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Single Acting |
Single Acting Boiler |
Double Acting |
Double Acting Boiler |
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Posted 2006
Single Acting Steam Engine Movie
WMV Format 5.6MB
This is the first steam engine I
have made. It is a two cylinder single acting engine.
It was made without a lathe.
Layout of the Engine.
How it Works:
This engine works by allowing steam to enter the left cylinder when the
left piston is at top dead
centre, thus pushing the piston down and turning the flywheel.
When the piston reaches bottom dead centre, the steam control valve
shuts off the steam to the left cylinder, and also vent the steam in left cylinder.
The right piston will now be top dead centre and steam enters the
right cylinder thus pushing the right piston down and turns
the flywheel. When the piston reaches bottom dead centre, the
steam control valve
shuts off the steam in the right cylinder and also vent the steam in right cylinder.
The left piston will now be at top dead centre and the whole
cycle stars over. The engine will run until the steam or heat
is turned off.
This
drawing shows how the engine works.
Flywheel:
The flywheel is made from 12mm plywood, with a diameter of 120m. The flywheel
bearing is housed in a length of 18mm chrome pipe,
(fig 1) ,
(fig 1a),
(fig 1b),
(fig 1c).
Cylinders:
The cylinders are made from 20mm plumbers copper pipe, and are 55mm long.
Steam Control Valve:
The steam control valve was made from 130mm length of 5mm copper pipe, two pot
rivets, and a length of bicycle spoke wire.
To make the steam control valve pipe for the steam inlet, a small hole was
drilled in the centre of the 130mm length of 5mm copper pipe, and a small copper
pipe soldered into the hole. Small holes were also drilled 30mm in from each end,
to allow steam to enter the cylinders
The steam control valve pipe, was then soldered into the back of the cylinders,
so that the holes that where drilled 30mm from the end of pipe lined up with the
centre of the cylinders. End caps with bolts fitted in them where soldered to
the ends of the cylinders and then the whole assembly was bolted to a block of
wood, which in turn could be fixed to the base board,
(fig 2),
(fig 2a),
(fig 2b),
(fig 2c),
(fig 2d),
(fig 2e),
(fig 2f).
To control the steam inlet and exhaust, I turned down the pot rivet heads in the
drill press so that they were just a slide in fit in the steam control valve
pipe. The pot rivet pull rods were then removed and then the pot rivet heads
where soldered on to the bicycle spoke wire, so that both of the pot rivet heads
block the two holes that were drilled 30mm from each end of the steam control
valve pipe at the same time. (fig 3),
(fig 3a). Looking from the front of the
engine the left end of the bicycle spoke wire was bent over at 90 degrees and
trimmed off so that it could be fitted to the rocker arm.
Rocker Arm:
The rocker arm, connects the steam control valve to a crank on the flywheel. It
is made from a washer, bits of pipe, a two pence piece and a length of junior
hack saw blade. It was assembled as shown in
(fig 4),
(fig 4a),
(fig 4b),
(fig 4c). It was bolted to the base board and the steam control valve attached to it
as shown in (fig 4d), and
(fig 4e).
Rocker Arm Connecting Rod:
The rocker arm connecting rod was made from another bicycle spoke wire, and the
nut that is used for adjusting the bicycle spoke. For the rocker arm connecting
rod bearing I soldered a short length of thin copper pipe to the end of the
spoke adjusting nut,
(fig 5). Then I screwed the adjusting nut only half way up
the threads on the spoke, so that when the engine was assembled I would be able
to make fine adjustments to the steam control valve,
(fig 5a). In
(fig 5b) you
can see how the rocker connecting rod, is connected to the rocker arm and the
crank on the flywheel. Note that the rocker arm connecting rod is 90 degrees out
of phase with the piston’s connecting rods.
Pistons and Piston Connecting rods:
See, Here for how I made the pistons. The piston’s connecting rods where made
from brass bars from B&Q. They where cut to 130mm and then drilled and the
pistons pined on as shown in, (fig 6),
(fig 6a),
(fig 6b).
