mounted on a step, so that the engine steam intake is level with the boiler output, reducing the risk of priming.
2) The Burner could have the outer wick-holes blanked off, thus relying on the single centre wick. Slower to heat up but much safer. Also, a more densely woven wick would help.
3) A good model engineer could install a sight-glass on the side of the boiler for water level.
4) The slide valve could probably be adjusted or remade to fully cover the port.
5) A cheese-head screw, suitably fettled, could replace the Regulator bolt, thus taking out that backlash.
6) The steam-port piston could probably be re-engineered a la Mamod style. Thread the chimney hole for a more permanent, stable solution.
Overall, despite the dodgy, it has the capability of being a good model. But NOT at that price.
Ohhh yeah. As soon as I saw the color of the metal I knew what was up. In eBay Seller Engrish, that's "brass tone" -- it's aluminum anodized to sorta-kinda-if-you're-drunk-and-squinty-enough look like brass, but it very much is NOT brass, it's what brass looks like if you've never actually seen it and only heard it described over a telephone with an unusually buzzy connection. The similar, but slightly different "bronze tone" is their fake copper look, and it's just as egregious.
Not to mention it's gushing out wet steam and... that is NOT a safety mechanism by any means, that is a time delay on your improvised shrapnel generator if you run that thing dry by accident. The cherry on the whipped cream on the whole poo fudge sundae being that it's bloody incontinent, which means that not only are all the screw threads _cast_ instead of cut, they're cast _badly_ ... a brilliant piece of kit, but only if you're a fool, a madman, or a hitman whose target takes after Rube Goldberg just a little _too_ well.
I'm by no means a steam engineer, and my mechanical engineering skills are, in general, dubious at best. But, as my grandmother would say -- even Stevie Wonder could see just how awful this is. Whatever isn't useful as scrap bits for making something far better (not a challenge by any means) is purest bin fill, nothing more or less.
Your review is far better than mine. I enjoyed that
@@lmm Oh dear Lord in Heaven. Easy on the praise, there, I say, chap! Wouldn't want it to go all to my head -- I might explode, a bit like that boiler's liable to if you don't watch it like a meth'd-up hawk...
Seriously, though, thank you :3 I am but a humble tinkerer, and I do not feel worthy, but I shan't argue...
So a little less than we'll engineered then😊😊.
@@CrusaderSports250 More rather the exact ideological opposite of that concept...
Oh, forgot to mention. FIX THE PRORBLEMS> Every single deficiency you showed me could be mitigated with some more tapping and insertion of screws and/or drilling and tapping.
There's no interest in another train like you showed as an alternative. That little engine is DOPE and as it is designed, it can be improved greatly. Even the Jenky screw just needs a larger screw in it. Dress it up and use a titanium screw or something awesome. Fix it. You already put a regulator on it so keep going. Consider slower burning wicks and possibly water your fuel down a bit/use other slower burning fuel.
REINVENT THE WHEEL! You certainly have knowledge.
While bare aluminium has corrosion issues at higher temperatures, anodized aluminium, depending on the kind of anodization of course, can have good characteristics.
This being said, if they neglected to put in a pressure relief valve, i have my doubts they were thinking that when they were anodizing the thing yellow.
So, with flames running up the side of the boiler, I guess the entire boiler barrel is now technically the crownsheet? 😬
I believe the Mamod safety valve opens at around 20psi, but a safety valve won't do you any good if the boiler itself isn't good for 20psi.
I think you've got yourself a decent compressed air engine, and a bit of aluminum scrap.
The engine isn't even decent as its letting half the air / steam go to atmosphere workout doing any work!
I don't want to try and work out where a crown might be on this.
Mamods are 10 or 15 I think.
This is 20
The instructions say the engine runs at 15 so I figured a fair guess.
If you want to test the pressure vessel, then pressurize it with air using a regulator and check where it goes boom at room temp and getting it really hot with a heat gun. That would work effectively but is one time destructive testing. If I have bolts in my neck and frankenstein stitches in my head, then you know why LOL
A better way to pressure test a boiler is hydrotesting: fill it with water (or other non-compressible, non-toxic, non-flammable fluid) and apply pressure to that. If it lets go, as soon as it does the pressure goes away and the pieces of boiler stop accelerating -- vs. the continued push and explosion you get with steam or compressed gases.
@@scottwillis5434 Not only a better way, but the proper way. Really high pressure tanks, like scuba tanks, are hydrostatically tested. If I recall correctly, to somewhere over 3000 psi.
