The Steamboating Forum

Hello,

some times ago i have bought a HASBROUK#10 inspired column-style-single-steamengine. It was successful run by the builder with compressed air. It has a boring of 59,5 mm and a stroke of 74 mm.


It was tested first time with steam and runs but there were a lot of questions.

https://youtu.be/nDA1d1FEuCY


Regards Dietrich

I've been tempted to replace the cylinder head on my engine with brass but can't see any way to keep it polished without removing it each time. I haven't had good luck with clear coats.

That is a beautiful little engine Dietrich.

What questions remain?

I'm still trying to find the file with those drawings for you by the way.

Hello Mike,

... can't see any way to keep it polished without removing it each time ...

there is one. A watchmaker plated his brass parts with a thin gold circulation. Another one is to clean and polish them in warm condition with BALLISTOL-Oil.

Hi Wes,

What questions remain?

Some facts i asked me why.
The exhaust was very wet and from the drain cocks came no condensate - why?
The steam consumption was very impressive - too much i thought.
There were also many deviations from the drawings.
The crosshead guide was slotted at its lower end - what means that for proper guidance of the crosshead at its lower dead center?
How to prevent the parts from corrosion, especially the aluminium parts (not seawater resistant)?

Dietrich

dampfspieler wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 09, 2019 7:54 pm

The exhaust was very wet and from the drain cocks came no condensate - why?

As long as you get steam from the drain cocks, they themselves are working. The bottom one has to be connected to very end of the cylinder and the lowest steam passage, otherwise the condensation could be sitting in a cavity of a passage. Whether you get significant condensate depends somewhat on the thermal mass of the cylinder block. I have several engines from 0.5HP->6HP, I've seen a lot of variation on cylinder drain steam/condensate. If you spend enough time with your engine you can learn to hear what it needs.

I have also used engines that somehow have hardly any condensate.

I have also seen engine cylinders where a hole was created later because the original hole was not quite low enough.

Nice job BTW, looks like a nice engine.

-CB

Hi,

to check the dimensions and the accordance with the HASBROUK#10-drawings i have dismantled the engine. I have found some solutions i have never seen before.

The slide rod

The crosshead bolt
It could move in the crosshead and the upper end of connecting rod.

The distances between piston and cylinder cover where much to big (12 & 11 mm).

Best Dietrich

Quote: "The exhaust was very wet and from the drain cocks came no condensate - why? "

I bought the drawings for the #10 from Ray back in about 1980. I remember the cylinder is a bit unusual construction using a "Renault Dauphine"? cylinder liner and ring set. The liner probably heats up quickly and prevents condensing of the steam during warm up. All good for that, but bad for retaining heat on the exhaust stroke at both ends, and that is probably why the engine is using excessive steam.

That is the malady of the double acting cylinder, as steam pressure drops in the cylinder, the temperature drops with it as they go hand-in-hand, keeping the exhaust port much cooler which is right next to the inlet ports. The reasons, engines such as the Uniflow and hothead engine designs are far more efficient.

The Locomobile carriage engine has a big band of cast iron around middle of the cylinder, most people think it is to prevent the cylinder from splitting with higher pressure (although the cylinders without bands handle higher pressures without issue), I think it's purpose was a heat soak to maintain higher constant temperature in the area of the inlet and exhaust ports for higher efficiency.

That is nice example of the Hasbrouck #10.

Nice Locomobile engine!
This year two of us rebuilt a badly worn and damaged Locomobile engine for the WAAAMuseum in Hood River, Oregon.
It arrived with a broken crank shaft and seized pistons. The seller said the car was in "running condition." Yea...
Several months later, we had fabricated replacement parts for 18 of the 36 moving parts!
It runs now and is getting plumbed back into the car.
Interesting about the metal ring around the cylinders. That appears on our engine but not on earlier ones.
RussN

Hi Russ,

Thanks..

I've seen some of the WAAAM Locomobile videos on YouTube, looks like you folks are having a good time.

Those crankshafts are not fun to work with, everything pressed together. Not evident in the pics, I made a new crank from 1045 shaft material and eccentrics from 330 bronze and they are holding up just fine. I also got rid of the bicycle bearing set up and replaced them with sealed roller bearings, only way to go, no issues with the engine at all.

The engine with the bands is a "Style 5" engine and was the last iteration of the design, used in 1901 until about 1904.

A pic of my Locomobile.

Sorry for the off topic.

-Ron

Hi Ron,

... Sorry for the off topic.

not at all, its quite interesting.

Back to the cylinder of my engine. It is machined from a very massive cast iron block with a rifle and a plate of gun metal. Both are glued, the plate also screwed in place.

I have removed a lot of material and replaced it with insulation of kork. It was covered with a layer of pear.
Best Dietrich