STEAM, yet again?

[whitepointer23]

surely they would not have designed this new engine without considering the safety aspects. i would have thought in todays safety concious world that operator safety would have to be the number 1 priority of the designers if they have any hope of marketing it.

[whitepointer23]

Originally Posted by gonzo

Espresso macine explosions:
http://boughtonscoffeehouse.wordpres...-coffee-trade/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kodee/126807900/
http://www.home-barista.com/knockbox...-s-t15267.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMZtm2zyNgg

these accidents are the result of no maintenance. when i was a driller, my rig compressor cylinders were tested by an inspector every year , he checked the relief valve operation each time , i doubt if coffee shops would have this done. i imagine that steam engines must have regular inspections because they have a pressure vessel.

[gonzo]

I agree. What degree of maintenance do you think amateur owned steam boats would have?

[Jeremy Harris]

I guess you guys still haven't taken the time to actually read up on the engine that's the topic of this thread...............

If it used a pressure boiler, I'd share your safety concerns. If you look at the way this engine is designed you'll find it doesn't, it uses a very low volume flash heater to flash just enough water into super-heated steam as required by each power stroke, Shut the burner down and you have a near-instantaneous drop in internal pressure, pretty much the same as an internal combustion engine, as there is no big store of high pressure steam to cause a problem if there was a failure.

The design is intrinsically no less safe than an internal combustion engine, because of this characteristic. In effect, the pressure rise takes place inside the engine, not in an external pressure vessel boiler.

[Boston]

Actually I read every word of it, and was kinda skeptical of the claims of it being able to run on any fuel efficiently. Different fuels have differing burn characteristics and a wide variety of combustion needs required for the efficient use of each fuel. One size simply does not fit all.

I'm not as concerned about a large boiler explosion with this thing as I am with toxic fumes and low efficiency given various fuels. Personally I'm a big fan of bio-diesels and WMO and WVO but I'm positive those don't burn well in an open environment, they require some special considerations. Pellets, sure, wood, gods forbid coal, maybe but any external combustion system must be tuned to efficiently burn the fuel available.

my two cents, that and the pressures noted in the article are still pretty high and therefor still capable of producing a pretty big bang.

I'm all about alternative energy sources but I'm also pretty skeptical about any wonder cures for today's energy needs; I'll wait to see how ti works out once it hits the market.

cheers
B

Oh and thanks for all the help over on my thread about that motor controller, I just got one in the mail the other day.