Simply incredible work dude, I am a sophmore mechanical engineering major and I still cannot comprehend how you did this completely from scrap and determination. You are going places sir!
+Marie Miller it works alright but at higher rpm I have problems with valve float just like some car engines! Basically the spring isn't string enough to fully return the valve and follow the cam. Thank you haha
In depth video on my steam engine with tips and how I built it! Enjoy! Sneak peak: I just made a boiler so videos and stuff of that coming soon! Stay tuned!
Just found your content today. I would love to see you come back to home steam engine engineering, I've learned a ton and confirmed a lot of my educated guesses.
Nice work ! Your cam is interesting considering that older steam engines used an eccentric to move the valve. You could use your wooden base as a pattern to cast up a nice aluminium one.
Man, this is quite the resource! I've got an aspiration to make a steam-powered generator one day, even if it's just a USB charger, and this is the most explained one that doesn't require a lathe! Well done, my good sir, well done! Though I do have a couple ideas for it. Perhaps you could use some O rings to make your piston and valve leak less? Just spitballing, here. Implementing that might be harder than one would initially think. I know that this video is nine years old, but I'd love to see your take on a boiler! I've actually seen some DIY steam engines on youtube that used an old coke can for the boiler, though I'm not too sure how feasible that'd be, i believe soda cans have an internal plastic lining
I really need plans to follow to mirror you. I'm not a good designer but OK as a copy cat. Eventually I'd like to run some LED lights and charge my small devices when out camping. Anything that you might post would be a great help to the masses. Thank you for the inspiration to build one too.
Incredible build! I love this project. I came here looking for some information for building a steam engine, I left inspired. Keep up the awesome projects, I subscribed and I will be back for more.
Thanks for the video! Really nice how simple and adjustable this engine is, and that with really simple to get parts! Nice and clear explanation about how you built it!
With this extremely low-tech engine, why didn't mankind have steam engines in the 17th Century? As an improvisationalist myself, I admire your efforts. You also sound like you're a youngish guy, so I'm even more impressed. It's simple... yes... but it works and that's what was intended, so mission accomplished! Keep it up, matey! All the best, Gordon
+Gordon Burns Search this on TH-cam ,Heron of Alexandria 's Steam Engine. Was way before 17th , They just thought it was a toy and never made anything out of it
really enjoyed your video. I like the simplicity of the design and the way you used materials you had on hand. It is very innovative and creative. Keep up the good work!
Your valve is not to small.Because on higher pressure it will pass much more volume etc,But valve leakage could be bad you need to add sealing glands. Very nice job indeed.Thanks for sharing it with us.
Shock Tones Hahaha thank you! But I think my brain works 10x as slow at sports, reading, and math lol. Everyone is smart and knows a lot about what they love. I love building things thus I know how to build a lot of things.
Nice machine! I am just wondering, why did you attach the valve shifting "arm" the way you did with a spring and rolling bearing on the flywheel? Is there any advantage to just mounting it regularily like you did with the piston arm?
is the exhaust the tube to the left of the intake copper rod when you apply pressure to the left intake "manifold"? Awesome build! im trying to make my own now
Clayton Reynolds With my design is doesn't mater which is the exhaust and intake. It only changes the direction. For example if I put pressure in the left one if will spin clockwise and pressure in the right one then it will spin counterclockwise. Thanks! Best wishes to ya man!
Hey, I liked this video a lot, and I am wanting to make a steam engine my self any tips for me since you built one with no machining ( A hurtle I also have to over come) keep up the great work
Please explain the valve inlet and how the hole in the brass tube aligns with the copper tube going to the cylinder as this and the timing is the most critical part of setting it up. Thank you.
Nice job! I just stumbled upon your video (you now have 1 more subscriber). I was laughing as you were explaining where u got the parts. I've got a shed full of compressor fans, bearings, rods, Fresnel lenses, microwave transformers and every kind of motor from 48v dc down to those little vibrating motors in PlayStation controllers. You never know what you'll need, it just makes it hard to throw anything away! As for positions, I bought a 4' rod of graphite a year or so ago. Its probably too big for your purposes (2" diameter with half inch bore) but I'd be happy to send a piece if u want. Ever try graphite spray? You could make the piston out of something with similar thermal expansion as the cylinder and spray the graphite on it. I've used it to build up graphite piston that I've sanded too much and I couldn't tell the difference. I'm working on a closed cycle steam system now and was looking for boiler ideas. Cheating a bit using rotary motors (from small vane motors from air tools up to an automotive scroll a/c compressor) and maybe use solar heat, hydrogen from aluminum in lye, wood, trash, etc to boil water (or propane or other refrigerant- Google Organic Rankine Cycle), expand in motor, condense in heat exchanger/ recuperator to transfer heat to preheat the water, and pump back to boiler. Follow that? Andy And again, great video!