I love the fact that this video is now on their website, apparently to promote the product. Jeez...
Edit: Now removed from their website...
Edit the second: Now put back with added comments about possible illegality in the UK.
"The collector" may want high end steam engines, like the Wilesco D32 (droooolll), but I can see the appeal of the Jank-master 9000 and similar engines. I just wouldn't run it on steam. Perhaps compressed air from a pre-regulated source.
Air would be much safer
I thought it was going to explode for a second there. Cool video and very informative. It's my first one so far. Thanks for the info.
I didn't think anything bad would happen the first time it steamed 😂
I think the wicks are way too long and therefore the fire is way to big. It's made of aluminum (which i know you're not used to) so the heat transfer should be fantastic. Just a little flame underneath should be more than adequate. That may fix a lot of the other issues you are having.
Exactly. The wicks are supposed to be trimmed down a bit. It's the same thing I have to do when I buy new candles. The high flames was causing it to get way hotter than it needed to be.
Yeah, I was surprised it had some many wicks when just one would have been enough to heat something so small. It would just take a little longer to build up pressure but that would also make it safer.
"A company sent me this product. It's illegal, potentially massively harmful, and performs terribly even after significant modification... So the link is in the description, go check them out!"
ngl Lawrie I'm not convinced 😂
(I'm paraphrasing for humour, I know he didn't really say this)
Best part, they approved the video for release!
I get it's a bad design, but how it is possibly "illegal"?
@@brettbuck7362 No safety pressure release on the boiler - so illegal to sell in the UK.
Thank you for sharing this
It's something that a complete novice like me wouldn't consider, nor be aware of legal requirements.
It looks amazing but is an accident waiting to happen.
Glad we also have the video's you've put out on safe steam models
You're welcome. It could pose quite a risk.
There's much better things out there!
@@lmm Are there not a product certificate required for this type of toys? and to legally sell it?
Well I certainly would NOT have tested that indoors! It looks more dangerous than my 1970s primus stove, and I had one of those go bang some years ago, outside fortunately, damn lucky I wasn't hit by shrapnel.
Yes, I felt a little anxious as the pressure built up. Plus a meths burner licking excessively large flames everywhere. It looks like three bars secured by friction fit, outboard of the boiler, are all that resists pressure. Guessing 2 inch bore, that's nearly 50 lb force at 15 psi. Not even tiny screw threads holding it together? Can you turn the burner off, or snuff it out?
@@BillDavies-ej6ye - A water spray bottle is effective, but I would not have run this inside.
The only way to be more dangerous is to run alcohol as the fuel and as the liquid in the boiler so the steam engine blows flames when running 😱😱💣💣💩💩 😎👍
That was a lot of fun to watch. I agree it is dangerous and I will be satisfied to have watched you play with it instead of me having to do it. :-)
No idea how I ended up here, but I sure did enjoy the stay. Thanks for this video.
A boiler without a safety valve on it is not a boiler; it's a steam-powered bomb, this thing is just straight up a bomb as it comes from the manufacturer.
This is correct
Honestly to anyone at home thinking of getting this: just buy a Mamod.
A victory of styling and a novel concept over Form and Function.
It is also a bit suspicious that they seem to go to some effort to not describe the pressure vessel as a "boiler," presumably on the rather dodgy grounds that in correct operation it shouldn't be able to sustain pressure.
I wonder if the lack of gaskets is also intended to be a safety feature along the same lines.
I am pretty certain that the pipe is straight so that it is not an pressure vessel. The boiler without restriction would just boil water to steam at atmospheric pressure.
Only by intervention of the buyer it builds pressure.
The flames were too large because you didn't trim the wicks on the burner
That's not on the instructions.
When I ran it a second time with reduced wicks, it just sucked up the meth and over spilled onto the burner top, and then ran down the side of the burner, on fire.
@@lmmmaybe just use less wicks and drop a bolt into the unused wick holes, hmm??
“Need insurance to show it to some one” lol
Compliance is at programed so deeply
For everyone fretting over UK certifications, keep in mind this a country that requires wall outlets to turned on and off via wall switches ANNNNDD, banned a pancake flipping contest as too dangerous. 'Nuff said.
And European, and American.
You have very very big brave balls setting that alight 😂 Enjoyed that !!
I didn't think it would be as worrying as it was!
