Building a short-notice power plant around an 1887 Scotch Marine boiler

[@kennytheamazing]

I found your channel from the documentary on the waterworks pump. Great stuff.

[@AEKarnes]

Thanks for the interest mate

[@XJ290]

Dude I love your videos. I’m a plant operator and I’m learning a ton from you, I’m training on the boilers now. That trick to pull a stud - I just learned that a few months ago by an old machinist.

[@AEKarnes]

I am more thankful for that than you may understand! I am a plant operator full time also in Fall River. three 700 BHP stone johnston scotch marine three-pass wetback boilers 120 PSI

[@XJ290]

@@AEKarnes No shit!? My name is also Alex, so it’s good to meet you dude! I’m in Virginia. The last place I worked at I was an outside operator for a refinery with 3 steam boilers (650 psi steam and each put out ~200k#/hr steam). The plant in VA I’m at now has 4 750 BHP water tube boilers (cleaver brooks and Eerie city). Finally won’t just be the outside operator…looking forward to actually running them myself this winter! When I was a kid I got to start a museum victory ships boilers…and got the steam bug.

[@sormond]

Your enthusiasm for the subject is absolutely contagious. Watching you work and share knowledge is a pleasure and I'm thankful for it.

[@AEKarnes]

That is duely appreciated.

[@RailPreserver2K]

Alex you have got to make a freaking masterclass for anybody who is willing to learn this trade along with every craft and charm that comes with it because I guarantee you a good chunk of people will fall in love with it, especially with you as the teacher :D.

[@Sergi762]

The master of the Fresnel lens, the Operator of the boot of Bolton Mire...To see you are still at it warms my soul. Bless you, A.E K.

[@AEKarnes]

They will never stop me.

[@chrisdavis3642]

62. Years old just. Happend by your place here by accident! Been restoring engines for years..got 5 steamers and about 20 internals dude I think we're related somehow! I'm constantly fixing some form of abuse someone committed on a perfectly good work of art.. I get insanely pisst off and get caught talking to myself over repairing even the smallest detail 😜

[@Modelsteam-jw4wk]

What a beautiful boiler

[@BalticFilms144]

I'm glad to see our work has been getting positive feedback! I'll get Part 2 going as soon as possible.

[@AEKarnes]

Thank you EJ

[@SolarSeeker45]

I'm passionately curious about a great many things but steam is an entirely different branch of science from anything I've ever been taught. It's fascinating soothing and primal in a very good way. It would be so much fun to go work with these guys for a few weeks just to learn how to get old infrastructure running again in case the need should ever arise.

[@AEKarnes]

The biggest thing to remember is to never be scared of it.

[@SolarSeeker45]

It's not the equipment I would worry about, it's an inexperienced operator that would make me sweat.

[@HarryBobb-ji3lf]

​@@AEKarnescan you please possibly find a Stuart turner 5A steam engine and a sippy 1/4 scale vertical boiler id be interested in purchasing them in a bundle I'm from Plymouth Indiana USA

[@RobertTKlaus]

Finally somebody using an adjustable wrench in the correct way! I learned that as a child, great video.

[@The_Smith]

Was so nice to see you using the adjustable wrench the proper way, I'm glad I was taught the correct way, and I try to pass the knowledge on . . .

[@10wjlaudio07]

Your knowledge and drive to keep old iron alive is amazing.

[@AEKarnes]

Very few left in the US doing what I am doing the way I am doing it, so thank you. It must stay alive because if it doesn't, all will be lost. The machines of today will not be around tomorrow.

[@stevem3413]

My dad was old school he taught me that trick but I could spend many hours learning from these guys

[@TimsBitsnPieces]

This is fantastic.. I am in Melbourne Australia and I would work with Alexander anytime.... I love this kind of stuff... I look forward to part II

[@Membee]

Thank you. It was really interedting to watch you working together.

[@The_DuMont_Network]

Thanks for pointing out the proper way to use an All 32nds (adjustable or "Crescent" wrench). I see so many so called experts using them backwards, then they wonder why they become sloppy. Nice project, by the way.

[@khuongathebounga4141]

Thanks for the upload. I’m enjoying the tool tips too. Looking forward to part 2.