Lots of ingenuity, bravo! I'm wondering how the epoxy piston is surviving in real steam... any news, cos I'd like to try it? You might be interested in an idea I came up with for an adjustable crank while making a solar pump... join a threaded rod to the flywheel shaft, coming out radially, and with some clearance between wheel and rod. Vaseline the rod and mold epoxy putty around it. That gives you a long "nut" with virtually no play. Turn it to move nearer or further from the axle. Now join the crank stud to the middle of the "epoxy cylindrical nut" at right angles, giving a T shape, using more epoxy maybe. To adjust it later, just detach the coupling from piston to stub and give it a few turns. Your idea has the advantage of being adjustable without detaching anything. Mine has the advantage of, errr, laziness.
Congratulations man! This mechanism is very interesting. I specially liked the way you designed the flywheel balancing method. You may redesign the cam's body to decrease the amount of resistant force made by the amount of gas in the cylinder while exhausting it, as well as increase the torque by forcing gas in the cylinder in a higher rate before the maximum torque point. Sorry if i made you confused with this. Do you study mechanics?
I am confident that I can build anything like this however, I do not believe that I could have come up with the design on my own. You created this from mostly scrap, that is an amazing feat. You appear to have an abundance of potential. Please go to engineering school. Crowdfund your education or something, but definitely keep doing what you are doing.
you do nice work my fiend!.........and you are very knowledgeable of steam engine building! ..... I have an idea you might want to think about .........you will need to make a steam engine twice the size as the one's you have made so far! .....but here is the Idea! .....make a "Steam Powered Bicycle"! ......I suggest you use a belt drive instead of a chain drive!....ENJOY!
When balancing an engine, you need to add part of the weight of the big end of the con rod, because it moves along with the crank. As a first guess, assume that the effective weight is half the weight of the con rod.
very cool , have you tried running vac on one side and pressure on the other side, at the same time?more pressure and less vac and then more vac and less pressure? Yes you need to make better seals, look forward to seeing more vids!
scot fletcher No I never really did that. But it would certainly give a little more power. I have several other videos of it! Mostly running on my homemade boiler. Thank you!
I'm Really Impressed with how super simple yet ultra adjustable everything is. You can change valve timing or crank length in seconds :) Whle this video answered all my questions with your valve, I feel a more detailed video on the fabrication and spaciing to suit cam etc would be very popular for less experianced builders. No doubt you will make another (larger bore) one at some time, be sure to film it all :) I've been studying steam engines for some time, the valve is the hardest part. Yours is by far the simplest I have ever seen, and the only one I have seen that will run pressure and vacuum at the same time. Perhaps you could seal it with valve stem seals from an OHV 4 stroke motor. You may need to glue them on, and they would need good lube, but I think that would reduce leakage a lot. Or maybe grease your shaft and use some JB weld to make the air leak smaller? Looking forward to boiler tests. Has you mum padlocked the kettle yet? Is there a pressure cooker in the house? Because Mine has a nipple on it that would fit your hose nicely....
