DIY Steam Engine - First Drive

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We've done something similar in the past, but this time we're going about it in a completely different way.
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[@tinker-tinker]

You need to make the cylinders double acting so they each have two power strokes. That is how the engine in the stanley steam car was able to produce enough torque to spin the wheels inside the tires.

[@Sekir80]

And you run out of steam faster. No. Increase steam generation, that's the crux of it. More steam, more power.

[@CENREAPER-YT]

Qho is Stanley?

[@halrhoads6194]

This was a steam car manufacturer in the US from from 1902 to 1924. It had a top speed of 204 kph (127mph)! @@CENREAPER-YT

[@jesseharriott4253]

Restrict the fire box with a door and valve. It will get hotter faster with less smoke and burn Less fuel (wood coal etc)

[@justinmeeks1868]

@@Sekir80 Nearly all modern steam engines are dual action. The lack of two power strokes is a giant waste of energy, there is no need for the piston to push the waste steam out. What this needs is the ability to change valve cutoff. As the piston speed increases in a steam engine the amount of steam required to provide the same amount of power decreases. Compounding cylinders, superheated steam, and condensing engines are the answer to efficiency in a steam engine.

[@IvyMike.]

Thank you BMI Russian for the voice over and translation, astounding work.

[@SwapBlogRU]

You're very welcome🤝

[@ledzep1]

@@SwapBlogRU​​⁠​⁠Hey I appreciate the voice overs, but is there anywhere I can watch the originals?

[@SwapBlogRU]

@@ledzep1 Гараж 54

[@SwapBlogRU]

@@ledzep1 copy and paste into the search bar

[@ledzep1]

@@SwapBlogRU Thanks!

[@legdig]

Steam engines use something called valve gear to control how long steam enters the cylinder. when you're going fast enough you can reduce the time the valves are open to make more efficient use of the steam's expansion. You can also use the exhausting steam to draft the fire by making a vacuum

[@dansw0rkshop]

You can also do superheat. You can also do cylinder preheat. You can also do... you can also do... They really just barely did anything that a practical steam engine design does.

[@daniel_77.]

unfortunately they only read and answer the comments at the original channel

[@dunxy]

More worried about that bomb they call a boiler before anything else. Scary AF...

[@Polorigolo35]

+ a heat exchanger

[@jhsevs]

And steam cylinders are much larger bore

[@SadPuppySoup]

Do you realize you are showing us how to make our own vehicles for when the days of mad max are fully upon us? I enjoy it very much and am taking notes

[@giovannicesaramorim9adigan961]

Just don't use this tech in specific. It's basically the bottomline of efficiency of steam engines. You're better off using a monotube/flash boiler and purpose made double acting steam engines, ICE engines converted, or a turbine. Just don't use a firetube boiler and a steam engine like his if you don't want to use 3 tons of fuel to move 1 kilometer

[@t0m541]

I've been watching Vlad for many years and watched the channel grow from one guy in a small lock up garage into what it is today. What always impresses me is the work and effort that is put into every build, no matter how crazy. They must put hours and hours of fabrication into some of the bigger, more complex projects, all for a 15-20 minute video. Keep up the work Vlad and the team.

[@fryloc359]

I've been watching for just as long, and I'm always wondering what they are going to do next, since it seems that they've done everything.

[@ambersmith6517]

@@fryloc359 these guys are nuts reminds me of people in Wv

[@markhartranft1550]

i can just imagine every time they make something wacky all the other tendants in other garages/buildings "what monstrosity have they done this time"

[@VoVilliaCorp]

"oh no, it's those crazy folks over from 54 again"

[@thatguyalex2835]

Agreed brother. Garage 53 and 55's owners would probably say "yet another wacky and unique invention from Garage 54". Just imagine if G54 made a steam powered motorcycle in 2024 next year. Man, all the other garage/building owners would say something. :)

[@dodgydruid]

To get rid of condensate you need to run a dryer pipe through the heat just before its put to use, if done right will create superheated steam and now you have ponies to work with but is incredibly lethal stuff to mess with, a thin jet of superheated steam will slice off body parts searing as it goes hence why boilermen would walk with white sticks in front of them when in proximity to a superheated boiler. Secondly, use the expansion technique to your pistons, your first cylinder would be normal size, the second fed from the waste steam would be double that size and so forth so you can get double the work from a single therm of steam itself, triple expansion engines are very efficient. Heat, best is best black coal, also look to putting some sort of blower in to raise the temp and aids warm up a lot, also think about a water level and even a simple water injector connected to a bigger tank so you don't run out so quickly.