The most worrying thing about this engine is that some comments on the website are like "Ideal Gift for kids". I hope that it is just some bot, or the Chinese manufacturer trying to increase his sales.
But that the thing these days, and it isn't limited to China, happens also in Europe and USA: many people don't even recognize that they are making crappy designs!
They seem to think that if the computer models work that it will work in real life. Sadly a lot of these new model engines are designed and built in China where they don't adhere to the same quality standards to as you said obtain cheap sales. As I have mentioned in my comment is same quality standards also being seen in other items like computer tech, power tools and even models being built by highly regarded model manufacturers.
This would be terrible for kids.
It's... Actually just pretty terrible
The first thing in the product description is this video lol, they arent doing themselves any favors.
The Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) is restricted to pressure vessels with a capacity over something like 1 litre. If it is smaller the PED does not apply and so it is possible to claim it does not apply to something small like this boiler. I don't know if the boiler regulations would apply to something as small as this but there are standards for miniature steam locomotive boilers so they may be applicable. I think the starting pressure of 15 bar (about 220psi) is confusing atmospheric pressure which is about 1 bar with 15psi which is also about atmospheric pressure.
At least for pipe bending - get a brake pipe bending tool. But that's probably the smallest issue. I'd prefer to use a brake hose instead of a rigid pipe.
I'd prefer to have the pressure gauge on the boiler. And in addition to the safety valve also have a blasting tin that goes into a hose that should go into a water filled bucket to take care of dangerous steam release.
So the main issue is the boiler as I see it. So just run the engine on compressed air and it would be a lot nicer and less dangerous unless you overrev it or do some other stupid things.
Compressed air would be the safer way to run it. Though it's still not a good engine
@@lmm I agree that it's not a good engine, but it's reminding quite a bit of the earliest steam engines made and those weren't good either. They did work about as well as this engine, and If I'm right they actually had the power stroke from the condensation of the steam, not the injection of the steam.
I can see someone kinking the tube, either in initial assembly or when setting it up later, and then be wondering why nothing seems to be happening when it explodes.
James Watt, like Thomas Newcomen before him, did indeed build atmospheric-pressure engines which depended on condensing the steam to produce a pressure differential for the power stroke (and he started down the road to his separate-condenser design when he was tasked with repairing a model of a Newcomen engine.) Watt was opposed to high-pressure engines on account of the danger, but you can't make an efficient and high-specific-power steam engine without going that route.
I don't know which was more disappointing,.... the steam engine or the guy in the video whining about it or the comments whining about it.
It has a safety valve here 17:40.
The whole thing leaks like a sieve.
They use water to pressure test pipe pipe because it isn't compressible.
Using air to test pipe is almost as dangerous as using steam.
The Federation of Model Engineers Societies (FMES) has got to be the most British thing EVER! It sounds like The Worshipful and Ancient Order of Bowler hats and cricket bats. You don't want to be trying to smuggle in unregulated miniature pressure vessels and steam boilers into the UK or you'll have the FMES on you case before you can say "Oh Crikey!"
Good thing they don't work for time x watches 😂
To measure the amount of water left in the boiler, could you remove the safety valve and stick a wooden skewer in, seeing how far up the skewer was wet?
That would work yes
Scary. Where is the water level gauge? Why no pressure gauge on the boiler? Too much of a risk but if I was going to put it together I would stand the engine on a block so that the steam pipe was straight.
No water gauge, but that doesn't fuss me, my older Mamods were just filler plug level
Uhm......Thats the issue with ordering from overseas, when you purchase effectively factory direct local regulations dont really apply. Yes, licensed businesses in a country/county/city are obligated to abide by the local regulations and laws. An entity across the internet can sell literally anything that wont cause an international incident. And there is ABSOLUTELY NO POSSIBLE AVENUE for local laws to be enforced in a foreign country....that is kind of the entire point of sovereignty.
They (the brokers attached to the chinese factory districts) are under no obligation to be truthful, not to mention act in your best interest in any way, they are obligated to make sales. You, us, anyone, as the buyer have to be knowledgeable enough in the products we purchase to spot BS listing ratings and blatant garbage construction. Never, EVER, trust an unknown seller, assume its a polished turd until proven otherwise. Never, EVER, assume its a bargain from a minimalist manufacturer being your pal in not charging you for the big name label. Most of these products are runs to keep the factory going and run out left over plastic, casings, components. The big names pay for the best QA, the cheap sites like alibaba and wish (and amazon) are mostly factory district brokers using scripts to manage listings on multiple seller accounts with only enough QA to confirm it wont let the smoke out....probably. If you buy a product, assume its built to be safe, and blow your hand off.....thats on you. At worst theyll just close that account and move the listings over to another one.