Crank:
The cranks are made from two pence pieces, along with nuts and
bolts,
(fig 9),
(fig 9a).
The Base Board:
The Engine was assembled on a 400mm x 240mm board. This board was cut from an MDF
stone effect floor tile, and looks good for the base of this engine. A groove
was cut for the flywheel and then a 30mm high wood frame was made and the base
board was glued on. The edges of the base board was finished off with beading.
Assembling the Engine:
Many of the parts for this engine can be seen in,
(fig 7).
Take a look at
(fig 8),
(fig 8a),
(fig 8b),
(fig 8c),
(fig 8d),
(fig 8e),
(fig 8f),
(fig 8g),
(fig 8h),
(fig 8i),
(fig 8j),
(fig 8k), for how the engine was assembled onto the base board.
Testing the engine:
I tested the engine with compressed air. A bicycle pump was connected to the
steam inlet pipe, and with gentle pumps the engine ran well. It is a good idea
to test a new steam engine with compressed air before connecting it to a boiler.
Then if it doesn’t work you know there is a fault with the engine. If you just
connected the engine straight up to a boiler and it doesn't work, you wouldn’t
know if it is the engine, or the boiler, or both that was at fault.
Running the Engine:
The engine runs well and the speed can be controlled with the
steam regulator or the gas regulator.
See bellow for how I made the
Boiler and
the Burner.
Top of Page
Boiler
The boiler for the above engine was made from an empty, 500ml blow
lamp gas can, (fig 1).
The filler cap and safety valve, was made from 15mm plumbers
compression fit end caps and 15mm copper pipe, The steam trap,
was made from 15mm plumbers solder on end cap and 15mm copper
pipe and a short length of thin copper pipe.
(fig 2),
(fig 2a).
The gas valve was pushed into the can, and then a two pence
piece was soldered over the hole,
(fig 3). The paint was removed from the can, and then it was
marked out and holes pierced as shown in,
(fig 4). The pierced holes were then drilled out to 15mm, and
the gas valve that was pushed into the can earlier was
removed. The filled cap, steam trap and the safety valve were
then soldered in place,
(fig 5),
(fig 5a).
The safety valve was made by drilling a hole through the top
of the compression end cap top, and then a nut and bolt with a
fibre washer and a weak spring was assembled on to the end cap
top, (fig 6),
(fig 6a),
(fig 6b). To make it easier to open the filler cap, I soldered
half a two pence piece along the top,
(fig 7). The steam trap was assembled as shown in,
(fig 5).
(Fig 7a) shows the filler cap, steam trap and the safety
valve finished and in place.
Two small carrot tins were used for the ends of the boiler,
and were cut as shown in,
(fig 8). They are a wedge on fit and were taped in place with a
rubber mallet.
(Fig 9) shows them in place. Brackets were made from old
computer parts and riveted to the boilers end caps (carrot
tins) and then the boiler was screwed to the base board of the
engine,
(fig 10),
(fig 10a),
(fig 10b).
For the steam regulator I used an 8mm gas valve,
(fig 11). Thin copper pipe was used to plumb the boiler to the
engine,
(fig 12). The gas valve (steam regulator) was bolted to the
base board with home made brackets, and the thin copper pipe
was bent and soldered in place,
(fig 13),
(fig 13a),
(fig 13b),
(fig 13c).
Top of Page
I decided to use gas to heat the water in the boiler. To
produce a good hot blue flame, air needs to be mixed with
gas. The gas burner I came up with was made from a 230mm
length of 15mm plumbers copper pipe, two 15mm compression end
caps, a 15mm pipe joiner and two pipe wall brackets,
(fig 1),
(fig 1a).
From one end of the pipe, eight 1.5mm holes were driller 15mm apart,
(fig 2). 20mm in from the other end a 6.6mm hole was
drilled through the pipe,
(fig 3).
There is a 70mm gap between the last 1.5 hole and the 6.5
hole, this is to allow the air and gas to mix. To regulate the
air in the burner a sleeve, made from the cut down 15mm pipe
joiner, was put over the pipe and can be slid over part of the
hole to reduce the air,
(fig 3a),
(fig 3b).
