Steam Actuated Inlet Valves?

A special section just for steam engines and boilers, as without these you may as well fit a sail.
Lionel Connell
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Re: Steam Actuated Inlet Valves?

Post by Lionel Connell » Wed Apr 11, 2018 2:39 am

Lostintime,

I can see that working. I have seen the same concept suggested on a steam loco forum for use as remotely operated cylinder drains.

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Re: Steam Actuated Inlet Valves?

Post by Lionel Connell » Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:10 am

Just for sake of discussion we'll say 40 amps @12volts. 8 valves for a 4 cylinder engine, according to Mr Otto that works out to around 100 amps @ 12 volts per rev. Need a big alternator.
100A x 12V = 1,200 Watts = 1.2Kw.

It takes more than 1.2Kw of mechanical power to turn the valve train in a 4 cylinder car at road speed, so based on your own mathematics the Solenoid wins in the efficiency stakes.

However, what you describe above is a very rudimentary single winding solenoid that is indeed very inefficient. There are far more efficient linear actuator designs that use multiples of pancaked coils in a stack so as to greatly reduce the distance from the moving core to the active coil ( the coils are not all powered at the same time) through the travel of the device. The coils are powered using switch mode HF drivers that are able to maintain 90% of the pulling power of a constantly powered coil while using only a few percent of the power and loosing very little efficiency to heat loss much like a switch mode power supply. In more elaborate systems each coil in the stack is independently controlled such that acceleration and deceleration of the core is possible much like the linear servo drives that are starting to be used in high tech CNC machines where the ball screw and servo motor (once considered state of the art) is not used at all. These are highly efficient systems. Linear actuator systems like I have just described could not only open and close the valve efficiently they can slow the valve down just before it seats.
.
I own and operate a small electronics manufacturing company here in Vietnam where I have built HF drivers for some very high-tech solenoid activated devices for one of my customers for use in the water supply industry. One of the devices we produced is used in remote regions to open and close a 1/2" mains water valve using 3 x D cell non rechargeable lithium batteries. The device also incorporates a 4G cell phone module. They manage to achieve a minimum of 10,000 valve operations, as well as 500 cell phone sessions that are used to program the device remotely, all with a 10 year battery life out of the 3 D cell batteries.

A basic solenoid is just a cave man's hammer compared with what is done today with electromagnetic drive and positioning system.

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Lopez Mike
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Re: Steam Actuated Inlet Valves?

Post by Lopez Mike » Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:28 am

I'm sitting here trying to figure out how I would fix one of these things with the usual tool kit in my launch. Let's see. Do I use the hammer, the crescent wrench or the pipe wrench? And what side of the pipe wrench do I use to whack at it? Oh, yeah. I forgot the rusty old screwdriver that I use to pry the trailer hitch open.

In literally years of steaming the only failures I've had were due to my being a total dolt and forgetting to open the feed water isolation valve at the boiler. And then it only resulted in a low glass, an overflowing hot well and a red face.

With some computer controlled dingbat running my engine I would have to carry along two of everything! And have electricity. I forgot about that.

Lest you surmise that I am some hopeless luddite, I retired from the better part of 40 years of work on major computer controlled process systems such as power plants. And a parallel home enterprise designing and building microprocessor based controllers and the apparatus that they control. I've been down that road.

Good luck. I have a tow rope.
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Lionel Connell
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Re: Steam Actuated Inlet Valves?

Post by Lionel Connell » Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:02 am

Mike,


It sounds like you have the perfect steam boat design sorted out.

Do you have any pictures of your current boat that I can see?

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DetroiTug
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Re: Steam Actuated Inlet Valves?

Post by DetroiTug » Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:42 am

Quote: "
It is a real pity that so many people have nothing better to do than throw cold water on anybody that thinks differently to them."

Well that's what happens when you post pictures of custom motorcycles on a steamboat forum. I think I speak for more than one, please don't do that. If you wish to discuss and post pictures of modern I/C vehicles go find an appropriate forum for that. This isn't it.

Furthermore, if you don't like what I'm writing, don't read it. It's not required reading. In the spirit of full disclosure, I don't really read yours.
Last edited by DetroiTug on Wed Apr 11, 2018 6:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Lopez Mike
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Re: Steam Actuated Inlet Valves?

Post by Lopez Mike » Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:46 am

My new hull is long ways from the perfect design OR construction. But within the limits of my budget both temporal and financial, I'm doing the best I can. My old hull was built by an idiot having an episode of some sort and I am half way through a new build. Once I finish the new hull and do the power plant transplant I'll be able to show up for events without a bag over my head.

It is a Reuel Parker design much modified by me but the basic hull is the sam was the one under construction by Steve Parker. Just not the boat show stunner that his is going to be. He is over five years into his and I have 150 hours compressed into two months.

Thanks for the interest. Let's see if this Photobucket things works! Wish me luck!

The last shot before turning it right side up:
Image

Bow with one coat of varnish:
Image

Stern the same day:
Image

In the yard half done. No interior until later in the Summer:
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Re: Steam Actuated Inlet Valves?

Post by fredrosse » Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:57 am

Your hull looks most excellent to my old eyes. Congrats on a fine piece of work.
Lionel Connell
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Re: Steam Actuated Inlet Valves?

Post by Lionel Connell » Wed Apr 11, 2018 6:10 am

In the spirit of full disclosure, I don't really read yours and I couldn't care less what you think.
Obviously that is not quite true, or you would not bother to respond.

Perhaps you could consider your own advice; Perhaps when somebody wishes to discuss a way of doing something that that does not align with your own personal preference, ( safety concerns aside) rather than being completely negative you could simply ignore their post.
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Re: Steam Actuated Inlet Valves?

Post by DetroiTug » Wed Apr 11, 2018 6:15 am

Mike,

Wow, that looks nice. That Parker hull has very nice lines. You're doing a fine job on it.

-Ron
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Lopez Mike
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Re: Steam Actuated Inlet Valves?

Post by Lopez Mike » Wed Apr 11, 2018 6:18 am

Fred,

Close inspection shows many flaws. But we wouldn't want to offend the gods now, would we.

That $100/sheet plywood is heavy. I bought 15 sheets and the scrap pile might add up to the equivalent of one or two sheets. The hull is up to perhaps 800 lbs.

I strongly recommend the stitch and glue method. It was very gratifying to have so much progress from day to day. The material bill is up to around $4K. Epoxy hasn't gone down in price. $500 for a five gallon bucket.
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