Think like a broker that doesnt give a shit about anything except making a sale. Thats what 90% of these seller accounts are. And no, they dont care. There is literally no punishment they have to worry about. Hell, Amazon has no simple method at all for users to flag false listings and dangerous products. Why? because they know these brokers will just have their bots go and flag competitors, like how they give all their other seller accounts positive feedback to boost their listings. No oversight means this capitalist practice of screw the customer runs rampant. Funny how a communist country is capitalizing harder than the capitalists...almost like that subtle narrative that creeps around The Mans™ big bad broadcasting companies transmissions isnt being entirely truthful...possibly even priming people to remain divided so they cant come together as a cohesive group against their interests (ie, investments).....Nah! Thats crazy talk......right?
What was that you said about safety goggles, which you then didn't wear?
Hi, thanks for your demo. I agree it looks good, but it stops there.
I have always wondered why all or most steam engines send the steam down to the cylinders?
Heat rises, so it would make sense to put the cylinders above the boiler. As this would reduce water building up inside! Yes, this would be the opposite to how steam engines are made.
If someone could apply my suggestion, they could be on to a winner. Thanks again. 🇬🇧👍
There isn't such a thing as a boiler without a safety valve, that's just a bomb.
Not far from it
Cheap Chinese toot isn't even cheap anymore. Interesting looking at their marine and mill steam engines that bear uncanny resemblances to Stuart Turner engines, even down to the fine details in the castings.
Oh really??
@@lmm Yep. The Mill Engine is a Stuart S50, it has the same detail on the steam chest cover, and the Marine engines are based on the Twin Launch. There is another that looks a lot like a scaled down No1, and others with details that ape the 4A.
Very interesting video and I agree this should have a safety valve being a pressure vessel and the gauge should be on the vessel. However, it seemed a bit of a risk running what appears to be a hazardous piece of kit indoors with a naked meths fuelled flame 😮
Tbf, most my other engines have a firebox so the meth can't set fire to the table...
If I run it again I'll use a tray under it.
Perhaps a bit less fuel for a trial run? And an extinguisher handy.
They sent these to the schools here in kitsap county a couple years ago. I know nothing about steem engines however just now seeing this video and knowing Schools in the US have been uning them almost unmodified as far as i know (here in kitsap they dont use the burner it comes with they use a lab bunson burner) i think it is interesting to note the "not presure valve screw on top that needed replacing to the best of my knowledge has not been replaced.
Oh man, gotta bend copper.
Bout lunch time aint it?😂
A friend and I built a very simple steam engine from scratch. Literally the first part we ordered was the safety valve. Everything else we machined, silver soldered, etc ourselves but that one part was commercial and reliable. We further tested it with an air compressor repeatedly.
I'd recommend to test the boiler with water pressure instead next time.
pressure test it using hot water (fill it completely so that there is no air left inside) and try raising pressure with a pump - not more heat.
If the boiler fails in this situation the pressure will drop really fast.
@@TheStefanskoglund1 I'd still recommend cold water rather than hot water.
They pressure test pipe with water.
Using air is almost as dangerous and steam.
I don't know which was more disappointing,.... the steam engine or the guy in the video whining about it or the comments whining about it.
It has a safety valve here 17:40.
The whole thing leaks like a sieve.
@@jcgoogle1808 as the video does kinda reference, that's a fail of a safety valve. it only protects the engine, not the boiler. it works when everything is functioning properly, but what if something pinches off the pipe supplying the steam to the engine? now the boiler is just going to keep building pressure until it creates a new blowoff.
Maybe block off a few of the wick holes and only run 2 or 3?
I'm going to try that
or trim the wicks down
Yes ,that was my first thought, but he said they kept just burning up , im sure he tried trimming them....
@@kirbyhans5261 I think the reason they burn down is because the liquid fuel runs out, but the flame keeps going until the substitute solid fuel (the wick) is no longer exposed to the air. Good burners tend to either have a non-flammable wick, or one that can be retracted to control or extinguish the flame.
I do agree that running less wick would likely result in a more manageable flame, too. The excess flame going up the sides isn't just dangerous, but is probably a large part of the "steam generator reactor's" inefficiency; you want invisible hot air going up the sides, not a visible flame. I would seriously consider running just a single wick in the centre, and stopping up all six of the outer holes in the burner. And lagging the steam pipe to reduce condensation. And reducing the slop in the regulator mechanism, somehow.
