[LQUOTE="Gunfighter14e2, post: 8548532, member: 91423"]
Well the control valve design I used was a bust, it would not flow the cfm required, fast enough. Building a heavily modified slide style that will be overkill but that's OK, as I may add a second steam chest, later. Got side tracked on some solar stuff for folks just getting up to speed an late to party. Added another 600watt PSW inverter for the two new mini frigs w/ separate freezers. Now on the hunt for a two burner kerosene butterfly store w/ the oven adder.
Looking at how we generate power with steam at work, the process, equipment, hot well, feedwater/condensate return to the control valve, steam chest etc.
And reading your posts and project tells me a lot about your work and locations.
That's a fantastic project you have, hoping you get it nailed down just because it's very interesting to watch.
Problem areas I'm curious about you fixing.
1 throttle/ control valve flow rate and controls.
2 condensate storage from start to return.
3 heat controls, open fire won't work sufficiently due to extreme temp fluctuations and steam flashing back and forth.
4 boiler tube metallurgy, re: taking the heat and steam pressures without failure. High energy piping is the ticket.
5 finally the necessary controller to moderate the steam/ pressure/ flow necessary to push the cycle enough to move an engine. Not to mention the continuation of that feedwater supply.
Man I hope you nail this thing down, you have me nerding out here.
[/QUOTE]
(1) totally different style, Flywheel RPM will control which "Orifice" is supplying boiler pressure to control valve. However I am also mulling over the ability to change the change the valve/chest timing on the fly to control RPM. O/S shutdown/device will operate via mechanical from the crankshaft that will both kill & dump pressure while cutting O2 at the same time. Last thing I want is a repeat of boiler/engine issues I've seen with models and up to 50 HP units, others built/tinkered with. 2 videos I've seen still haunt me of runaways an boilers exploding do to lack of safety's.
(2) chest discharge to condenser, float to control 2 12Vdc pumps (lead & lag) pumping back to supply tank.
(3) heat being controlled via O2 control
(4) This might be an issue over the life cycle but most open tubes are more forgiving than std boilers, so I have been told?
(5) As the engine should never have to be ran more than 6-8 hrs at a time, for simple battery charging, the closed loop system of 50 gallon should not have to be refilled during a cycle.
I have made some operational changes to date
RPM target now 50, w/60 max.
Generator Drive wheel 6.5ft in diameter this should allow about 2K (generator) RPM as now I am looking at 2 100 amp alternators totaling just under 3KW total.
2 flywheels weighing 125lb each, to buffer flywheel effect, even though the alts are DC an F/W effect would not be an issue, per say, I think it would be easier on everything mechanical with that amount of weight. If the F/W effect is large I'll just step up the weigh as the shafts are 2" with double bearings on both sides of the crankpin. The farther I get into this, the more changes I make from first pin/paper thoughts. There are times I look back and wonder why I started this, but fuel could be an issue someday and I like ice cold lemon water, & refrigeration.
The follow on is another, wood gasifier. This one will have the ability to feed an 2.3 liter 4 cylinder Ford I used to build my 25KW whole home genset years ago, or set on the flat bed & supply a 350 S/B chevy I have in a 1972 F350 ford, w/a point distributor (if need be)
I like lot's of options in today's world,...