[@davidmoose2132]

Great content as always. I'm a supercritical plant operator in the midwest but I have great interest in the older machines. They have a older and wiser disposition unlike most modern equipment. There aren't many steamers around anymore but they pop up from time to time on marketplace. I hope to get my hands on one soon.

[@AEKarnes]

You have my respect for understanding the true nature of the old foundational machines AND for being a supercrit operator. I've got a lot of questions about supercrit plants because I only briefly did some work in one. Mostly generating tube wall thickness and steel type, do you have seperate superheaters or is the superheater part of the once-through, what is the steam drum diameter on your unit and does the supercritical steam pass under the critical point while passing through the HP stage?

[@davidmoose2132]

My facility houses 2, 10-cyclone fired furnaces, once through. pendant style superheater and reheater sections (crossover turbine setup). Implementation of several low and high pressure feedwater heaters. Boiler tube wall thickness 5/8" Operating pressure 3650psi @1010F@@AEKarnes

[@AEKarnes]

Thanks so much, but what steel type in the generating and superheat tubes? Havent been able to find that out yet. And I really want to know if the working fluid goes subcritical in the HP stage and if so at what point, and the shape of the turbine wheels and if it differs where the fluid is supercrit and subcrit. I love this kind of engineering

[@davidmoose2132]

@@AEKarnes we have various alloys used. Primary tubes are 90 grade chromoly that are pin studded and covered in refractory. Parts of the superheater and reheater are 625 inconel (pure product goes to hp turbine, leaves HP turbine for a trip through reheater, goes through intermediate turbine, exits INT And goes to LP turbine through an overhead crossover after which it exits to the condenser)

[@davidmoose2132]

@@AEKarnes I would have to look at the newer drawings but original manuals I learned was it remained supercritical through the first 3 of 5 stages of HP turbine. I do more field operating than sitting at a desk so I don’t have the numbers off the top of my head to tell you for certain though I can gladly check when I go back in. The blade and bucket profiles have been changed a few times since 1967 Question for you- how does one out a dollar value on an old steamer (vague, I know) I’ve been scouring marketplace and Craigslist for years to no avail. There was a sweet two cylinder genset with the original dynamo, an unrestored boiler and a couple auxiliary pieces of equipment nearby that sold for $400 some handful of years ago. Not many people my age are interested in this stuff however I see it’s necessary to preserve because I have a sneaky suspicion we may be relying on “old tech” in the not so distant future.

[@PowerTrain611]

33:31 Ok, who chalked the New Haven Railroad logo on the boiler? I get the feeling I know who it was, but just confirming...

[@teddill4893]

Absolutely amazing. Your knowledge is a true treasure.

[@sheep1ewe]

A massive thank You for making those videos!

[@AEKarnes]

Thanks for watching them and for the interest!

[@sheep1ewe]

@@AEKarnes Always looking forward to them!

[@trisrush9155]

Brilliant! The longer more detailed format is most enjoyable. 👍

[@paulrayner4514]

this video was fantastic, hats off to all of you👍

[@ale050505]

1 sec after you put the first nut in (3:22) I figured out what you where about to do and I was just proud I knew one of your trick xD I'm 30 and I love to see how old technology or chraftmanship was done and you really give me a boost to know more! I would love to know what are the good first resource I can start with for basic steam engine?

[@Jonathan_Doe_]

I never realised how much steam engines were capable of extracting energy from steam in multiple stages until I saw that steam pump house video with you in it. The ICE equivalent, turbos and EGR’s work pretty well but not as elegantly.

[@rhavrane]

Bonjour Alexander, At least a video and not only a teaser 😉 Weird boiler where the fire door / Pressure gage and the water level / control valves are not on the same side, would this mean two people had always to be on each side of the boiler ? Besides this, what a dream workshop for a steam passionate ! What a great job and amazing piping ! I can't wait to see the next video, Amicalement, Raphaël

[@jimrichardson8852]

Impressed. I may have missed it looking over the YT site, but I have to ask, what is your final objective here, a steam supply for those priceless compound engines for testing or something else? Whats the background on the boiler? What steam rate/pressure will you be running? Is there video of the waterside of the tubes, stays and furnace.? Sorry for all the questions but I'm an old C/E who sailed with an elderly A/E in the early eighties who was badly scarred by a staybolt-head that blew out of a scotch boiler on a ship struggling to keep convoy speed in 1944. Subscribed and looking foreword to the second installment. Thanks.