And for me personally, I'll stick to running my steam engines inside a computer…
I have absolutely no experience with steam engines of any sort or boilers. But I do have experience with many different forms of HPA or nitrogen.
This honestly sketches me out quite a bit. I've seen pressure vessel failures. I really really don't want to be in the same vicinity as them when they fail.
I was quite close to a failed regulator. If I was a few feet in the other direction I probably would have died. It required tools to get it out of the tree. The pressure vessel rupture I witnessed I was quite far away from and I honestly was worried about shrapnel. There is absolutely no way you can convince me to go near any sort of pressure vessel without any safety mechanisms.
This is honestly quite alarming but not surprising at all. Considering all of the rather dangerous stuff I've ordered off the internet. This just is on the very high end of the danger scale.
Also I would recommend a CO2 fire extinguisher if you don't have one. Even a very small one would be fine. CO2 is far less likely to have any of the itching compounds and doesn't really make a mess. So people are far more willing to use it before a situation gets two out of control. I would also probably have a dry powder extinguisher in case the fuel fire gets a bit out of hand. If you're going to be screwing around with things like that it's better to have all your safety bases covered. Just a friendly safety suggestion for anyone messing around with this sort of thing especially inside of a structure.
Certainly not something I would normally watch. In any case, interesting...Thanks for your time. cheers from OZ
I used to work at East Grinstead Regional Plastic Surgery unit. Super heated steam injuries are truly awful things to behold. Years of rehab and endless surgeries. Be safe with steam kids. This thing is a disaster waiting to happen.
Do not go and seek out images, you'll never unsee it.
They should s-can the explosion generator and sell it with a fish-tank bubble pump since it will run on such low pressure...clearly marked *"NOT FOR USE WITH STEAM"*
Please put a bolt in the new safety valve port and the steam outlet and fire it up somewhere where we can see it go bang!👍
I'm a little scared to!
@@lmm Test it with a water pump, to see at which pressure it'll fail. Without air (or steam) it won't produce any shrapnel.
@mfbfreak I agree. Hydrostatic test it to its breaking point. I think Mamods go bang around 200 psi. Curious how quick this one will fail.
The pressure gauge is in the engine, so if the pipe between the engine and the boiler blocks, with no safety valve (as shipped), you will build hand grenade pressure in the boiler without even knowing it. No amount of sloppy tolerances in the engine and venting of steam there will protect you from that particular flaw. Having said all that, it is a very entertaining little "toy" all be it one that is somewhat dangerous. Fit a small stand on top of the boiler and all that waste heat could be put to good use keeping your coffee warm. ;~) OK it would make it even more of a tip hazard, but what the heck, we are already getting spattered with scalding water, and risking fragmentation injuries, so a mug of hot java is the least of your worries.
Yep. It's a serious design flaw.
Why does the steam line come out of the bottom of the boiler where there is water and not steam?
should the line not come from the top of the steamer where there is steam and not water?
Many thanks for this review - What is your recommended model steam engine instead?
The way those flames went up the outside of the boiler, is exactly what happened to Greenville Tower. Should be banned immediately, Lawrie if it had gone up then your Insurance Company would not have paid out as it's basically a bomb.
Grenfell Tower?
Also, I don't think the reasons for the tower burning and the steam boiler having flames around it are even slightly close enough to merit comparison
I don't think it would have failed catastrophically on first or second steaming.
That's not a good comparison
I'm so amused, and impressed, with your safety measures. As an engineer, I wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole. I hate messing with pressure vessels. On the other hand, as an American, it wouldn't even occur to me to check with a regulatory commission about anything hobby or model scale.
Much less worry about a safety valve, which certainly don’t exist on full scale steam locomotives (in the states at least)! 😂
Are you being sarcastic? I was under the impression that all steam locomotive boilers have pressure safety valves built in, and multiple water level safety features as basic parts of the boiler/ firebox...
@@larrystuder6378 Could be wrong I suppose. I do know that I have heard of far more explosions from boilers running *dry* than over-pressurizing. Could be they have a safety and that’s why… But it has never been something I have visibly noticed or heard about existing on steam locomotives personally. Almost certainly exist in building hot water/steam systems though.