Mongrel Shark Thank you! That's how I wanted it! I try to make my Stirling engines in the same easily adjustable manner. It's nice when you don't have to rebuild the whole engine just to adjust something simple. Now I want to build a double acting steam engine because I want more POWER!!! I need a little bigger bore like you say, and I can't use epoxy putty as a piston. So I'm going to need to use some kind of metal or maybe graphite. The epoxy putty piston works great at room temperature but as soon as it heats up a little from steam it expands more than the copper cylinder and binds, causing the engine to run fine off steam for 10 seconds and then grind to a halt. I have a diagram drawn up for the valve so I will do a video on that one of these days. I just kinda eyeballed everything on this engine so there are not really and dimensions of the valve to give! But I still can do a video on the valve. A bigger valve would be nice too. Although then I would need bigger piping and an even bigger boiler. Hmm... There are much simpler steam engines than mine. Here is one: Homemade Steam Engine Pretty much any steam engine will run from a vacuum. Well unless it needs more pressure than atmospheric pressure. Basically all you're doing is using atmospheric pressure as your pressure supply. II guess stem seals would work but I would have to buy them. JB weld is a good idea to seal up the valve better but with my experience so far with epoxy and steam, it will bind when it heats up. With all the leakage on the valve, it still does seem to run just fine on steam. 30psi really makes it take off! Hahaha I was eyeing up the tea kettle when I first made it but I decided I might only be able to get 1-2psi from it because the lid does not seal well. Sadly we don't have a pressure cooker(if we did I probably would have turned it into a stirling engine by now). I already made a pretty nice boiler out of a tomato sauce can! It works great! I have a video of the hydrostatic test up so go check it out! You are going to be surprised by how much pressure a plain old tin can can hold! Hint: I deem 30psi the safe operating pressure! But it tested to way more than that! I really want to see the limit of a plain old tin can now!
I have cooked beans in the can on the fire. I can vouch for the pressure. The trick is to dint the can so if the dint pops out you know its close to exploding.... Saw a can explode once. Blew the fire out, and hot coals and beans all over camp. You might be surprised about how few steam engines would run on vacuum, especially vacuum and pressure at same time. Its not that common. I wonder if you could make piston rings for your epoxy piston? Thats kind of funny that it gets stuck.Must have had you scratching your head at first. I've seen pistons made from stacks of washers on a rod before... You can even put stuff like felt and velvet in between the washers, so it hangs out a bit, for a better seal.
Mongrel Shark Interesting! The denting idea is very smart! Just keep an eye on it! The beans were probably falling from the sky for a while!!! Hahaha Yeah, I guess I have't seen any running on vacuum before. I thought at first it was the oil in the piston mixing with steam cause it was puking out this gray thick gunk. But after I cleaned all the oil out and dried it all up it still did exactly the same thing. I don't know how I would make piston rings. But I'll give it some thought. I thought about something like that. I was thinking to cut the piston in half and sandwich some leather or felt in between the two halves. I don't know if the added resistance would be over come by the added power. Something to try though. I'm also trying to figure out how I would shape a graphite piston. I have a really nice piece of graphite that I've been waiting to use for that one special project! How do I cut it without making a HUGE MASSIVE mess?
If you wanted to mill a piston. if you can get a rod through the middle, that fits in your drill, you could spin it and work it like in a lathe. The gunk must be worn piston? Some steam pistons are as simple as string. The steam gets it wet and it acts as lubricant and a seal... Also look into steam oil. Apparently its something you put in the boiler, like 2 stroke oil in the fuel for a 2 stroke petrol engine.. It doesn't really rain whole beans. More like mashed re-fried beans.
DAAAAAAAAMNNNNNN i was looking for a simple concept like this to make my first working engine sll by myself, i will try build one using your ideas, and i will promise when i build it i will make a video and send it to you and ofcourse with your name in it :)
if you widen the hole on your valve it will throw your timming off you will need to increase the dia. of the copper tubing and a larger valve to increase valume. but very nice job
The little Rod that lets the steam in you said you wanted to drill the hole bigger I don't think that's the problem I think you need to solder it to the other pushrod what's probably happening as it goes back and forth It's probably turning just a little bit I could be wrong but I'm assuming that's probably why they won't let as much steam in as it moves it turns side to side maybe you should solder it together and try that
Could I cast the flywheel out of lead, I have lots of it lying around and nothing the use it for. Amazing video, would like to see how you made the valves
Quite wonderful to see a young engineer at work. Congratulations, sir.
I'm at
Simply incredible work dude, I am a sophmore mechanical engineering major and I still cannot comprehend how you did this completely from scrap and determination. You are going places sir!
The most informative TH-cam video I have ever watched. Learned more in a few minutes, than I could have watching anything else.
+Speed Racer thank you!
that adjustable stroke and balance crank is genius!
+Murphys Law Thank you!
the roller cam is a super great idea if i was your mom i would be sooooooooo proud of you young man you rock to the max god bless you son
+Marie Miller it works alright but at higher rpm I have problems with valve float just like some car engines! Basically the spring isn't string enough to fully return the valve and follow the cam. Thank you haha
In depth video on my steam engine with tips and how I built it! Enjoy!
