10 hp steam engine plans?

[MusicMan0070]

Hi I was searching & came across this site, I am looking for a 3 or 4 stroke 10 - 50 hp steam engine plan can anyone here direct me to such a plan please? I am looking at buying some acreage in northern BC with out power so any help you could give me would be greatly apprciated! thanks MM

[txcowdog]

I would love to build a 10hp to turn a 10kw generator. I would use a parabolic mirror to heat the water to steam eliminating the need for a firebox. Yea, anybody with plans would be a help. You might try Hobbysteam.com Lots of plans to download but you need to donate to the cause. It is pretty cheap... just 12 bones for the year gets you in to a wealth of knowledge and plans. I looked at the plans but I'm not familiar with steam enough to know what I am looking at. Good luck and please keep me posted on your progress.

[DSL PWR]

Where in Northern BC?

[MusicMan0070]

Hi I am looking at some property about 45 k out of Quesnel BC the elevation is 2,900 ft and it gets lost of sun, there is a lot of pine beetle wood so fule would not be a problem. The steam engine would be to power one fridge, tv & sat system & lights led & some regular ones.

[MusicMan0070]

Originally Posted by txcowdog I would love to build a 10hp to turn a 10kw generator. I would use a parabolic mirror to heat the water to steam eliminating the need for a firebox. Yea, anybody with plans would be a help. You might try Hobbysteam.com Lots of plans to download but you need to donate to the cause. It is pretty cheap... just 12 bones for the year gets you in to a wealth of knowledge and plans. I looked at the plans but I'm not familiar with steam enough to know what I am looking at. Good luck and please keep me posted on your progress.

Hi txcowdog, a friend of mine has a shop & can build just about anything, I have been helping him with music & he wants to build one for himself too. I just thought the plans should be public due to global warming and the net. not into joining yet another site for one plan. the best one I have found so far was at green steam ( google search ) for $55 us.
I have looked at hobbysteam.com & it looked like toy stuff, did not find any 10 hp of the bat, do they have them?

[DSL PWR]

Lol, Quesnel isn't northern BC, Ft. Nelson is getting close...

[Mcgyver]

what is a 3 or 4 stroke steam engine?

if its function over form, there's http://www.mikebrownsolutions.com/20hpengine.htm

there are other's that look more authentic but there is not need for that complexity for a engine just designed to run a generator imo. for the most part, the more complex engines, like expansion (for marine, cuz you need a condenser to run it) or corliss are more efficient than your basic single cylinder, non reversible double acting engine. however those efficiency improvements are percentage points on what is a comparatively inefficient technology - in other keep it simple.

do a lot of study before you pursue this - running a 20 hp boiler is a full time task and is a bomb if not done knowledgeably. are you running this once a day to charge battery's or something? if you are serious about it, it might be easier to find, restore and use a genuine antique single cylinder steam engine than start from scratch, there's a network of people who collect and use antique engines, tap into that.

isn't the pine beetle wood softwood? may not work. There's some modern incinerator technology for burning softwood and sawdust etc that is efficient, don't if it is possible on a diy scale. also if you want to avoid the hazards of a boiler, consider a sterling engine

PS don't know how much you are helping the environment with this approach, a wood fire gives off CO2 like any combustion and steam and sterling are very inefficient. if saving the environment is your goal you might be best to stay on grid or buy a gas generator compared to a boiler running softwood - it's at least worth doing the math on. solar or wind, expensive per kilowatt, are your options that aren't as environmentally damaging

[MusicMan0070]

Originally Posted by DSL PWR Lol, Quesnel isn't northern BC, Ft. Nelson is getting close...

hey I looked on a map & yr right, lol it's still pretty far up ( 400 miles from Vancouver ) and 3 feet of snow today!

[Geof]

One problem with using wood whether it is beetle killed or not is that probably you will not be able to grow enough wood to replace what you use unless you have a very large acreage. It would be more practical to invest in photovoltaic collectors and a battery bank.

The best system for small scale electricity generation if you have the correct geography is a water turbine. In terms of cost, reliability and simplicity of operation a small run-of-the-river pelton wheel system is likely to be the best. However, the problem is you need a good stream with a fall of 200 feet or more over a short distance available.

[MusicMan0070]

Originally Posted by Mcgyver what is a 3 or 4 stroke steam engine? if its function over form, there's http://www.mikebrownsolutions.com/20hpengine.htm there are other's that look more authentic but there is not need for that complexity for a engine just designed to run a generator imo. for the most part, the more complex engines, like expansion (for marine, cuz you need a condenser to run it) or corliss are more efficient than your basic single cylinder, non reversible double acting engine. however those efficiency improvements are percentage points on what is a comparatively inefficient technology - in other keep it simple. do a lot of study before you pursue this - running a 20 hp boiler is a full time task and is a bomb if not done knowledgeably. are you running this once a day to charge battery's or something? if you are serious about it, it might be easier to find, restore and use a genuine antique single cylinder steam engine than start from scratch, there's a network of people who collect and use antique engines, tap into that. isn't the pine beetle wood softwood? may not work. There's some modern incinerator technology for burning softwood and sawdust etc that is efficient, don't if it is possible on a diy scale. also if you want to avoid the hazards of a boiler, consider a sterling engine PS don't know how much you are helping the environment with this approach, a wood fire gives off CO2 like any combustion and steam and sterling are very inefficient. if saving the environment is your goal you might be best to stay on grid or buy a gas generator compared to a boiler running softwood - it's at least worth doing the math on. solar or wind, expensive per kilowatt, are your options that aren't as environmentally damaging

Thank you for the info, I will run this by my friend & I think your right, solar, wind or water might be better there is a year round creek on the land.
I think I ment 4 cylinders, not stroke, sorry I am not a machinist just learning about this stuff.

[Geof]

Have a look at this and Google 'pelton wheel'.

http://www.theenergyguy.com/HydropowerSystem.html

Pelton wheels are most efficient when operated with a high head of water greater than 300 feet. However, they can operate on a lower head and still have good efficiency. They are relatively simple to build.

[Mcgyver]

for my own interest, I looked to quantifying the challenges a bit

the following suggest up to 1/2 ton wood per hour to run a 16 hp boiler/engine.
http://www.woodenboatfestival.com.au...boiler-eng.htm

A betting man would tell you they're using hardwood - there's going to be a gross up to softwood. so then the following chart helps with the conversion

http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm

tells us that if its burning say 1/2 ton of red oak or maple, at 3700 lbs/ cord and 24million btu's/cord, the this engine/boiler takes about 6m btu's/hour to run. translated into pine/spruce/fir at say 14m btu's/cord, you'd be going through almost half a bush cord per hour! add to the that pollution the pollution and cost of chain sawing and transportation.

Therein lies the environmental rub, these paths often seem impractical with a more detailed look . iirc solar and wind are more expensive than the grid (per kilowatt hour) but at least once the things are built and installed they don't consume more fuel.