The Steamboating Forum

Ron, Great Idea for vaporizing gasoline with boiler steam, without cracking it and causing carbon plugging of the vaporizer tube. One worry point for boats is the flash point of gasoline which is quite low compared to kerosene or Diesel fuel, but then most pleasure boats using IC engines do burn only gasoline.

To apply the same steam heating idea to vaporize kerosene one would need to generate about 600 psi steam, a bit too high for most (but not all) steam engines. A good compromise for kerosene might be to heat the kerosene first with steam, then finish with a small, and straight, vaporizing tube near the furnace. A straight vaporizing tube is fairly easy to dismount and clean out with a rifle bore brush or similar.

There is some 'noise' about Bio-coal, a coal substitute manufactured from wood waste (isn't that where the real stuff comes from???) It is said they are trying to produce it as suitable for use in Locos and Traction engines, so presumably if it does that it will work in boats too. I see distribution as likely to still be a problem, coal merchants would normally stock such a product, but will there be any coal merchants? At least the subject gives a distraction in theses locked up times.

Realistically, in the long term, large scale coal mining will become a thing of the past even in countries with ample remaining reserves. The exact time scale in unclear, of course. As large scale coal-driven power generation becomes uneconomic due to environmental considerations and the steadily falling costs of renewable energy sources and storage, the remaining major use for coal will be as a reducing agent and fuel for steel production; steel production is apparently responsible for 7-9% of the world's fossil fuel CO2 production. Research is on-going to use hydrogen or electrolytic methods to replace coal in that application, of course. Our descendants will likely need to fuel their steam hobbies/remaining historical artifacts with wood or charcoal or other bio fuels. Given the interest in reforestation as a means of sequestering additional atmospheric carbon, wood will likely remain both a reliable building material and fuel source.

- Bart

burn wood pellets. they have become the go to fuel. DRAX thermal electric plant burns them.
And like them you have to burn a lot.

Just an idle thought, but I recall seeing a wood pellet strove that was automatic. We were actually looking for fireplace surrounds but this device was heating a good chunk of a large Victorian former factory in Manchester.

How about auto firing for a launch? No need to mess about with coal dust and a shovel. One could have a push-in pull-out drawer like device with not bottom. When pulled out the pellets would fill the drawer from the reserve. One would then push the drawer in and it would drop the load in the fire. Or is this all daft...

Best wishes

Pete

Why pull/push? Why not sream powered?

There was a steamboater in the Pacific Northwest that made a pellet burner for a project that turned out to be quite successful. He had it advertised for free to a good home for quite some time. I almost picked it up but begged off as I have too many irons in the fire. I believe he will be donating it to Tom Kimmel's collection of steam oddities.

Regarding automatic pellet firing which they are also doing with corn. I've seen a few under monotube boilers, they used an auger, and a computer fan for forced draft, they were controlled with an Arduino reacting to steam pressure. Seemed to work really well.

Ron

Thanks, some nice thoughts, folks.

Why push pull by hand? I was thinking back to the canoe we all discussed in the 'Antidote to Cabin Fever' last year. That would only have a tiny boiler so not much steam to spare and slightly automated hand feed seemed a good idea (to me!).

The pocket computer, auger and array of sensors has some appeal as I have a few skills in that area but it brings back the dreaded issue of batteries and electronics. My Raspberry Pi worked happily for more than 3 years in a data logging task without attention, but when moved gave up and has remained determinedly dead ever since. That would not be a good outcome if one was under way and well short of one's launching point. I suppose given the price of them, one could use two or perhaps three and always take the majority decision... No, No! this is a steam boating thread!

I would be interested in details of the Arduino set up with a monotube boiler if only from curiosity.

Regards

Pete