Sneak peak: I just made a boiler so videos and stuff of that coming soon! Stay tuned!
***** Cool! I've gotten several great things from Restore for really cheap! Hope you find some great stuff! Thank you!
Makerj101 how do u make the air intake 0art
Just found your content today. I would love to see you come back to home steam engine engineering, I've learned a ton and confirmed a lot of my educated guesses.
Nice work ! Your cam is interesting considering that older steam engines used an eccentric to move the valve. You could use your wooden base as a pattern to cast up a nice aluminium one.
Man, this is quite the resource! I've got an aspiration to make a steam-powered generator one day, even if it's just a USB charger, and this is the most explained one that doesn't require a lathe! Well done, my good sir, well done! Though I do have a couple ideas for it. Perhaps you could use some O rings to make your piston and valve leak less? Just spitballing, here. Implementing that might be harder than one would initially think. I know that this video is nine years old, but I'd love to see your take on a boiler! I've actually seen some DIY steam engines on youtube that used an old coke can for the boiler, though I'm not too sure how feasible that'd be, i believe soda cans have an internal plastic lining
Starts off as casting his own flywheel! You my son are destined for PEng in mechanical engineering! Keep your math grades up.
what a fun cool thing to do...
they used to run VW's with this during the war
Helena ! Yes! I really enjoyed building it! Neat!
Thank you!
That adjustable crank design you came up with is very clever. Inspiring to see something made without a Lathe. thanks for posting.
It sounds like an old sewing machine. :)
I really need plans to follow to mirror you. I'm not a good designer but OK as a copy cat. Eventually I'd like to run some LED lights and charge my small devices when out camping. Anything that you might post would be a great help to the masses. Thank you for the inspiration to build one too.
Incredible build! I love this project. I came here looking for some information for building a steam engine, I left inspired. Keep up the awesome projects, I subscribed and I will be back for more.
Great! Now attach a small generator or dynamo on it with gears and power up some led's :P
I swear i become more impressed with each video i watch from you
Thanks for the video! Really nice how simple and adjustable this engine is, and that with really simple to get parts! Nice and clear explanation about how you built it!
TriangleStirling You're welcome! I tried to make it as simple as possible! Glad you like it! Thank you!
yOU HAVE A GOOD FUTURE IN ENGINEERING, YOUNG MAN. KEEP IT UP!
hahaha you sound so young but your so intelligent, we need more of you
With this extremely low-tech engine, why didn't mankind have steam engines in the 17th Century? As an improvisationalist myself, I admire your efforts. You also sound like you're a youngish guy, so I'm even more impressed.
It's simple... yes... but it works and that's what was intended, so mission accomplished!
Keep it up, matey! All the best, Gordon
+Gordon Burns Search this on TH-cam ,Heron of Alexandria 's Steam Engine. Was way before 17th , They just thought it was a toy and never made anything out of it
The engine is the easy part. The boiler is the hard part. They probably struggled to build a big enough boiler.
Great job. Looking forward to more.
***** Thank you! Boiler testing coming soon!
Best steam engine video ever! Thank you for sharing this. Great job, keep building my friend.
really enjoyed your video. I like the simplicity of the design and the way you used materials you had on hand. It is very innovative and creative. Keep up the good work!
Mike Hart Thank you! I don't like buying things so this was the perfect engine I could build!
Beautifully done!
You could do real wonders with a used old South Bend lathe or a little Sherline Mill.
Awesome, when you say it leaks, I think that is the exhaust, accidentally coming back through to where the valve is lol, great work, keep it up :-)
Your valve is not to small.Because on higher pressure it will pass much more
volume etc,But valve leakage could be bad you need to add sealing glands.
Very nice job indeed.Thanks for sharing it with us.
love your vids...your brain works about 10x fast as mine.....great job....very entertaining !!!
Shock Tones Hahaha thank you! But I think my brain works 10x as slow at sports, reading, and math lol. Everyone is smart and knows a lot about what they love. I love building things thus I know how to build a lot of things.
maybe put some sandpaper on the flywheel, and make it a grinder wheel!
+Adam Starhawk it is already a grinder wheel xD he just spraypainted it
great stuff my question is that pink hose in the right side .. is it really necessary to have it there at all
Dude this is just great! Really interesting :))
Awesome work, It looks and works great.
stevenk1965 Thanks!
stevenk1965 I have seen a lot of his videos, this kid is brilliant.