[@TheJimbob1603]

I hope you get this boiler inspected/certified before sparking it up!

[@AEKarnes]

I inspected it myself and it's been steamed already.

[@LukeLovesTrains-Mr.RailYard]

Nice work.

[@s16100]

Nice, she looks great.

[@cruddycornstalks]

a phono finish on a flange like that makes a big difference to. but you can only do so much with tool you can get ahold of. would love to work on more steam but out here in iowa there isnt alot of it going around and i don't have the budget to get into it personally so gas and diesel engines i shall stay!

[@asb2106]

Nobody teaches anybody anything anymore! You've gotta first be willing to learn before someone will be willing to share. My biggest goal as a father is to get my boys atleast interested enough to ask questions and dig deeper. Its still a forced labor for them mostly, but theyre getting there!

[@timothymilam732]

Truer words than people today are willing to accept as facts, but they constantly complain about the craftsmanship of today's products. Yet they complain even more if they have to pay the cost for something built by a craftsman, as if they expect his knowledge, and experience come at no cost to his or herself to get to that point of expertise.. Which is above and beyond the tools of the trade needed to bring all of it to the point at which they desire or expect for whatever it may be. Thus we've become a throwaway society that even if they have something that can be refurbished to as good or better than new, will still dispose of whatever it may be, and go in search of the equivalent item to replace the one that simply needs to be repaired by qualified person. Amazing what someone who has a true mechanical mind can do if the desire is applied to bring what's in their mind to be a actually functioning device, that possibly may even surpass the original engineering by a significant percentage, that it could actually be patented under its own design. In people of this talent, it's not considered to be work to them, as is anything one does that they are truly compassionate about. Making it the proverbial labor of love that seems to lacking in our society today, which is a great loss that I fear no one cares about anymore. They are simply doing whatever they do for the most money they can possibly make, and have no compassion for turning out the very best products their capable of achieving regardless of the end results being greatly less than if they had that mindset of those that came before them had about everything they did. The whole world suffers from this change in the character of all the tradesmen around the world on the whole. Those few that still have the skills, and the desire to do their best at whatever they do, are not in enough numbers to make the changes to everyone else to make as big of influence needed to even restore that quality back into the future generations.

[@sosayweall1952]

Blame the school system nowadays. Learning became a chore instead of being interesting and fun. The minute I graduated, I thought myself things that interested me and would most definitely be useful.

[@stephenphilp1380]

Ah yes, willingness to learn. This is something sadly lacking. They saying, there are non so blind as those who done wish to see, comes to mind.

[@lioncurlew]

Some people are just not mechanically minded, but I used to ask my Father lots of questions and I got interested in machines. I spoke to a Diesel Mechanic once and said, can you fix any other type of engine? He said "No" Which I thought was strange. But again, some people can "train" to do a job, but they don't need to be actually interested in the subject. Mr Barnes and others, are interested in the subject, so are willing to expand the mind to other things. We seem to have tunnel vision in the 21st century.

[@lioncurlew]

My Dad did the same, made the effort to explain things to me.

[@manfredatee]

I'll have to remember that jam-nut trick for tricky axles!

[@RailPreserver2K]

Nicely done :)

[@nicholasdavidson5683]

Milwaukee cases are so expensive (in New Zealand at least) and you have a whole shelf of them :)

[@marklelohe3754]

Great stuff fellows. Looking forward to part 2. Question: Do you come up against the difference between British Whitworth and American threads when you are dealing with old engines & boilers?

[@AEKarnes]

I come up against that all the time. Also NPT versus BSPP, and other systems such as the French thread system on my 1880s Merlin

[@akman45304]

❤❤❤ now you're set to be a manager Sweet No, not sweet.

[@ale050505]

Do you know if there's any working big steam engine in EST Canada?

[@thatguy.mp7950]

Alex, I am incredibly intrigued by your workshop and am wondering if it is in the US. I would love to be able to see genuinely functioning steam engines and meet someone who is actively working on these, as I wish to gain some knowledge and skills before I try to start working on my own ideas.

[@AEKarnes]

This isn't my shop, it's a friends I do work for. I live in New England.