[@turbopower130]

Big thanks to bmi russian for professionally translating these videos, i absolutely love the content and projects. Never stop making crazy creations 💯💯💯

[@AndyRome]

I wonder if you might be able to do something like people have done with Turbo(s) driven burn barrel, the output side of that could force those with MUCH greater pressures . . . you would need very good wastegate / blow off valve. . . good job here as always gents.

[@takablepigon9686]

Hey! Thats a cool idea, a Steam Boiler that works off of exhaust gases from an ICE.

[@kylereese4822]

6 or more pistons would be an advantage and if enough power is made swap the fire for Kettle elements driven of an alternator/battery set up...

[@theLyzhendricks]

That's one helluva idea I like it

[@xmysef4920]

Yeah I would love for them to make a turbo burn barrel. It’s essentially a type of gas turbine/jet engine.

[@Universal.G]

That water tank without a purge valve is super scary. Imagine that thing exploding with scalding hot water. Be careful guys. @4:45

[@StephanBuchin]

08:58

[@Crediu]

thats why it has that wall between the engine and the driver

[@adrianjayne6580]

was just sitting here worrying about that tank

[@KenjiDev]

It wont... You didnt saw that smal plate who they tack weld in 4 spot's..? If something that plate will flew out and that's it. :)

[@twoeightythreez]

It does have a relief valve

[@UmmmmmmmWhat]

It's almost ready to be the new Drift Taxi, just a few more days of research. 😂

[@DobleWhiteAndStabley]

Try adding a system to condense the exhaust and reinsert it back into the boiler in a closed loop. You can reuse the same water. It has been done before. I believe GM or chrysler attempted a closed loop steam engine at one point and had success but the idea didn't make it past the testing phase because it wasn't a gas engine.

[@MadScientist267]

Dropping the pressure on the opposing side of the piston also increases efficiency, the main reason for condensing it. Reusing it does also help because any heat in the water above ambient when returned to the boiler is heat the flame doesn't have to add, increasing efficiency. Primary effect by far tho is the pressure drop. They should also preheat the cylinders and lines by letting it either idle or pass thru for a bit. You don't want the water condensing in the cylinders, only in a heat exchanger.

[@DobleWhiteAndStabley]

I definitely want to see this get an upgrade. Would love to build one of my own to get to work with.

[@killingtimeitself]

you can do this but the primary issue here is the laws of physics, NPP for instance tend to recondense all water, but they still produce steam, since bleeding off that heat into more water just creates more steam. If you had a large enough environmental heatsink i suppose its less of an issue but it wont scale nicely. The main problem with something like this is that its just super impractical at vehicle scale.

[@MadScientist267]

@@killingtimeitself All you have to be able to do is sink the heat the boiler *creates* (by burning fuel). The water gets returned to the boiler as hot as practical. Getting rid of heat is never a problem with a steam engine. Keeping it where you want it, is. They used a condense/recycle method on some steam locomotives... Both reducing the amount of water lost and increasing engine efficiency in one hit. The less heat you have to *add* to the boiler with fuel, returning it after condensation instead, the less you have to get rid of *at* the condenser, and the more efficient the engine runs. So it's practical for the same reason your radiator in your car isn't this huge cumbersome thing that would take up much more space otherwise... it doesn't have to get rid of *all* the heat, just has to be able to handle all of the *surplus,* proportional to the energy the engine is not "consuming" (putting into the wheels) but the boiler is creating. This ignores other losses in steam lines, leaks, and other unwanted condensation. The actual value will be somewhat lower as a result. Once the water is back in liquid form it can then be fed more energy to do more work; there is no point in cooling it any further and doing so just wastes fuel that needs to heat it right back up so it can reach boiling again.