Absolutely glorious thank you!!
that is well done dude , Bravo
Nice machine! I am just wondering, why did you attach the valve shifting "arm" the way you did with a spring and rolling bearing on the flywheel? Is there any advantage to just mounting it regularily like you did with the piston arm?
Awesome job
Some fine work there brother!
I tried to get with you in the past but let's try again, I will email you, look for it! Blessings! ~Russ
***** That would be cool! Thank you!
how critical is the "timing" (if you will) of the piston and valve? did you have to do much adjusting to get it to run? Thx, awesome build!
Fantastic thinking.
This thing is awesome!!! Would a bigger version work for a powered kart??
This things awesome haha and I can’t help but think that your house is full of stuff with like one little piece missing on everything hahaha
Thanks for the follow up video
This is quite clever. I especially like your cam design as a way to avoid building an eccentric.
Martin Heermance Thank you!
I'm watching this for the first time 8 years after it was made. I would imagine that by now you are one of Elon's chief engineers.
Great work
Looks awesome!
Yuji Naka Thank you!
Awesome well done
Very cool my man its all the same principles in the big time set ups. Ha ha im impressed
This is so cool!!!
is the exhaust the tube to the left of the intake copper rod when you apply pressure to the left intake "manifold"?
Awesome build! im trying to make my own now
Clayton Reynolds With my design is doesn't mater which is the exhaust and intake. It only changes the direction. For example if I put pressure in the left one if will spin clockwise and pressure in the right one then it will spin counterclockwise. Thanks! Best wishes to ya man!
How is the valve made? Can we get more details?
Thanks
Hey, I liked this video a lot, and I am wanting to make a steam engine my self any tips for me since you built one with no machining ( A hurtle I also have to over come) keep up the great work
So cool!
Please explain the valve inlet and how the hole in the brass tube aligns with the copper tube going to the cylinder as this and the timing is the most critical part of setting it up. Thank you.
Keep up the good work!
You could use your wood base as a pattern for a cast aluminum engine base!
Good work! I like your valve & cam mechanism.
gwheyduke Dude!!! That's an epic idea! Maybe I'll give that a try! :D Thanks a ton!
Nice work bro
Nice job! I just stumbled upon your video (you now have 1 more subscriber). I was laughing as you were explaining where u got the parts. I've got a shed full of compressor fans, bearings, rods, Fresnel lenses, microwave transformers and every kind of motor from 48v dc down to those little vibrating motors in PlayStation controllers. You never know what you'll need, it just makes it hard to throw anything away! As for positions, I bought a 4' rod of graphite a year or so ago. Its probably too big for your purposes (2" diameter with half inch bore) but I'd be happy to send a piece if u want. Ever try graphite spray? You could make the piston out of something with similar thermal expansion as the cylinder and spray the graphite on it. I've used it to build up graphite piston that I've sanded too much and I couldn't tell the difference. I'm working on a closed cycle steam system now and was looking for boiler ideas. Cheating a bit using rotary motors (from small vane motors from air tools up to an automotive scroll a/c compressor) and maybe use solar heat, hydrogen from aluminum in lye, wood, trash, etc to boil water (or propane or other refrigerant- Google Organic Rankine Cycle), expand in motor, condense in heat exchanger/ recuperator to transfer heat to preheat the water, and pump back to boiler. Follow that? Andy
And again, great video!
dude i like your style
That's awesome 👌
im working on somthing similar to this. that thing runs smooth as can be.
Lots of ingenuity, bravo! I'm wondering how the epoxy piston is surviving in real steam... any news, cos I'd like to try it? You might be interested in an idea I came up with for an adjustable crank while making a solar pump... join a threaded rod to the flywheel shaft, coming out radially, and with some clearance between wheel and rod. Vaseline the rod and mold epoxy putty around it. That gives you a long "nut" with virtually no play. Turn it to move nearer or further from the axle. Now join the crank stud to the middle of the "epoxy cylindrical nut" at right angles, giving a T shape, using more epoxy maybe. To adjust it later, just detach the coupling from piston to stub and give it a few turns. Your idea has the advantage of being adjustable without detaching anything. Mine has the advantage of, errr, laziness.
Congratulations man! This mechanism is very interesting. I specially liked the way you designed the flywheel balancing method. You may redesign the cam's body to decrease the amount of resistant force made by the amount of gas in the cylinder while exhausting it, as well as increase the torque by forcing gas in the cylinder in a higher rate before the maximum torque point. Sorry if i made you confused with this. Do you study mechanics?