To allow gas into the burner, I used the end of a gas blow
lamp, (fig 4),
(fig 4a). This was wedged into a 40mm length of thin copper
pipe and then the pipe was wedged into one of the compression
end cap tops,
(fig 5),
(fig 5a).
To assemble the burner, the compression end cap with the blow
lamp end in it, was fixed to the burner at the end where the
6.5mm hole is. The other end cap was fixed to the other end of
the pipe,
(fig 6),
(fig 6a). Then the whole unit was bolted with the two pipe wall
brackets to the base plate, which came from an old toaster,
(fig 6b),
(fig 6c),
(fig 6d).
(Fig 7),
(fig 7a) and
(fig 7b) shows the burner under the boiler, and
(fig 8),
(fig 8a) and
(fig 8b) shows the burner lit. In
(fig 9) you can see how I’ve connected the burner to the blow
lamp that I took the end off to use in the burner. The
regulator on the blow lamp, is used to control the height of
the flame on the
burner.
Top of Page
Posted December 2006
Double Acting Steam Engine Movie
WMV Format 9.7MB
My second steam engine has twin double acting pistons, and
like the first one, was made with basic tools (no lathe).
Layout of the Engine
How it Works:
Each cylinder and piston acts as two cylinders When the
piston is at the top of the cylinder, steam enters the top
of the cylinder, and pushes the piston down. When the piston
reaches the bottom of the cylinder, the steam is shut off
and vented, and then steam enters the bottom of the cylinder
and pushes the piston back to the top of the cylinder. This
cycle continues until the steam is turned off.
This engine has two double acting pistons, which are set 90
degree out of phase. This means that there is always at least
one piston on a power stroke and the engine will self start.
Base:
The base was made from a piece of MDF floor board and an old
picture frame, and is 390mm x 200mm. A hole was cut to
accommodate the bottom of the flywheel, (fig 1).
(fig 1a),
(fig 1b), (fig 1c),
(fig 1d),
(fig 1e).
Flywheel:
The flywheel was made from 12mm plywood and has a diameter of
95mm. Two were made and then glued together, and holes
drilled through to make it look more like a flywheel, (fig 2),
(fig 2a),
(fig 2b). A threaded bar was used for the flywheel axle,
with cut down copper pipes for the bearing. The flywheel
supports started life as hinges for the glove box on an old
car and were modified to take the flywheel bearings. The
flywheel was sprayed red and then bolted to the base, (fig 2c),
(fig 2d),
(fig 2e), (fig 2f),
(fig 2g),
(fig 2h).
Cylinders:
A cylinder was made from 20mm plumber’s copper pipe, and was
45mm long, (fig 3),
(fig 3a).
20mm from the centre of the cylinder going left and right
1.5mm holes were drilled to let the steam in and out. The
second cylinder was made in the same way. The cylinder block
was made from a block of wood that was cut, drilled and
shaped to hold the cylinder assembly to the base, (fig 3b),
(fig 3c).
Steam inlet and outlet valve:
The steam inlet and outlet valve was made from 6mm x 100mm
copper pipe. A 3mm hole was drilled in the centre of the
pipe. 20mm from the centre going left and right, 1.5mm holes
were drilled to match the ones in the cylinder. It was then
soldered to the cylinder, with the steam inlet and outlet
holes lined up with the ones in the cylinder. The steam
inlet pipe was 4mm copper pipe and was soldered to the
centre hole. Two of these were made, (fig 4),
(fig 4a),
(fig 4b).
End caps were made, for the cylinders, from one pence pieces
with a nut and bolt through the centre, so that the
cylinders could be bolted to the cylinder block. They were
tapped in place and then soldered, (fig 4e).
To control the steam inlet and outlet, I turned down two pot
rivets in the drill press so that they just fit in the 6mm
pipe, and soldered them to a bicycle spoke wire so that they
lined up with the steam inlet and outlet holes in the pipe.