@@RryhhbfrHhgdHhgd356Dry boilers weaken the boiler metal so the safety isn't low enough to keep the residual pressure from bursting the boiler, and any remaining superheated water from instantly turning to steam, expanding by 400 times and turning the boiler into a rocket. You need some water left in the boiler to explode, but enough metal not cooled by water turning into vapor to allow that part of the boiler to overheat.
I'd love to see Keith Appleton have a review of this one
I believe you can adjust the chimney stop block to increase length of the chimney down tube to go further into the block, making it more secure, still not great, but should be better.
I did release the grub screw, but it doesn't budge.
7:20 Lot's of espresso machines use aluminum boilers. Gaggia classic for example. Pulling a shot is around 9-12 bar.
This thing can't pass any safety regulations, not those for steam boilers only.
The chance to get burned by flames or boiling water at some point is very real.
A steam burn is far FAR worse than getting doused with boiling water, and a steam boiler explosion adds grenade-speed shrapnel to that.
@@jeffhiner i don't agree completely about that - have a lot of respect for water which > 100 degrees celsius and in this case .... 120 celsius ?
Water directly from a pressurized boiler is hot.
Right, and water with enough energy will flash boil into steam as soon as the pressure is released. I don't think we're really in disagreement tho.
If it wasn't dangerous , it wouldn't be fun.
That's the case for absolutely every model steam engine and boiler, including old Wilesco and Jensen ones.
When I was a boy in the 50's I built a steam engine from a Popular Mechanics design called Naclio using a tin oilcan as a boiler and there were no warnings as to the possibility you could get scalded or burnt fingers......apparently, we were more intelligent as teenagers in those days compared to kids of today and some grown ups too.
After the first model we used baked bean tins and soft solder for the boilers......the steam pressure rarely exceeded 20 PSI.
Did that have a safety valve?
Yes, a simple spring loaded device as fitted to all of my model steam engines in the past.@@lmm
I would take it to the steam workshop and have them look at it and test it that boiler looks kinda iffy to me .Keith Appleton on you tube is the person that would tell you about them
I don't know if it would be worth their time!
All they're going to do is look at it and say "no".
You don't have to bend the pipe. Set the furnace on a block to raise it to the level of the reactor if the pipe is intended to be straight. Otherwise gravity should allow condensation to form within and dribble out one end under the influence of gravity. Also bending metal pipe can constrict it's volume at the bend... as exemplified by exactly what we saw happen. And I think the squeek upon use relates to the fact that it is annodized so the surface will abrade irregularly with releated contact with another annodized aluminum surface upon heating and subsequent cooling circumstances.
They did an excellent job making that desktop steam engine terrifying in every possible way.
And I'm amazed that you identified all of this and still chose to run it in your office, without protection, and oriented in a way that meant you'd have to reach around a tower of flames to adjust the governor.
This doesn't have a govener
The over importance of British law is so comical
The scariest thing about this video was finding out there’s a “federation of model engineers” lmfao
That's an astounding number of issues for a single product. It makes me wonder what the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Office for Product Safety & Standards, or our respective customs agencies could do about these unsafe items purchased by the unsuspecting public. It's certainly made difficult by the lack of a local company responsible for importation, distribution, and of course liability.
From my experience from ordering sketchy things off the internet. You've probably got about a 95% chance of not having a problem receiving it.
They might do something about it if you file a complaint, but until that happens they probably won't do anything. Unless you fill out all the proper paperwork then there's a lower chance you'll get the item. Which is quite frustrating because when you do things the right way you're far more likely to get your stuff taken away even if they do comply with all regulations.
Although I've never tried to order a steam engine before so no idea on that aspect. But considering I received an uncertified HPA tank which I refuse to use and decommissioned. I would say the chances are quite low that they'll catch it. That probably scares me more than the steam engine. At least the boiler not a 5,000 psi bomb.
It's sold as a toy, I doubt customs even give it a second look!
4:33 won't there will still be some pressure sent to the piston? In the open position steam can move both out the exhaust port and toward the piston? Unless you're saying the valve opens the exhaust and completely closes the intake at the same time.
Excatly that.
I'm going to hazard a guess and say that there is some legal work around that involves the person purchasing having some involvement in the construction. You bending and connecting the tube, satisfies some legal definition.
If you are that worried, do wear safety goggles. And dont get so close to the open flame with your long hair!
I was worried for his facial hair for a second. 😂 Having burned my own beard more often than I would normally cut it back, I know too well how easily it can happen lol