[@killingtimeitself]

it's a fundamentally different cycle, with an ICE engine that heat is mostly expelled through the exhaust, some of it is absorbed in the block, where it needs to be pulled out and cooled, though this is a much different mechanism to recondensing and recycling water for a steam engine. It's possible but the problem is that all the energy you impart into the water, needs to be removed from the steam to condense it back into water (not exactly true but you need a net flow of energy so we'll keep it simple here), and steam has a LOT of energy, this is why you only ever really see complete recycling in large stationary power plants. As you said, there are some steam locos that use recycling condensors, however you'll notice that this is only some, i don't know of any NA steam locos that have used anything other than a standard cycle engine, maybe a few used compounding, I know the brits messed with uniflow cycles a few times. (which is arguably more important than condensate vacuum in a loco btw) The reason it never went anywhere is because it's really hard to dump that heat, and this is also on a locomotive that is running 60 mph btw, so it's not like you have a lack of cooling power. It's just really difficult to do without causing problems. Another technicality, is that you can also just flow exhaust steam (or gases) over the intake water, in order to heat it up, the primary advantage to using condensation is the additional energy generated by the vacuum of the steam converting into water. Beyond the vacuum having an appreciable effect, and less fuel consumption, which is trivial to achieve, there isn't a huge benefit, especially when met with form factor limitations. @@MadScientist267

[@ralphturner3798]

The guy that does the voice over speaks very, very good English. I assume he's Russian, so it's especially impressive. Not only is his accent, or lack of accent, perfect, but his grammar is better than many people here in the United States.

[@powerbuilder0510]

Also the waste steam can be vented into the chimney/smoke stack to push smoke thru the a turbo and promote better firebox operation. The deep choof choof sound on some steam trains use/d this to push exhaust out the chimney more effiently.

[@powerbuilder0510]

Also It'll end up like a fan forced fire and the boiler will run better with a hotter fire like that and produce more volumer and heated hotter

[@krzysztofwaleska]

Jak silniki mojego dziadka :) Tez zaczal od jednego cylindra z rozrzadem z ruchomego mosieznego jednocylindrowego silnika. Pozniej zrobil ciekawsze konstrukcje, ale o wiele mniejsze. To kiedys bylo bardzo modne. Jakies 80 lat temu. Parowozy byly fascynujace.

[@toiletfx5679]

It may not be fast but its still very impressive!

[@TONOCLAY]

The tank doesnt have enough surface area. Also the pistons needs a better seal on them where the air feeds in. Good proof of concept though. Looking forward to v2.0 if there are plans for it.

[@giovannicesaramorim9adigan961]

They need to skip the tech tree straight into steam generators and a doble e steam engine or something like a tesla turbine, this is extremely inefficient in the way it is right now

[@erikcourtney1834]

I turned a 5hp Briggs and Stratton into a steam/air engine. Just need to Modify the factory cam or make one. And add a check valve to the intake port. It’s pretty simple.

[@petermacris8260]

in order to increase efficiency and power you need to superheat the steam with a heating coil so after it has expanded in the engine it is still a gas without condensation. the issue is that steam directly from the boiler is always going to be right around 100c which is not efficient when your steam is turning back into a liquid inside your engine

[@rossbrumby1957]

Those are double action pnuematic rams- i have a couple 4" diameter ones same looking. Use them as double action to get more power, but instead of the leaky mechanical valves, use solenoid valves timed via the flywheel with electrical contacts. Easy! Another thing- with the relatively low pressure and large volume of your rams, youll need a much bigger boiler as i noticed it didn't drive far before slowing from lack of pressure. Better to use lpg and make a flash boiler from coils of metal tubing.

