American Walking Beam Engine
- fredrosse
- Full Steam Ahead
- Posts: 1906
- Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:34 am
- Boat Name: Margaret S.
- Location: Phila PA USA
- Contact:
Re: American Walking Beam Engine
Built the base for the boiler today, thought it would take a couple of hours, but it took 10. Welded water cooled pipes to the base, and have the option of water cooling the boiler support columns. I plan to fill these pipes and columns during initial runs, and see if they start to boil off the water, if this happens, then I will rig some minor circulation to keep the base from getting too hot. May not need these features, but easier to provide for them now, rather than retrofitting.
Boiler Shell is supported by the 4 washout connections, using automotive type exhaust pipe/muffler clamps. The boiler can be mounted as shown, or about 3 inches higher. For initial propane firing, the lower position should be OK, may want to mount higher when firing with wood.
Boiler Shell is supported by the 4 washout connections, using automotive type exhaust pipe/muffler clamps. The boiler can be mounted as shown, or about 3 inches higher. For initial propane firing, the lower position should be OK, may want to mount higher when firing with wood.
- Attachments
-
- boiler base mount 02.jpg (80.41 KiB) Viewed 10488 times
- fredrosse
- Full Steam Ahead
- Posts: 1906
- Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:34 am
- Boat Name: Margaret S.
- Location: Phila PA USA
- Contact:
Re: American Walking Beam Engine
Got the furnace installed under the boiler, as usual, more work than expected. Steamed up for the first time today, still trying for 09 October Boat ride.
- Attachments
-
- STEAMING1.jpg (88.81 KiB) Viewed 10475 times
-
- Just Starting Out
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 11:45 pm
- Boat Name: No Boat Yet
- Location: Houston, Tx. USA
Re: American Walking Beam Engine
fredrosse,
Would love to see some pictures of the boiler before you get her all wrapped up.
Looking real good so far.
Would love to see some pictures of the boiler before you get her all wrapped up.
Looking real good so far.
Re: American Walking Beam Engine
fredrosse,
You mentioned you were using propane for firing. Could you provide pictures of your burner and propane feed layout?
Thanks! (great boat BTW, I'm amazed that you have gotten it all together so quickly!)
You mentioned you were using propane for firing. Could you provide pictures of your burner and propane feed layout?
Thanks! (great boat BTW, I'm amazed that you have gotten it all together so quickly!)
-
- Full Steam Ahead
- Posts: 114
- Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:09 pm
- Boat Name: No Boat Yet
- Location: Scotland
Re: American Walking Beam Engine
Hi Fred, like the others I'm amazed at your rate of progress - hope you make the meet.
It's all looking great. Nice to see some steam on the site. I hope those boiler wheels have brakes for when it's sitting in the boat.
John
It's all looking great. Nice to see some steam on the site. I hope those boiler wheels have brakes for when it's sitting in the boat.
John
- artemis
- Full Steam Ahead
- Posts: 465
- Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:13 am
- Boat Name: Pond Skimmer
- Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
- Contact:
Re: American Walking Beam Engine
I'd also like to know. Am in the process of designing/building a small (12"ID x 13"H) VFT for a boat and engine I recently acquired at the "right price" (free!) - boiler to be propane fired.Wearyman wrote:fredrosse,
You mentioned you were using propane for firing. Could you provide pictures of your burner and propane feed layout?
Thanks! (great boat BTW, I'm amazed that you have gotten it all together so quickly!)
- fredrosse
- Full Steam Ahead
- Posts: 1906
- Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:34 am
- Boat Name: Margaret S.
- Location: Phila PA USA
- Contact:
Re: American Walking Beam Engine
Working to get the sidewheeler into the water soon. Found a stainless steel salad bowl that makes a good smoke hood, a perfect match to the boiler shell, and deep enough for an economizer coil. Made a fixture to hold up the smokestack, and secure the insulation/lagging around the boiler. I decided to make an octagonal outer casing, so I can fit metal lagging pieces without too many holes to be aligned, which would be the case with a cylindrical outer jacket.
Bought a piece of 16 oz polished copper, 3 feet x 8 feet for the outer lagging ($164 USD). I will try to fit the lagging in common aluminum flashing for now, don't want to possibly spoil the copper with a cutting mistake.
The boiler is setup for burning propane (just a big weed burner) now, with only about 6 inch furnace height. The boiler can be mounted higher, when the wood/coal firing begins later in this century. This smokestack fixture can telescope on the boiler foundation tubes, to allow this modification with little rework.
I am using a steel stack, double wall (6 inch inside diameter, 7 inch outside diameter, 5 feet tall), and if anyone can suggest a proper stack topping, it would be greatly appreciated. I have been looking for a good brass umbrella can ornament, but have found nothing yet.
Bought a piece of 16 oz polished copper, 3 feet x 8 feet for the outer lagging ($164 USD). I will try to fit the lagging in common aluminum flashing for now, don't want to possibly spoil the copper with a cutting mistake.