[@thatguy.mp7950]

@@AEKarnes Ah, I wondered why I kept seeing videos of you in America and others with Kieth Appleton. Does your friend accept volunteer help? I'm not available often but I'd be happy to help if they're close by.

[@davehughes2424]

Just a thought, if the owner of this equipment can afford to, you should look into purchasing a pipe threading machine. The Rigid 535 is the standard machine that most steamfitters/plumbers use. Comes with an adjustable die head, another handy accessory is a nipple chuck for making just that. You can even set the thread depth of cut for ideal thread engagement which is about 3 1/2 turns by hand, before using a pipe wrench. I'm sure there's used machines you can purchase locally. Will save you time and money.

[@AEKarnes]

Not a fully equipped shop sadly I don't make the decisions there I just run the steam power.

[@davehughes2424]

Keep up the good work.

[@EQMVB]

love it!!

[@bevanwilson5642]

Good to hear plain speak where someone just says what they think

[@AEKarnes]

Being a gentleman when the situation requires it is one thing, but I haven't got time for people who curate themselves or others. That's how you destroy a society.

[@zipzap7923]

ah the apprentice at work scaring the master

[@ronaldroberts9556]

As ever, highly interesting. One question if I may. Have you ever come across a Beaumaris Compound Engine, designed by Vic Mills?

[@AEKarnes]

Not yet but I'd like to!

[@ronaldroberts9556]

Was involved in their making in early ‘70’s. Sold fully finished and ready to go for £2,800! Thirty three in total, supposedly “holy grail of small steam engines”. Reved to 1250 on live steam in Nottingham University test lab!@@AEKarnes

[@jameswallace7709]

Was that drilling speed not to fast? (Question not observation)

[@AEKarnes]

It was, but it was also the slowest speed the machine was capable of. Youve got a good eye.

[@jameswallace7709]

@@AEKarnes thought so. Love what you’re doing. Greetings from a fellow young engineer in the UK

[@CherryBerry48]

very educational stuff!!

[@WS-gw5ms]

So are you a traveling steam tech? You seem to be all over. Keep it up 👍

[@AEKarnes]

I am and I go where I am needed. There is too much out there that needs putting right.

[@JoshKilen]

nice job, what is this power plant used for?

[@kevin_6217]

That makes more sense. Fittings within fittings.

[@captaintoyota3171]

Im.amazed how little people seek knowledge. If i could get paid to learn stuff id be im heaven. So i try to research and teach myself things constantly. Im a millennial, though an early early one, yet im a journeyman carpenter, ex ASE technician, and i repair my own smart tv motherboards and build PCs. If you arent seeking to learn new things daily i duno what you are doing with your life

[@michigandon]

Never seen a double safety valve like that before.

[@humannotanalien8675]

If you dont mind me asking are you a millwright by trade?

[@AEKarnes]

I am self taught in that skillset but not formally no. I wish I had been.

[@mattydare]

There are people that say the know then there are people that actually know😉

[@Xsiondu]

Damn this is cool.

[@thegreenphantom4304]

You're right about the nuts and modern machine parts in general, if it's modern nine times out of ten, it's bad. I don't need to say it to you but for others, it's part of the throw away society. The marketing idea of sub standard parts for modern substandard throw away machines making the consumer buy more for less quality aka built in obsolescence . Antique tech should not be looked upon as obsolete and valued as such for being a technology of a bygone era but for the quality of workmanship and possible modern applications for said technology. As to your drill press milling machine, maybe try getting a Linley milling machine. My grandfather's company was Linley Brothers MfG Company, Bridgeport, CT. The A1 was designed by my grandfather and it's ok but the A2 redesigned by my dad was a lot better. The company began in 1918 and lasted until about 1966 incase your interested. Keep up the great work!

[@AEKarnes]

You have my thanks and respect as this needs to be talked about a lot more. And I am very glad to know the descendant of a Connecticut Industrial family as that is where I grew up, and I grew up in the shadows of what was once a thriving coastline of builders and industrial engineering

[@thegreenphantom4304]

It's a pleasure to know you too but, it is I and my family that should be thanking you for your kind words and for what you do. To meet someone who shares the same interests as I is rare and I look forward to seeing your next video. Best wishes to you and yours.