[@gerrettmcqueen7001]

Just the ingenuity behind the homemade 4 wheel independent suspension go cart is impressive

[@jamest.5001]

Better slide valves and connect the other side of the cylinders, to have double acting cylinders, possibly get 40% more power from the use of the opposite side of the pistons alone, possibly 20%+ with better valves. And drill holes for chimney tubes through the boiler. So the hot has more water contact. Also running the steam pipe through the fire about 3-4 times. In 25mm pipe, getting the steam upwards of 3-4x boiling or hotter. Gives better performance. Also insulated cylinders keep them hotter, prevents water from condensing inside them so severely.

[@GTech_builds]

well i personly wont be yesting the DIY factor but the fact that you guys got it to work is awesome

[@jazeenharal6013]

I like how the guy from the other garage immediately grabbed a pressure-sprayer lol And there are times when the driver looks like he is fearing for his life XD

[@halrhoads6194]

Wow! I sure hope you guys pursue this experiment. Who knows where it might lead. Fantastic video. Thanks. 😃

[@thatguyalex2835]

The guys need to make a steam-powered motorcycle. :) That would be so steampunk and sci-fi right there. If Tron was set in 1928 instead of 1982.

[@azrobbins01]

I would like to see you do a wood-gas engine!

[@user-gw8xb6zx9l]

You guys never cease to amaze one another terrific experiment and great to see the young mechanics using their imagination. Keep up the good work.

[@amdintelxsniperx]

a full compressed air engine would be neat to see as well

[@s.sradon9782]

I recall compressed air cars have just the most fantastic range.

[@amdintelxsniperx]

@@s.sradon9782 hahah im sure its terrible but im betting there might be a way to work around that issue :)

[@kentworch]

A big thumbs up. You guys are always doing something awesome. This looked like a ton of fun. Nice work y'all.👍👍

[@hairy248]

How about making a steam engine using components of a combustion engine but all exposed crank and flywheel exposed as it would look on a old steam engine. Love all your videos

[@deweyharmon4666]

Please keep this concept going forward! Love it!

[@burkemyers8459]

Love the ingenuity

[@JustCallMeHorse]

What I would like to know if it could drive a dynamo and use the power from the dynamo to power an electric motor to push the car forward. Like a steam-powered electric hybrid lol :D

[@ypoora1]

Ideally you want to set the cylinders up so they are double acting, it looks like these cylinders can actually do that. And offset them 90 degrees, not 65. At that point you will have a drive that is essentially the same as a steam locomotive without all of the fancy valve gear.

[@Colina.Motors]

I think the neighbors are surprised every day by all the wired stuff that comes out of your garage :))

[@DonCarlione973]

This is a great channel. I love what your shop does! Very "interesting" ideas haha 👍🏻 You guys really love that hardbass over there lol. I don't blame you, it's great music for working and editing 😜

[@thatguyalex2835]

Yep, electronic music is popular all over Europe, from Spain to Ukraine, and especially in Russia. :) We need more electronic dance music in North America though. Also, G54 does interesting stuff every week.

[@YaKefir4eg]

​@@thatguyalex2835Russian Village Boys offenly do the world tours, maybe they will be in NA

[@0wl999]

' I'll be at work in a day or two, have coffee ready my front side is a little frozen ' 😂😂😂

[@busyguy7479]

Never a dull minute there in that shop good clean fun and a lot of these experiments are worth while. never know you guys come up with some really good ideas. kudos to all of you and may GOD bless.

[@GHOOGLEMALE]

Another welding masterpiece- Bravo

[@UraniumMan]

Oh man, welding on that tank is really risky, but that thing is sooo cool! The steel plate is a great idea just in case, to protect the operator.

[@jamesmeredith381]

My father was a steam engineer, he worked at a number of sawmills! He worked in logging camps, running and fixing log pullers! My speed boat is steam powered! My generator is run by a self-contained radio steam engine!

