My column-style steamengine

A special section just for steam engines and boilers, as without these you may as well fit a sail.
User avatar
DetroiTug
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead
Posts: 1863
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 5:56 pm
Boat Name: Iron Chief
Location: Northwest Detroit

Re: My column-style steamengine

Post by DetroiTug » Wed Sep 16, 2020 6:24 pm

Dietrich,

Very nice work.

A suggestion.

I restore very early steam cars as well as well as play with steamboats. Something I discovered recently for cleaning brass and bronze is a cheap simple formula. Take equal parts of salt and flour and mix them in a bowl, then pour in white vinegar until a creamy state. Brush it on the metal and leave it on a few hours or over night, then scrub it with a brass wire brush, then rinse off with water. Works great, it will clean 120 year old oxidization off and leave the metal looking clean. I used to use a sandblaster, but it leaves the metal looking pink, I think because it cuts away the soft copper and leaves the harder tin and zinc on the surface.

Can get it all at the grocery store and there are no harmful fumes.

-Ron
Mike Rometer
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead
Posts: 936
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 6:41 pm
Boat Name: B.N.Y.S.
Location: Middle Earth

Re: My column-style steamengine

Post by Mike Rometer » Wed Sep 16, 2020 6:28 pm

DetroiTug wrote:
Wed Sep 16, 2020 6:24 pm
Dietrich,

Very nice work.

A suggestion.

I restore very early steam cars as well as well as play with steamboats. Something I discovered recently for cleaning brass and bronze is a cheap simple formula. Take equal parts of salt and flour and mix them in a bowl, then pour in white vinegar until a creamy state. Brush it on the metal and leave it on a few hours or over night, then scrub it with a brass wire brush, then rinse off with water. Works great, it will clean 120 year old oxidization off and leave the metal looking clean. I used to use a sandblaster, but it leaves the metal looking pink, I think because it cuts away the soft copper and leaves the harder tin and zinc on the surface.

Can get it all at the grocery store and there are no harmful fumes.

-Ron
Like it!!!
Retirement is about doing what floats your boat!

A BODGE : - A Bit Of Damn Good Engineering.
User avatar
PeteThePen1
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead
Posts: 553
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:53 pm
Location: Aberystwyth, Wales, Europe
Contact:

Re: My column-style steamengine

Post by PeteThePen1 » Tue Sep 29, 2020 7:33 pm

Hi Folks

Thanks to Ron for his idea for cleaning brass and bronze. Having a very badly discoloured rudder and prop on Frances Ann, which shows up like a sore thumb given my recent re-fit work, I thought I would try the idea.

For those who like things quantified, I used 250g of table salt and 250g of plain white wheat flour from the local Co-op store. As they did not have white vinegar and time was short I added a bottle of cider vinegar. The mixture was very stiff to begin with but by the time the whole 350ml of Cider Vinegar had been added it had a consistency of pancake batter. It needed working with the stick blender to shift the lumps. The next day it had thicken up a bit so more vinegar would have been useful to make it a bit more of a thin paste. I tried it out today with great cries of woe from the assembled spectators who felt that 'no toxic fumes' was perhaps not quite the right description. Cider vinegar is strong smelling stuff!

After around an hour the mixture was washed off with water and the result was pleasing. There was some degree of pinkness in the metal but some work with fine wire wool took the surface back to nice bronze colour.

The before photo is one side of the rudder while the after photo was unfortunately the other side against the sun.

Before:
IMG_20200929_Rudder Before.jpg
IMG_20200929_Rudder Before.jpg (111.11 KiB) Viewed 17781 times



After:
IMG_20200929_Rudder After.jpg
IMG_20200929_Rudder After.jpg (133.93 KiB) Viewed 17780 times


Regards

Pete
Last edited by PeteThePen1 on Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
dampfspieler
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead
Posts: 254
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:59 am
Boat Name: No Boat Yet
Location: Neubrandenburg, Germany
Contact:

Condenser-Lagging ready

Post by dampfspieler » Mon Oct 12, 2020 6:42 am

Hello,

the Condenser lagging is finished. The front- and rear covers are made from 1 mm-brass sheets and were brushed.
Kondenser01_120kl.jpg
Kondenser01_120kl.jpg (44.5 KiB) Viewed 17658 times
Kondenser01_123kl.jpg
Kondenser01_123kl.jpg (46.72 KiB) Viewed 17658 times
Kondenser01_124kl.jpg
Kondenser01_124kl.jpg (41.81 KiB) Viewed 17658 times
--
Dietrich
Last edited by dampfspieler on Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
dampfspieler
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead
Posts: 254
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:59 am
Boat Name: No Boat Yet
Location: Neubrandenburg, Germany
Contact:

Re: Condenser-Lagging ready

Post by dampfspieler » Mon Oct 12, 2020 6:49 am

Hello,

the condenser mounted on a trial basis. It will be attached to the engine with a stainless steel bracket and two brass clips.

