Whats yalls take on this contraption?

[Tater]

http://www.greensteamengine.com/licenses.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Gimp]

Thats Neat.

Not sure about the Distiller, but the enging concept is not bad.

[BW Redneck]

Neat little thing. I wonder if these be scaled up to provide power for the electric grid via biomass fuel and be used in a water desalination plant at the same time. Two birds, one stone.

[Ricky]

how much $?

[Dnderhead]

looks to simple need 2 or 3 computers a couple hundred feet of pipe
valves relays etc ,so you need a teem of engineers to fix it

[GingerBreadMan]

Creative Idea.

Too Many moving parts. The cylinders themselves are moving?



The cylinders seem to move in sync. Wouldn't this cause some serious vibrations in a real world application?

Anyways, I'm not a engineer so what do I know!

Looking at the animation makes me dizzy too

[stoker]

a steam engine has been discovered a long time ago.
this is the same system, but parts move in an od way.

there are reasons (small)steam engines are not used anymore these days ...

[dixiedrifter]

For some reason, I could see that in the near future in a porn flick with a some sort of toy on the end...

[HookLine]

Glad I am not the only one who had those kind of thoughts.



I mean, look at the damn thing, some kind of triple breasted, whoroid pumpolator, with extras.

[rad14701]

I'd bank my money on the new Stirling Engine technologies... That isn't to say that the original theory is new... All you need is the sun to power them...

I have researched this design before and my summation was that while it looks relatively simple there are just too many factors to take into consideration - wear and vibration being two of the biggies... It's good to see that people are out there looking for alternative technologies, however...

[theholymackerel]

I have researched this design before and my summation was that while it looks relatively simple there are just too many factors to take into consideration - wear and vibration being two of the biggies.

Humm.

Why do ya say that when this design has less movin' parts then the older steam engines? It also has converted much of the reciprical action to rotary, that should help with wear and vibration. The site also goes on to say that they have made strides in lubrication.

I tend to be leary of simple, flat statements like the quote above... please qualify.

[HookLine]

The cylinders seem to move in sync.

Not true. It wouldn't work if they moved in sync. Their strokes are offset by 120º (for the 3 cylinder version). The whole action depends on that differential.

It also has converted much of the reciprical action to rotary, that should help with wear and vibration.

That is a good point.

Gotta admit, when I first saw it, it just looked wrong. But after watching it several times it is starting to make a lot of sense.

Keeping the con rod straight through the whole cycle is a major advantage over conventional designs.

They do seem a little rough at low speed, but are quite smooth at high speed.

[junkyard dawg]

has anyone else found themselves just staring at that animation for a few minutes? head cocked sideways like a confused dog? hope thats not just me...

[GingerBreadMan]

"Not true. It wouldn't work if they moved in sync."

I meant the cylinders themselves, not the pistons.

But now that someone mentions they are moving in a rotary motion - the same direction as the drive shaft - this might not be a problem for vibrations.

My apologies for posting the animation, I'm still getting dizzy looking at it

[HookLine]

I meant the cylinders themselves, not the pistons.

Ahh, gotcha.

[Old_Blue]

Youtube shows this thing running slow and fast. It walks around a good bit slow but seems to smooth out at the higher rpms. Probably has a sweet spot like a Harley.

[RadicalEd1]

Certainly an interesting concept, but I'm doubtful of the efficiency claims they make; simple thermodynamics limits the potential efficiency of a heat engine to a much lower value. For super heated steam at 600*C and 2MPa high side and 40*C low side (AKA generic big ass power plant, far exceeding small scale capacity), this efficiency tops off at around 50%. Smaller heat engines will have lower limits and worse efficiencies. It's a relatively simple expression of temperature and pressure. I'd love to see how they got past this basic obstruction.

Of course, if they could somehow prove it to be that efficient, that would change the entire energy landscape. It would arguably be the largest mechanical advancement in the last 50 years.

[theholymackerel]

Hey RadEd,

I have a BIG interest in this design.

Earlier in this thread ya said, "I have researched this design before and my summation was that while it looks relatively simple there are just too many factors to take into consideration - wear and vibration being two of the biggies."

Please share this reaserch that ya did. Can ya be more specific about the wear and vibration problems?

[Harry]

When I see all those moving parts I immediately think "wear & tear", "Friction = Heat = Metal Fatigue".
It's a neat engineering feat. But why go through the reciprocating step in the first place? What's wrong with very simple steam turbine? Immediate rotary motion, less moving parts, no stop/start action (with all that potential "fly-to-bits" energy & stress).

[RadicalEd1]

Just wanted to clarify that your talking to rad14701 and not me, THM. I know were similar, but I was here first....I think jk

I too would love to see more research data on this. Although a few of my own sources have also pegged those Sterling engines as big part of new energy. A buddy of mine on the U solar climber team says one of the other teams uses one of those Stirling engines, to a very powerful effect.

[rad14701]

Yes, RadicalEd1, is was me that theholymackerel was referring to, not you...

Considering how my focus here is more on distillation than alternative propulsion systems, my summation will have to suffice in place of quantification of that summation... I have researched many different mechanical gizmos and aside from the visually fascinating aspect that the design in question provides, there are many others that I have found more intriguing... I'm more of a wind turbine kinda guy at the moment... I find miniature V-engines neat but the closest I ever got to that was cutting a V8 in half to make a functional V4 - but that was long ago...

[theholymackerel]

Considering how my focus here is more on distillation than alternative propulsion systems, my summation will have to suffice in place of quantification of that summation.

What?

So all we get is an off the cuff comment, and ya won't further yer explination?

Humm... and ya say ya actually researched this engine?

[davydangerson]

What it looks like to me is a variable diplacment hydraulic motor used in a hydrostatic transmission

[trthskr4]

What it looks like to me is a variable diplacment hydraulic motor used in a hydrostatic transmission

That's exactly what I was thinking.

I got a neat alternative to the smaller versions of this, it includes a 1HP electric motor and a generator powered by foreshots and or heads. I never heard an internal combustion engine complaining with a hangover. There's my 2 shiney Lincolns.