[@dougkathydavies3024]

Really cool project. Sad to see that some of the beautiful brass fittings were made in China :(

[@AEKarnes]

You can tell which those are by the water and steam leaking right through the porosity in the metal.

[@bentheguru4986]

OMG, Love your work, no need or room for political correctness or baby talk. Brutally honest, EXCELLENT.

[@AEKarnes]

There is no place for either of those things in engineering so I am glad you appreciate it, many don't!

[@bentheguru4986]

@@AEKarnes You have a gift, don't be afraid to use it.

[@thepubliceye]

What a weird little fella, I guess that is what makes him an expert.

[@Jonathan_Doe_]

Just read about the Pratt situation. Can’t believe they’re destroying what should be preserved as a museum, in the name of questionable emissions improvements (when you consider the emissions of building new stuff vs burning natural gas slightly inefficiently) They should build the new communal hot water/heat system as a completely separate thing instead of demolishing the place.

[@dansw0rkshop]

9:35 maybe it's metric :D

[@johnjriden]

Hahahah hes So crazy i love em.!! 😆😆😆

[@stavinaircaeruleum2275]

🐉💙

[@jsmith5278]

Use a mic next time. Great content.

[@Hogger280]

Re your water level versus fire: ignoring the fire will just cause the pressure to go down. Ignoring the water level will at best damage the boiler and at worst kill you!

[@AEKarnes]

I did not say anything about ignoring either, only an incompetent ignores something on a steam plant. What I said still holds true, managing a fire takes talent, managing water level takes only the turn of a handle provided the equipment is reliable. The antedote to the water-level obsession regarding shrink and swell I will cover in the next video. Reliably, the idiots I've worked with who are obsessed with water level only are the ones who run it far too high and who prime my headers when I take load in a power plant.

[@daleolson3506]

The speed on the drill press is too fast for the bit size

[@AEKarnes]

I agree but sadly that was its lowest possible speed! Would have been better at about half that

[@skunkjobb]

"The stuff that will sink you and make your engine crap out for no reason in the middle of the harbor" Ha ha, that's why I want old diesel engines in my boat without the modern electrical shit.

[@jmac217x]

testing is important to everyone but the ignorant

[@drlegendre]

I sure hope "Scotch" is the brand-name of that boiler.. as opposed to simply being made in Scotland - in which case it's SCOTTISH fer feck' sake.

[@josephpadula2283]

It is the type of horizontal Fire tube boiler called Scotch type . Not a brand name .

[@AEKarnes]

Scotch Marine is a design of boiler, built all over

[@josephpadula2283]

I had marine high pressure navy and merchant marine training . First time I got to a shore Scotch boiler I emptied it and removed a handhold . My God some idiot put on a rubber gasket ! I had only seen Flex italic gaskets on boilers . 150 psi boilers Use rubber gaskets of course but I had a new world to learn I found ..,,

[@malcolmmoy]

Safety glasses, please! Especially on a not so good table vice.

[@johnsmith7676]

Not another one of you... will you all never learn? The safety and security of the masses -- as it constantly thrust upon us -- is just another mask for slavery. And simply reflexively repeating it -- parroting it -- to others, just indicates that you have already fallen into that trap. The good Lord gave us EVERYTHING we need to be safe, and healthy, too. The most important item among these things is our brain. If we use that properly, we will be just fine. If we take advice from fork-tongued miscreants whom claim to have our welfare and safety at heart, we will FAIL every time. We will DISAPPEAR. Also, in following that very same advice myself, I learned at a young age that all that "safety" gear actually is a liability in that it ALL [to varying degrees] dulls your senses, impedes free movement, and makes folks think they are much safer if they wear it, such that they "drop their guard" and thus are actually MORE prone have a mishap. I'm not saying to never wear things to protect you. I'm simply saying utilize your own abilities to determine what is necessary to do so, and act accordingly. Most certainly do NOT tell others what they need to be "safe"... They likely have already developed strategies -- on their own accords -- which are actually superior... Certainly far superior than just "following the herd".

[@AA-69]

You should have a Union Jack hanging up , Not that Gay Hankie starry thing !!!...As ALL your best machines are BRITISH 🇬🇧

[@ethanmiller5487]

Please wear safety glasses

[@AEKarnes]

If you feel the need for safety glasses you ought not to be working with steam.