[@markchapman2585]

Awesome video as always guys

[@thedarkknight1971]

RIGHT! Time to make a 'Radial steam piston motor' (similar to the design of engines in early 1900's Biplanes and such).. How about a 12 piston design giving you smooth and relatively high torque/power numbers? 🤔😏😉👍 😎🇬🇧

[@chemsoldier83]

I love this channel. Seems like a fun shop to work at.

[@1toonhead]

Put the steam exhaust on to the fire chimney which would cause a draft laking your fire more efficient. Also a steam engine is the only 1 stroke engine. They work both ways. Also your timing should be 90 degrees instead of that 160 degrees. Be interesting what the mark 2 version will go like.

[@lesklower7281]

What a great experiment for a winter project in Siberia in winter and it worked

[@HavenHedges]

This channel is fantastic. Keep up the great work.

[@Iowa599]

Woah! A heat shield to protect the driver! I don't remember seeing "safety" as a concern, on this channel.

[@mungmungie]

I guess you could say it was a 106.9 % success. You should post the disclaimer that no Ladas were injured or killed in the making of this video. Now for reciprocating triple expansion steam power! Maybe power a floating Lada with that.

[@needmoreboost6369]

Awesome! Been wanting to build a steam engine for a long time! but also trying to avoid going down that rabbit hole! You said you had converted a car engine before so I’ll have to find that video too! I’d imagine a custom camshaft profile and potentially the combination of a twin cam engine and the tuning abilities of custom camshaft’s and vernier cam gears could make some serious steam power!

[@johngillon6969]

That is one brave engineer you got there.

[@idonotknowwhyyoutubeletsyo5893]

Thermally isolated brake line tubes would be better for keeping the steam under its full pressure during transfer from the tank to the cylinder. Two power strokes could improve it a tiny bit to prevent stopping. Recirculating the steam is also going to be a bit useful.

[@avonneave2131]

Merry Christmas fellas 🎄 from here on the West Coast side of Australia 🌏🙏🖖🤟🇦🇺🐨

[@jasonz7788]

awesome!

[@jsmythib]

Kinda like watching LOONEY TUNES! :) Neat build. Good job crew.

[@DobleWhiteAndStabley]

Bro, you have the perfect setup for a rotary engine using those cylinders. Just need to copy and paste after rotating a few degrees about tow times for a 6 cylinder rotary engine like they had in old propeller planes.

[@killingtimeitself]

you mean radial, rotary is a completely different design for internal combustion engines.

[@user-qo3yy9nv1u]

Id love to be a welder/mechanic for you guys. Your shop looks so much more fun than mine.

[@Shannon-Smith]

This is absolutely EPIC! You need at least 2 cyls (maybe about 5) and a CVT!

[@sammertkoeli8281]

love these videos!!🎉

[@jamesblinzler7421]

This is why I like u guys

[@caseylee3350]

I've actually seen a guy run a small engine run great using a bee smoker! Just put the smoke directly into the carburetors and it ran perfectly 😆 it was mind blowing! I bet you could throw some plastic or rubber and as long as there's plenty of smoke no flame your engine should run! I'm meen a Lada will run on anything 😅

[@Thisisyoutub]

Let’s try slapping it together

[@jankington216]

Maybe this channel will have the world's first video documented boiler explosion

[@kennethanway7979]

I love these mad scientists!

[@trm4life]

Well, now we know why trains are so massive. To make real use of that steam energy!

[@1NIGHTMAREGAMER]

with some reinforcement and you can fix 6 these on there and if u mod them all to be double acting ittle be a t v12 basically add partially sealed o rings

[@partciudgam8478]

it would be nice if you and professor pradal of brazil started a steam car race..., his system acts directly on the wheels, while yours seems to act on some gearing!

[@kakaboom55]

25 years later - "Garage54 releases their 1st ever car for sales"

[@wbwb8459]

I enjoy your guys Channel from Alaska.

