kevingambrell

The fan on my steam raising blower packed up today.
out of frustration i pulled the fan out of the PC and hot glued it to the end of a bean tin. short bit of aluminum tube the other end of the can and couple a holes and one working blower.

Damnd useful things these computers!

Kevin

Bunkerbarge

When I get the steam coaster up and running one thing I want to do is supply some air to the insides to help keep things cool and supply fresh air to the boiler.

I have a laptop fan and a desktop fan ready and waiting for the experiments!!

__________________

“Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days"

kevingambrell

Well as an add on the fan blades melted after about three hours. back to the displacement blower and compressor.

Keeping cool air in a model boat should be interesting. are you lagging the boiler?

kevin

Bunkerbarge

The boiler is lagged with wood, steam and exhaust pipes will be lagged with painted string and there is a reasonable amount of space around the plant so I am hoping that a supply of fresh air will keep things cool as well. I am also concerned as regards leaks causing condensation inside the model and causing wood to warp.

I am trying very hard to avoid leaks and ensuring that all bare wood is suitably painted.

__________________

“Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days"

kevingambrell

HI
leaks on steam fitings are a problem. On a traction engine its ok but in an enclosed boat hulll with electronics that could be more of a concern.
I would strongley recomend not using PTFE tape on any unions or fittings. Once it reaches steam temps it turns to muck. If you can get it use Boss White from a plumbers store on threads and fittings.

Try a sheet of ceramic paper under the wood lagging its surprising how much this improves the insulation on the boiler. Its not cheap but can be got from RS. I use balsa over ceramic and then the tin cladding works well with the outer shell hardly warming up.

Almost all the comercial steam fittings iv seen that use compression joints need to have the joints faced both internal and external to get a good seal.
most all the nipples i throw away and make again out of annealed brass.

Looking forward to seeing more pictures of your coaster

kevin