HOME-BRED STEAM POWER
In a
post apocalyptic world, it is possible to
have a homebred power source by building a
steam engine. The task is straight forward
engineering, but is not for the faint of
heart. The following information is simply
meant to be stored away in your file system
and employed if the need ever arises. Given
the fact that fuels may be in very short
supply in the future, the time may arise when
an alternative source for turning grain
mills, water pumps, or generators may well be
worth the trouble of building a steam
engine.
I make no
claims to being a steam power expert at all -
I merely have described below what I have
seen in operation. Steam experts say a
boiler must be just that - a regular steam
boiler - and the concept of a weak pressure
vessel makes them cringe. They are the
experts and it is wise to pay attention to
their concerns. Those wanting more
information on steam power should contact the
experts. The Steam Automobile Bulletin
is excellent. It is produced by the
Steam Automobile Club of America, www.steamautomobile.com.
While the primary interest of the club is the
automotive use of steam engines, a steam
engine could be used for virtually any
application requiring
power.
Working steam
power projects are rare but great to
see. Here is a good one explained very
well - with good photos,
too.
Steam Powered
Battery Charger
The
basis for any steam system is of course the
engine itself, followed by the boiler. The
engine must have been initially designed to
run on vapor rather than a liquid fuel, must
be readily available, inexpensive, and easy
to convert to steam power. You've guessed the
answer already -- automotive air conditioner
motors! In normal use, an automotive air
conditioner motor compresses Freon gas (or a
more expensive modern alternative that does
not work as well) into a fluid, which takes
considerable horsepower. But by putting steam
into the back side of the compressor,
reversing the rotation, the air conditioner
motor becomes a steam engine capable of
producing a considerable amount of power --
well in excess of 10 horsepower as rated for
gasoline engines, and about 3 horsepower in
steam engine ratings. The best available air
conditioner motors for this purpose are the
older General Motors "Frigidaire" models for
Buick's and Cadillac's, as they were piston
engines which can be reversed in rotation
easily. The modern Wankel or rotary
compressors would not work as well. Without
proper lubrication these steam engines have a
relatively limited useful life, but as they
are cheap and readily available from
automotive recycling yards, who cares? [Note:
some steam power experts say that using an
automotive air conditioner compressor for
steam power is impossible. I've seen it
work, but I'm not an expert on steam
engines.]
Obviously such an engine must be mounted
securely to a very solid "stand" or platform,
and the pulley connected via "V" belt to a
very strong, ball bearing jack shaft on the
same platform. It is from the jack shaft
pulleys that useable power can be taken using
"V" belts (of any convenient length),
changing the diameter of the pulleys to
obtain the desired rotational speed of the
object being turned: an alternator, for
example. The alternator in turn can charge
batteries (if 12 volt), or power an electric
pump motor if set for the correct voltage
(Remember that a generator produces voltage
in direct correlation to the rotational
speed: increase the speed to produce 120
volts, decrease the RPM to produce 110 volts.
Some older electric motors with brushes will
have an output voltage equal to what they
could produce if turned by an input of the
proper voltage, so it is possible to build
your own "generator" from totally salvaged
parts. A taste of the
future?)
Most
automotive air conditioners have an
electromagnetic clutch which requires a small
12 volt input to engage the clutch. Look on
the back side of the condenser unit, right
behind the sight level, and you will see the
wires for the automatic low pressure cut off
switch. Follow that wire to the air
conditioner motor, and that is your "lead"
for the 12 volt input source, which can be
supplied by a small
battery.
(And
if you are feeling really frisky right now
and want a cheap way to keep all your current
air conditioner vents and fans working, but
not the motor itself, just cut that wire and
clip on leads to a micro switch mounted on
the dashboard. Then you can disable the motor
itself while having the rest of the system
working: you get more power and less engine
heating climbing hills, for example. To
really have fun, if you have a vehicle with a
distributor and coil, mount an identical
micro switch beside the one for the air
conditioner, and cut and splice into the wire
between the distributor and coil. With that
switch flipped off, the engine will not
start, not even when hot wired, and will
drive potential thieves nuts! (I've made both
modifications on my motor home, and they
work!) If you have a diesel vehicle, there is
a wire to the fuel injector motor that
operates an electromagnet against a spring:
turn off the ignition, the electromagnet
shuts off, the spring closes a valve, and the
engine stops cold. It is easy to cut that
wire and install a micro switch in the same
way as between a distributor and coil on a
gasoline vehicle, with the same marvelous
results. Why give potential thieves any
breaks at all?)
Back
to steam. Steam is produced by boiling water.
Sounds really simple, but an efficient boiler
is a bit difficult, as heat must be
introduced to as much water surface area as
possible. One fairly good steam producing
system that can be manufactured at home is to
use a sturdy 55 gallon drum and mount it
above a wood burning chamber with draft
controls. Holes can be drilled or torched
into each end using a template, so they line
up vertically, identically, and automotive
exhaust pipes stuck through each hole,
through the barrel completely (out the upper
hole), and then welded in place (without
water leaks). At least 10 pipes are needed to
introduce enough heat to the water to induce
boiling temperatures in a reasonable amount
of time. The bottom side of the barrel will
need a flange welded on for a drain petcock,
and to hold the bottom of a glass sight
level. A flange on the top side (directly
above the lower flange) can hold the top of
the sight level. The smallest bung on top can
be replaced with a 3/8" reducer for the steam
output, and the largest bung replaced with a
3/4" reducer for a standard water heater over
pressure pop off valve, to prevent too much
steam pressure in the unlikely event you get
the water too hot, just for the sake of
safety (Exploding steam boilers are
not fun to be
around.)
In
use, a fire is built under the water filled
barrel (hence the sight level) and heat rises
through the exhaust pipes to heat the water:
the water closest to the pipe (and the bottom
of the barrel) flashes into steam and rises
to the top of the barrel, escapes out the
3/8" pipe to turn the steam engine, and the
return line from the air conditioner motor is
plumbed to an automotive radiator for cooling
(which can be placed in a greenhouse, for
example), then the still hot water returned
to the barrel for boiling.
I
have not built one of these units, but I have
examined one in operation -- and they do
work! The one I saw in operation was way back
in the woods, built by a real, genuine,
bearded, fire breathing hermit, and every
Saturday he would fire it up. After about 2
hours of boiling, the steam engine would
really start pulling, turning a 175 watt
truck alternator, which in turn charged 12
huge 2 cell batteries in an old shed. The
batteries were wired in series and parallel,
producing 12 volts of power with an
incredible draw down reserve. Once the steam
engine was at full power, he used a different
pulley on the jack shaft to grind grain or
whatever else he wanted to turn, such as a
power saw or hydraulic motor for a log
splitter. In his cabin were a 12 volt
refrigerator, lights, etc, all taken from an
old motor home. All the comforts of home, way
back in the boonies, powered by a wood fire
every Saturday! That hermit has
style!
WARNING:
There are quite serious dangers involved in
steam power production. The pressure vessel
can explode and scald anyone close. The
old hermit who used the modified barrel
mentioned above did not use a pressure
vessel, but instead used the barrel because
it could not hold much pressure, and
therefore if it burst, it would be at a very
low pressure. Others say that such a
system is impossible to build...but I have
seen it in operation. There are no
guarantees!!!
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