Great work. Please make a hit and miss engine with your bare hands. You are surely blessed.
what is the purpose of the tube at the back of the piston ,is there a hole in the intake canected to the piston ?
Good job!
ab190001 Thank you!
I am confident that I can build anything like this however, I do not believe that I could have come up with the design on my own. You created this from mostly scrap, that is an amazing feat. You appear to have an abundance of potential. Please go to engineering school. Crowdfund your education or something, but definitely keep doing what you are doing.
I really wanna know how he uses the second pipe to make it reverse. Is it the same inside as it would be with only one?
you do nice work my fiend!.........and you are very knowledgeable of steam engine building! ..... I have an idea you might want to think about .........you will need to make a steam engine twice the size as the one's you have made so far! .....but here is the Idea! .....make a "Steam Powered Bicycle"! ......I suggest you use a belt drive instead of a chain drive!....ENJOY!
That is great, you need a lathe to use some of that creativity on
When balancing an engine, you need to add part of the weight of the big end of the con rod, because it moves along with the crank. As a first guess, assume that the effective weight is half the weight of the con rod.
Impressive job without using a lathe, milling machine, or even a drill pres.
This is so cool.
jdflyback Thank you! I just built a boiler and now I running it on steam power!!! It works great!
VERY NICE!
How does the exhaust/used steam get out?
great video
Kman Meteor Thank you!
Hey, I have some doubts... Which caliber is your valve? and your piston of the valve is a tube or is only a piece of metal without vacuum?
why cast the flywheel if you made the counter weight? Wouldnt this work without it?
That's really cool
bnbcraft6666 Thank you!
Did you ever thinks about cutting the ring around the end of the rod and putting a no ring on it
nice job
Very Cool
very cool , have you tried running vac on one side and pressure on the other side, at the same time?more pressure and less vac and then more vac and less pressure? Yes you need to make better seals, look forward to seeing more vids!
scot fletcher No I never really did that. But it would certainly give a little more power. I have several other videos of it! Mostly running on my homemade boiler. Thank you!
I'm Really Impressed with how super simple yet ultra adjustable everything is. You can change valve timing or crank length in seconds :) Whle this video answered all my questions with your valve, I feel a more detailed video on the fabrication and spaciing to suit cam etc would be very popular for less experianced builders. No doubt you will make another (larger bore) one at some time, be sure to film it all :) I've been studying steam engines for some time, the valve is the hardest part. Yours is by far the simplest I have ever seen, and the only one I have seen that will run pressure and vacuum at the same time. Perhaps you could seal it with valve stem seals from an OHV 4 stroke motor. You may need to glue them on, and they would need good lube, but I think that would reduce leakage a lot. Or maybe grease your shaft and use some JB weld to make the air leak smaller?
Looking forward to boiler tests. Has you mum padlocked the kettle yet? Is there a pressure cooker in the house? Because Mine has a nipple on it that would fit your hose nicely....
Mongrel Shark Thank you! That's how I wanted it! I try to make my Stirling engines in the same easily adjustable manner. It's nice when you don't have to rebuild the whole engine just to adjust something simple. Now I want to build a double acting steam engine because I want more POWER!!! I need a little bigger bore like you say, and I can't use epoxy putty as a piston. So I'm going to need to use some kind of metal or maybe graphite. The epoxy putty piston works great at room temperature but as soon as it heats up a little from steam it expands more than the copper cylinder and binds, causing the engine to run fine off steam for 10 seconds and then grind to a halt.
I have a diagram drawn up for the valve so I will do a video on that one of these days. I just kinda eyeballed everything on this engine so there are not really and dimensions of the valve to give! But I still can do a video on the valve. A bigger valve would be nice too. Although then I would need bigger piping and an even bigger boiler. Hmm...
There are much simpler steam engines than mine. Here is one: Homemade Steam Engine
Pretty much any steam engine will run from a vacuum. Well unless it needs more pressure than atmospheric pressure. Basically all you're doing is using atmospheric pressure as your pressure supply.
II guess stem seals would work but I would have to buy them. JB weld is a good idea to seal up the valve better but with my experience so far with epoxy and steam, it will bind when it heats up. With all the leakage on the valve, it still does seem to run just fine on steam. 30psi really makes it take off!
