The Steamboating Forum

Thanks, Dietrich, for the information. I'm considering switching Otter's (our little 19' steamer) hand-fabricated shell and tube feed water heater I made many years ago with one of these units; the shell and tube is about 18" long and hides nicely under the boiler, but is quite difficult to pur...

That flat plate heat exchanger looks quite interesting; they are very compact for the surface area provided. How does one choose the appropriate size of unit to avoid excessive back presure?

A specification of 12" of vacuum almost always means inches of mercury in a manometer. Now, 29.92 in Hg == 1 bar. So a 12" vacuum means 12/29.92 bar vacuum or 1 - 2/29.92 absolute pressure.

- Bart

I had all sorts of issues with our 19' launch which had a long tiller when I acquired the hull; it originally had an antique gas engine fitted. The tiller would hit people in the head if I wasn't careful as well. I ended up making a push-pull tiller (like is fitted on a small racing dingy) and that ...

Kitchen rudders can provide a lot more maneuverability than a standard rudder and reversing engine. If your goal is to go as fast as possible you might select something else but they have their place.



- Bart

in a new project i want to use a DELCO fuel pump as condensate pump, like done at the plants of STUART Cygnet or Swan. Are there any experiences with that configuration? I remember reading about these kind of installations in the 1990s in Steamboating.... there's some more recent discussion here if...

If you're on FaceBook, Frank Rathmell makes them.

- Bart

Klamath Lake was fun. Had a good time steaming, and talking with everyone. Hope to do it again next year, perhaps with the luxury of being retired and having more time to play.

Well, we (Barbie and I) got Otter working for the Klamath meet this coming weekend. Some of the things I ended up doing to get her ready: * Replumbed all the pump water supply lines as the squirrels had done a real number on the suction lines. I used PEX this time with Sharkbite fittings (releasable...

With saturated steam, very little oil is needed during operation; of course, during layup the cylinders, valves, etc. need to be well oiled to prevent rusting. Since you're condensing, a non-compounded oil is much easier to remove from condensate. Phillips STEAVAL D-150 is likely suitable.