The dummy of the bracket to check the dimensions.
Kondenser01_127kl.jpg
Kondenser01_127kl.jpg (42.08 KiB) Viewed 17657 times
Kondenser01_129kl.jpg
Kondenser01_129kl.jpg (53.32 KiB) Viewed 17657 times
Kondenser01_130kl.jpg
Kondenser01_130kl.jpg (62.82 KiB) Viewed 17657 times
--
Dietrich
User avatar
PeteThePen1
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead
Posts: 553
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:53 pm
Location: Aberystwyth, Wales, Europe
Contact:

Re: My column-style steamengine

Post by PeteThePen1 » Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:25 pm

Yet another first class addition to your engine. Well done.

I think I must have missed your explanation of the condenser details. Will you use feedwater to cool the exhaust steam or simply draw water from that in which the boat floats?

Regards

Pete
User avatar
dampfspieler
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead
Posts: 254
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:59 am
Boat Name: No Boat Yet
Location: Neubrandenburg, Germany
Contact:

Re: My column-style steamengine

Post by dampfspieler » Sun Oct 18, 2020 8:04 pm

Hello Peter,
... I must have missed your explanation of the condenser details.
no, i have it not posted. I have used a plate heat exchanger. Its data:
Operating temperature: -190 to +225 ° C
Plates: 40
Connections: F1 / F2 / F3 / F4 = 3/4 inch
Flow rate (max.): 4 m³ / h
Exchange area: 0.92 m²
Operating pressure: 30 bar
Power: 180kW
Solder material: copper
Dimensions (L x W x H): 315 x 75 x 95 mm
Working principle: countercurrent
Weight: 3.7 kg

Kondenser01_028kl.jpg
Kondenser01_028kl.jpg (49.56 KiB) Viewed 17529 times

Insulation:
Two layers of 2 mm insulating cork on all sides, covered on the side with a layer of 2 mm wooden strips, front and back with a cap made of 1 mm brass sheet.
Kondenser01_051kl.JPG
Kondenser01_051kl.JPG (53.93 KiB) Viewed 17529 times
... or simply draw water from that in which the boat floats?
I will use water from outbord as coolant. This is conveyed through the condenser by an impeller pump and pushed outboard again after the “work is done”. The corresponding nozzle is placed slightly above the waterline with normal displacement, so a functional check of the pump and the condenser is easily possible.

The condenser is connected directly to the engine's steam outlet using a short copper pipe bend. The condensate is collected in a directly connected container and runs from there to the suction nozzle of the condensate pump ("wet air pump"). All connecting lines are designed with at least a slight gradient.

Here is a view of the connections, those for the steam on the left and those for the cooling water on the right.
Kondenser01_051kl.JPG
Kondenser01_051kl.JPG (53.93 KiB) Viewed 17529 times

Best Dietrich
Attachments
Kondenser01_093kl.jpeg
Kondenser01_093kl.jpeg (48.49 KiB) Viewed 17529 times
Mike Rometer
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead
Posts: 936
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 6:41 pm
Boat Name: B.N.Y.S.
Location: Middle Earth

Re: My column-style steamengine

Post by Mike Rometer » Mon Oct 19, 2020 8:34 am

What may not have 'clicked' with folks is that these things are used in domestic central heating systems to provide hot water. Salvaging a used one may not be the best idea, dependant on what the hardness of the water supply has been. They do fur up over years of service.
Retirement is about doing what floats your boat!

A BODGE : - A Bit Of Damn Good Engineering.
User avatar
dampfspieler
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead
Posts: 254
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:59 am
Boat Name: No Boat Yet
Location: Neubrandenburg, Germany
Contact:

Re: My column-style steamengine

Post by dampfspieler » Mon Oct 19, 2020 12:23 pm

Hello Mike,
... Salvaging a used one may not be the best idea,
you are right. It is a new one and and was very inexpensive ;) ;) .

Best Dietrich
Mike Rometer
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead
Posts: 936
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 6:41 pm
Boat Name: B.N.Y.S.
Location: Middle Earth

Re: My column-style steamengine

Post by Mike Rometer » Mon Oct 19, 2020 1:35 pm

dampfspieler wrote:
Mon Oct 19, 2020 12:23 pm
Hello Mike,
... Salvaging a used one may not be the best idea,
you are right. It is a new one and and was very inexpensive ;) ;) .

Best Dietrich
I guessed so from the early picture, still with the sticker on. I have had one develop a leak in service due to limescale build-up.
Retirement is about doing what floats your boat!

A BODGE : - A Bit Of Damn Good Engineering.
Post Reply