Hahaha I was eyeing up the tea kettle when I first made it but I decided I might only be able to get 1-2psi from it because the lid does not seal well. Sadly we don't have a pressure cooker(if we did I probably would have turned it into a stirling engine by now). I already made a pretty nice boiler out of a tomato sauce can! It works great! I have a video of the hydrostatic test up so go check it out! You are going to be surprised by how much pressure a plain old tin can can hold! Hint: I deem 30psi the safe operating pressure! But it tested to way more than that! I really want to see the limit of a plain old tin can now!
Bertha munson Hahaha hobbyist jargon! Just a bunch of metal tubes and some solder and you have a valve for a steam engine! Simple as that! :D Hahaha
I have cooked beans in the can on the fire. I can vouch for the pressure. The trick is to dint the can so if the dint pops out you know its close to exploding.... Saw a can explode once. Blew the fire out, and hot coals and beans all over camp.
You might be surprised about how few steam engines would run on vacuum, especially vacuum and pressure at same time. Its not that common.
I wonder if you could make piston rings for your epoxy piston? Thats kind of funny that it gets stuck.Must have had you scratching your head at first.
I've seen pistons made from stacks of washers on a rod before... You can even put stuff like felt and velvet in between the washers, so it hangs out a bit, for a better seal.
Mongrel Shark Interesting! The denting idea is very smart! Just keep an eye on it! The beans were probably falling from the sky for a while!!! Hahaha
Yeah, I guess I have't seen any running on vacuum before.
I thought at first it was the oil in the piston mixing with steam cause it was puking out this gray thick gunk. But after I cleaned all the oil out and dried it all up it still did exactly the same thing. I don't know how I would make piston rings. But I'll give it some thought.
I thought about something like that. I was thinking to cut the piston in half and sandwich some leather or felt in between the two halves. I don't know if the added resistance would be over come by the added power. Something to try though. I'm also trying to figure out how I would shape a graphite piston. I have a really nice piece of graphite that I've been waiting to use for that one special project! How do I cut it without making a HUGE MASSIVE mess?
If you wanted to mill a piston. if you can get a rod through the middle, that fits in your drill, you could spin it and work it like in a lathe.
The gunk must be worn piston?
Some steam pistons are as simple as string. The steam gets it wet and it acts as lubricant and a seal... Also look into steam oil. Apparently its something you put in the boiler, like 2 stroke oil in the fuel for a 2 stroke petrol engine..
It doesn't really rain whole beans. More like mashed re-fried beans.
Great job
god bless you
I m gonna make this for my school project
Hey man, this is awesome, just one question, this could work with water steam instead of just air?
yes, he just doesnt have a boiler yet
DAAAAAAAAMNNNNNN i was looking for a simple concept like this to make my first working engine sll by myself, i will try build one using your ideas, and i will promise when i build it i will make a video and send it to you and ofcourse with your name in it :)
+kittenbekje Cool! Thanks! Yes, please do let me know when you upload it! Best of luck building it! Send me a PM or email if you need any help.
sure i will, thanks man ;)
very good project 101
when and how are you gonna make the boiler
Elegant!
In Depth Video on my DIY Homemade Steam Engine thats doesnt use steam to run but air - Parts Used, How I Built it, etc
NICE !!!
if you widen the hole on your valve it will throw your timming off you will need to increase the dia. of the copper tubing and a larger valve to increase valume. but very nice job
The little Rod that lets the steam in you said you wanted to drill the hole bigger I don't think that's the problem I think you need to solder it to the other pushrod what's probably happening as it goes back and forth It's probably turning just a little bit I could be wrong but I'm assuming that's probably why they won't let as much steam in as it moves it turns side to side maybe you should solder it together and try that
Could I cast the flywheel out of lead, I have lots of it lying around and nothing the use it for.
Amazing video, would like to see how you made the valves
Absolutely
+T Bentall You could, but lead is extremely toxic and you don't want to inhale it...
+Derp Derpington I know I have decided it would be better to cast one out of aluminum
i did not understand how the valve works, are there any plans or can anyone explain it to me?
okay thkzz for clearing my prblm
Hi. I am wondering how can the compressed air behind the piston escape?
Dick Plummer When there valve rod moves the other way the hole in it lines up with the exhaust port and that's when the air escapes. Thanks!