[@dantan205gaming2]

Amazing

[@MrZenzationz]

The reason it's not increasing rotations is because the whole cylinder is in notation and there is lost motion make the cylinder stationary by making a wrist pin and rod with bearing going to crankshaft and will have better results

[@fouzaialaa7962]

Amazing work

[@Novous]

Steam engines need area. The wider the cylinder, the more pressure times area = force. Those pistons are tiny. But incredible attempt!

[@user-vf5mj9co9g]

A v-8 engine would be a sight to see!

[@gravedigr12]

a heavier fly wheel would help. also make the second cylinder with a larger piston and feed the exhaust into it some cladding would also greatly help maybe some petcocks too so you can get out the condensation and heat the cylinders faster

[@lorenzmirto6683]

Mi piacciono un sacco i tuoi video! Voi del garage 54 siete il meglio per quanto riguarda le modifiche e le prove che fate!Siete come dei geni pazzi e mi piace!😉aspetto il prossimo video, ciao🫡💚

[@nunyabusiness3267]

definitely want a part 2

[@dariodzimbeg]

Innovations never ends @Garage54

[@kevinmcmuhammad4841]

HOWYA LADS FROM IRELAND 🇮🇪

[@danowens7145]

Must be the NEW guy doing the first road test 😂

[@seeveiw]

Mechanical parts aside to get speed and power a sustainable amount of steam and pressure in the 150 psi range and up will need generated . The old American steam engines were the size they were to meet the requirements

[@twocvbloke]

You could almost call it a V-twin steam engine, though does have quite some way to be a two steam-horsepower engine... :P

[@ambersmith6517]

use negative pressure from cooling super heated steam then you will have awesome power

[@anonymous-mj8wb]

you should try to make seals for the engine so it doesnt constantly spray, only when it needs to release the pressure

[@bricknplay]

Nice!! You really have to make a V4 from a Lada engine 😅

[@michaellong2661]

Garage 54: "thats a terrible idea. Let's do it!"

[@maxiflow8695]

Excelente proyecto Garage54!!!

[@emil.honganmaki5461]

That single -activity installation must have a lot of larger pipes and valves .. so it works

[@benk3604]

Nice range! Was that like 60 feet. "Fire up the steam car, I'm going next door in half an hour".

[@RetroArcadeGuy]

The difference with this and a locomotive it's that the locomotive was designed to make the MOST efficient use of compressed steam and keep pressure losses to a minimun. This car probably burnt 6 times the coal and water than what a locomotive would in a block lol

[@Hydemaintenanceman]

Like in NASCAR, you're gonna have to increase the size of the exhaust pork. They do the same thing on their impacts to increase the speed, not power, though the bigger the exhaust port, the less power you'll have

[@Top5cring]

exhaust 🐖

[@Hydemaintenanceman]

@nghmusic0431 Auto correct got some jokes lol

[@Debilletsplays]

I love this channel

[@emanuelgoncalvessantos4499]

Run the steam pipe down inside the chimney, and leaving down there to the valve so you get a drier steam...

[@mdzaid5925]

I don't know how this guy runs his channel. No sponsors, expensive projects and additional expense for translation.

[@reedvending2384]

Longer cylinders and mounted further away from the rotational center. But a good first attempt.

[@angusmacgyver3673]

maybe try like one video i saw, the guy used motorcycle shock absorbers for the pistons and cylinders, and made a steam powered 3 wheel bicycle.

[@Thetreetroll]

8:05 and that was the last episode 💥

[@dannydaw59]

You guys can get really steamed up over there at Garage54 !

[@oubliette862]

you guys made a gasifier car, I missed that. steam generators are better than boilers in my opinion because they can be small and use fuel for the fire and heat up fast. I wanted to build a steam generator powered motorcycle. how cool would that be. don't forget to add oil to the water. the exhaust steam could drive another ram. using coiled tubing inside the fire box using a nozzle to spray burning fuel inside turning the water in the tubes to steam, then a high-pressure ram to a low-pressure ram then to a reservoir tank is a steam generator.

[@oshkiv4684]

You guys need to make some dynamic seals if you want to take advantage of all 6 kilos