The bicycle spoke was bent over to 90 degrees so that it
could be connected to the connecting rod. Two of these were
made, (fig 5),
(fig 5a),
(fig 5b),
(fig 5c),
(fig 5d),
(fig 5e).
Pistons:
To make the piston I used a one pence piece. A hole was
drilled through the centre and a nut and bolt attached so
that it could be turned down in the drill press until it
just fit in the cylinder. Once the piston fit the cylinder
the nut and bolt was removed. I then threaded one end of a
50mm x 2.5mm copper rod, and bolted it to the piston. The
second piston was made in the same way, (fig 6),
(fig 6a).
End caps were made, for the cylinders, from one pence
pieces, that were drilled through the centre and
2.5mm,(inside diameter), x 20mm copper pipe was soldered in
the holes. The pistons were placed in the cylinders and the
end caps tapped into place. They are a good tight fit, so I
didn’t solder them. I didn’t want to risk any solder or flux
finding its way into the sealed cylinders, (fig 6b),
(fig 6c),
(fig 6d),
(fig 6e),
(fig 6f).
Piston connecting rod and coupling:
The piston connecting rod was made from a 60mm length of
aluminium bar, (fig 7).
The coupling was made from an old two pin plug, which was
modified and then soldered to the piston rod and pinned to
the piston connecting rod, (fig 8),
(fig 8a),
(fig 8b),
(fig 8c),
(fig 8d).
Steam control valve connecting rods:
The steam control valve connecting rod was made from a
bicycle spoke, and the spoke adjusting nut, with a small
copper pipe soldered to the end, (fig 9),
(fig 9a),
(fig 9b).
Two nuts with holes drilled through them were bolted to the
base – the height of these can be adjusted, (fig 9c),
(fig 9d).
The connecting rod was fitted through the bolt holes and
connected to the steam control valve, (fig 9e).
The part that connects the connecting rod to the crank was
made from coat hanger wire and electrical block connecters,
(fig 9f),
(fig 9g).
It fits on the connecting rod and is held in place with one
cut in half electrical block connecter, and can be adjusted
left or right – (to get the timing right for the steam
control valve). A nut holds it on the crank. (fig 9h),
(fig 9i).
The second connecting rod was made in the same way.
Cranks:
The cranks were made from two pence pieces, nuts and bolts
and small copper pipes for the bearing, (fig 10),
(fig 10a).
The pulley came from an old CD player. The piston cranks are
90 degrees out of phase. These means that at any one time
there is at least one piston on a power stroke, so the
engine will self-start. The steam control valve connecting
rods are 90 degrees out of phase with their pistons.
Assembly and Testing:
The engine was assembled and oiled, (fig 11),
(fig 11a).
To get a little oil into the cylinders, I sprayed WD40
through the exhaust ports and into the cylinders. Any excess
oil finds its way back out the exhaust port, (fig
11c). Using compressed air, each cylinder was tested separately
and the steam control valves were adjusted to get the best
out of each cylinder.
Once the testing and adjusting was over, a T steam inlet
pipe was made from copper pipe so that steam could enter
both cylinders at the same time, (fig 12).
This was soldered into place, (fig 12a).
The front exhausts would blow steam over the cranks and
flywheel, so I soldered a copper pipe to the front exhausts
and led it to the back of the engine,
(fig 12b), (fig 12c),
(fig 12d),
(fig 12e),
(fig 12f).
In (fig 13),
(fig 13a), (fig 13b),
(fig 13c), (fig 13d), (fig 13e), (fig 13f), (fig 13g), (fig 13h), (fig 13i), (fig 13j), (fig 13k),
you can see the completed engine, before the boiler was
installed.
The remaining pictures show the engine with
the boiler in place, (fig 14),
(fig 14a),
(fig 14b),
(fig 14c),
(fig 14d),
(fig 14e),
(fig 14f),
(fig 14g).
The engine runs well, and on a low flame it will turn as low
as one revolution in three seconds, speeding up considerably
on an higher heat.
See below for how I made the
boiler. For this engine I'm using the same
burner I made for my first engine.
