How can I make a gas engine run on WVO?

Hmmm...max safe working pressure 60 PSI...inlet threading 3/8x40. I bet with a 5 gallon air tank @ 100psi, a regulator set to 55psi, and a 1/4NPT to 3/8x40 adapter, he could power his boat project for a few minutes using this engine...with the benefit of being able to mount it at ANY ANGLE!
(and it'd be a LOT safer than trying to home-cook a supercharged weed-eater engine on WVO conversion)
...biggest problem would be limited fuel from the air tank, so make sure you don't get too far from land & end up stranded...a paddle would be a GREAT backup plan...just in case.

 

Nice input, but our young engineer is already some steps further towards a "steam to el. to prop" design" or maybe airplane instead. Fits better to Nevada. Plenty of empty over there. And look here:
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/open-discussion/designing-boat-age-12-a-10068-11.html

 

True...I think I may have had him confused with our youn engineer in Ohio...the one who built the wooden box-boat to take out on Lake Erie...too many young engineers in here who're getting to do the creative things I only WISHED I could talk my parents into when I was younger!

 

I had blueberry cobbler for my b-day. It was good! (It is good, I'm eating some (the rest) right now)

 

So, if you´re fed now, you can tellme wich one of the thousand possible plains it will be then.
this?
http://flashpages.prodigy.net/tojooes/LittleToot_files/littletoot.htm
that?
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/kitspages/volksplanes.php
or:
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/
or even
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/kitspages/honeyBee.php
some prices:
http://www.helmuts-ul-seiten.de/verkauf1.htm
and my Kiebitz:
http://www.kiebitzflieger.de/

The Pegasus is a easy built, easy fly thingy............... in some five years maybe.

But dreaming is for free and it holds the world together.
Let´s have a picture of your steam engine if possible!
Kindest regards
Richard

 

It is planes, not "plains", and I am going to custom build my airplane. by meself.. in me garage.. with me own two hands.. and the sweat of me brow.. and the cost of me money...
I'll post a picture of my steam engine soon as possible, probably sometime tomrrow.

 

What a strange thread this is. Airplanes, triple expansion steam engines, weed eaters , E85 ???

E85 is only 85%--15% ethenol and will do no damage to an engine.

You cant make a 2 stroke run on waste cooking oil.

If you diluted it with 80% petrol it might run but run poor and get hot with poor power so whats the point.

Here comes the kid,--gonna re invent everything, we old codgers dont know nuffin.

He's gonna invent sex next week. Sigh--I was the same, If only we had hereditary intelligence.

I believe that the Wright brothers first engine plane was 6HP, not sure what help that will be but!! And 'no' is was'nt there.

 

I see you changed your avatar...

 

Good lad,--glad you are paying attention.

If you build a pane out of bamboo and garbage bin hinges and toilet lids for flaps you will not be able to fly it, not only because it probably wont but even in Nevada you will need a certificate to show it is capable of keeping altitude and not crashing into someones house.

If you dont do this you will be an expert on prison life, ---for a young person in America that will be eyebrow raising experience im sure.

Don't you have any older people around you that say things like,--"eh lad I wish you would learn from my mistakes"

 

The Wright brothers custom built, aluminum block engine was 12 HP. It was recently redone, by Ford motor company as part of the effort to reproduce the original Wright Flyer, the one that made the first powered, manned flights. They used the only drawing available and had to fabricate quite a bit as the plans were less then complete, but use the engineering solutions typical of the era. This (inspired) reproduction produced about 20 HP, suggesting that Ford had better balance and likely closer tolerances then the Wright flyer engine.

Just like boats, planes place people in an unnatural environment, from an engineering point of view. Flying along at 10,000' or sailing along many miles off shore has inherent dangers involved to the majority of designs lean toward the side of safety for the crews. This requires a fair bit more engineering skill then you currently have, but I suspect you'll keep your nose to the grind stone and get the education you need and prove to all that you can do these things.

I was once much like you, wishing and dreaming of flying and sailing machines of all sorts. I fortunately had an aptitude for the skill sets necessary to get through engineering courses. I do remember looking back and wincing, if for a moment about the wondrous ideas I had, before much of my education was completed.

Get your studies under you. Abstract algebraic problems are your friend and you should fell comfortable with them, a little trig, drafting skills, material studies and general engineering practices will set you on the path to big successes. Keep your energy up, your faith in yourself (one of the most important things), learn to be dogmatic in tracking down issues and finding solutions (this is what an engineer really does). Never forget your dreams and ideas, as some day you'll have the abilities and skill to carry them off.

 

I ain't goin' to build my airplane out of trash, I am going to wait 'till I'm 18 and get my pilot's license. Then I am going to build a high quality, but cheap airplane. Well, I am going to own a 40' boat, and run a shipping service on the columbia river, and I'm gonna fly as a hobby. Also, as a second hobby, I will build boats.
looky here, I found an engine I might be able to use. No machining required. http://cgi.ebay.com/Live-Steam-Engi...0|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

 

If you meant 85% Ethanol, and 15% petrol, you're right...if you meant otherwise, trust me, it's what I just said (call me an "Ethanol Nut"). 99% of the time, no, it won't do any damage to an engine BUT if you have any natural-latex (rubber) fuel lines running TO your engine, it will make them brittle, and it can eat through them enough that they'll leak even before they crack.


....Other than that, we're mostly agreed

 

Confused;

Yep, I was wondering if you'd seen the 2-piston version yet (I saw it from the link Richard posted). If you use a 2-piston engine with each piston the same size, and with the same stroke-length, you should expect to see about 1.75 to 1.9 times the horsepower and torque output from it, and it'll use about 2x the compressed air (or steam). That will make the engine viable for more powerful projects, but you'll want to be sure to have enough fuel for it.

 

planes, plains and plans

Yaahh, planes, plains and plans, the latter two you have enough. (and thanks for correcting me ).
Custom build yourself? That means YOUR design? No Mike, sorry, thats impossible. It is not difficult to "design" something that looks like a boat and carries a person (although this has nothing to do with Boatdesign), but building a airplane to your own sketches is not possible. (apart from FAA regulations)
It is complicated enough to diy to a proven (and licensed) design because one has to follow the plan extremely exact and has to use all the material and fixtures etc. mandatory, very accurate. The average "garage workshop" and average skills are usually not sufficient to make a PLANE you can get approval for.

And Paul, Karl Jatho made the first manned motorflights in history 18.08.1903 in Germany. He did it sitting upright, he used a (especially for this purpose prepared) runway for powered flights. As such he can be regarded as the initiator of the world’s first airport too !
Regards
Richard

 

Wow, I bet THAT thing wouldn't get FAA clearance today! (of course, the Wright Flyer most likely would not either)