The boiler is setup for burning propane (just a big weed burner) now, with only about 6 inch furnace height. The boiler can be mounted higher, when the wood/coal firing begins later in this century. This smokestack fixture can telescope on the boiler foundation tubes, to allow this modification with little rework.
I am using a steel stack, double wall (6 inch inside diameter, 7 inch outside diameter, 5 feet tall), and if anyone can suggest a proper stack topping, it would be greatly appreciated. I have been looking for a good brass umbrella can ornament, but have found nothing yet.
- Attachments
-
- Stack/Lagging Fixture
- Boiler-Stack Frame S.jpg (94.67 KiB) Viewed 10409 times
- fredrosse
- Full Steam Ahead
- Posts: 1906
- Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:34 am
- Boat Name: Margaret S.
- Location: Phila PA USA
- Contact:
Re: American Walking Beam Engine
Getting the boiler ready for this season’s steaming. Pulled out the boiler, and installed a much better insulation/lagging arrangement, but still did not use the sheet copper I bought last year, I don’t want to possibly spoil the copper, so I used cheap aluminum flashing again.
Changed out the burner system in the sidewheeler this year. I had been using a Home Depot Propane Weed Burner (just a giant blow torch), which worked OK for the first two seasons, but made way too much noise.
Installed four cast iron aspirating gas burners from a home heating furnace, a little over 100,000 BTU output on propane. These burners are perfectly quiet, so cruising should be a more pleasurable experience this year.
With a controlled propane pressure of 11 inches water column (in WC), I was able to test the boiler’s output, and adjust the flue gas flow to properly match the burner’s output. I wanted to be sure that the burner flames would not be excessive, with all the products of combustion entering the boiler fire tubes.
What I found was that too much excess air flows thru the boiler, much more than is required for proper combustion. This excess air reduces the average temperature of the hot gas flowing thru the boiler, and causes reduced boiler output. Much of the energy is wasted by this large quantity of excess air flowing thru the boiler and up the stack.
The stack is 6 inches diameter, about 3 feet tall. Removing it completely still allowed plenty of air for combustion, no flames emitted from the wrong places, and boiler output went up.
I then put a 6 x 3-3/4 reducer at the boiler outlet flue, a significant area reduction (about 40% of original), and no stack. This still allowed plenty of air for combustion, no flames emitted from the wrong places, and boiler output went up again.
It is clear that I have plenty of draft available for putting an economizer coil in the flue gas path, probably mounted inside the 6 inch stack. And a flue gas damper to reduce excess air will also be added.
Changed out the burner system in the sidewheeler this year. I had been using a Home Depot Propane Weed Burner (just a giant blow torch), which worked OK for the first two seasons, but made way too much noise.
Installed four cast iron aspirating gas burners from a home heating furnace, a little over 100,000 BTU output on propane. These burners are perfectly quiet, so cruising should be a more pleasurable experience this year.
With a controlled propane pressure of 11 inches water column (in WC), I was able to test the boiler’s output, and adjust the flue gas flow to properly match the burner’s output. I wanted to be sure that the burner flames would not be excessive, with all the products of combustion entering the boiler fire tubes.
What I found was that too much excess air flows thru the boiler, much more than is required for proper combustion. This excess air reduces the average temperature of the hot gas flowing thru the boiler, and causes reduced boiler output. Much of the energy is wasted by this large quantity of excess air flowing thru the boiler and up the stack.
The stack is 6 inches diameter, about 3 feet tall. Removing it completely still allowed plenty of air for combustion, no flames emitted from the wrong places, and boiler output went up.
I then put a 6 x 3-3/4 reducer at the boiler outlet flue, a significant area reduction (about 40% of original), and no stack. This still allowed plenty of air for combustion, no flames emitted from the wrong places, and boiler output went up again.
It is clear that I have plenty of draft available for putting an economizer coil in the flue gas path, probably mounted inside the 6 inch stack. And a flue gas damper to reduce excess air will also be added.
- Attachments
-
- New (actually about 50 years old) gas burners installation
- SW New BurnersS.jpg (38.62 KiB) Viewed 9947 times
-
- Test Setup - Orifice between test gauges determines steam flow output of boiler
- BoilerTestSetupS.jpg (28.32 KiB) Viewed 9947 times
- fredrosse
- Full Steam Ahead
- Posts: 1906
- Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:34 am
- Boat Name: Margaret S.
- Location: Phila PA USA
- Contact:
Re: American Walking Beam Engine
Here is a picture of a somewhat larger, and far more authentic, walking beam engine in the building process, June 2019. It is about 33% of original size, so I guess it is a small scale model of the original.
- Lopez Mike
- Full Steam Ahead
- Posts: 1903
- Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:41 am
- Boat Name: S.L. Spiffy
- Location: Lopez Island, Washington State, USA
Re: American Walking Beam Engine
Going to build a San Francisco ferry boat around it are you?
If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama