Gunner wrote in message . ..
A thread came up a day or three ago, about building some sort of motor
to run a small generator or a belt to supply power to :stuff: in
either remote locations or in the event of a long term power failure.

A serious question to the group....in your individual opinions, does
anyone have any suggestions for a simply made from common materials,
with minimal machining, steam engine?

Boilers are another issue of course..and suggestions on that would be
nice as well.

Would it be possible to convert an internal combustion engine, for
example a VW engine, to run on steam?

Given the numbers of steamers here on RCM, and itinerant inventors,
somebody should have some ideas. Think of it as Junk Yard Wars.....

The only criteria is that it be easy to assemble from common
materials, capable of running an automotive generator (at the least)
and can be done with minimal tools, or simple machine tools. If it can
be scaled up for larger gennys/line shafts, that would be a plus.

Thanks in advance, let the fun begin.

Gunner

It's odd how everybody assumes that steam is the way to go when you're
off the line. There's a reason it was replaced for small horsepower
applications in the early 1900s, the boilers tend to go bang if
they're not tended properly, they take up a whole lot of space for the
power you get out of them and they take a lot of maintenance. You
also have to be a dedicated fireman/engine man while it's running, no
going off to do other chores. Great to watch at a fair, though.
Figure out how big a boiler you need for a couple of horsepower,
that's what turned me off the idea. Not to mention the legal
requirements for pressure-vessel testing and such before you can fire
it up.

I'd get a copy of one of those producer gas books that Lindsey sells
and see what I could do to build one of those generators, looks like
it's mostly sheetmetal work that doesn't have to stand a lot of
pressure. Seems to me that a propane-fueled engine like a forklift
engine could be converted pretty easily.

Stan

Stan