Homemade Steam Engine Build Slideshow

[@Mari-sd5mw]

This is an extremely impressive build, I'm not sure why almost everyone in the comments seems to not like it

[@homemade_projects]

Thank you, it can be an extremely dangerous engine if not used correctly

[@rupert5390]

By crikey lad you have built an extraordinary rendition of a traction engine - I am assuming out of mostly reclaimed steel and iron - you are a modern wonder of and brilliant example of the tenacious home engineer - Brunell himself would pat you on the back -and shake your hand - by gum that boiler - although a little unorthodox- looks massively overbuilt and will be steaming for a few generations I shouldn't wonder I sit here reading in admiration as most of us sit on our fat arses fantasising about the engineering and buying tools and bloody machines and never making somethings as awesome as the beauty you have built- you are a man of action and your family and friends should be really proud of you - I am just envious and jealous - I will build one of these one day - but for now I sit here watching with envy -thanks for sharing mate.

[@chrisstubbings6594]

Brunel would run a mile if he saw how it was built!

[@rupert5390]

@@chrisstubbings6594 are you related to Brunel..? - can you post a photo of the one you built

[@homemade_projects]

Thanks for your comment very impressive thank you, only took me 4 years to reply i wonder have you had a go making one yourself. Mine is still sitting in the garden awaiting its next steam and further modifications if my schedule will allow. Thanks again for a great comment

[@rupert5390]

I was in awe - I had a few fights with your detractors who predicted it would explode - please tell me it didn't explode.@@homemade_projects

[@homemade_projects]

@@rupert5390 no it didn't explode and i try to take as many safety precautions as i can

[@barryphillips7327]

A lot of work but very well done to take on such a project!!!!

[@homemade_projects]

Thank you yes was alot of work if only had the time would make more

[@rudolphsteiner6797]

Great job! Wish I had $120k worth of machine tools so I could do that too.

[@danp1224]

I built mine with a grinder and arc welder. It’s on my channel

[@homemade_projects]

Buy some 😃

[@BeegChonkBehr]

Now you got my attention I wish I could build a narrow gauge or a standard loco like Stephenson’s planet using this boiler method

[@homemade_projects]

Oh that would be great

[@steamerdreamer]

I watched your first ever video years ago when you First steamed/rode it, Never knew the extent of Awesome Machine work that went in to this!! Well done Super Job!

[@homemade_projects]

Thanks for your comment. I would love another go at making a better one with more knowledge now than before.

[@steamerdreamer]

Would be awesome To see! I made the 2" pyrte once But failed to produce enough steam After watching this it is giving me the inspirtation To get back on it To see if I can Sort this issue! Happy steaming Jonathan

[@homemade_projects]

@@steamerdreamer scott payten I have also seen your videos and provided me inspiration for my own. A boiler jacket looks the best method or a vertical boiler for maximum efficiency

[@sethmullins8346]

I love this. I want to do this, but with a boat. I have both a propane foundry and a lathe I can use to attempt it, too. I think a pontoon boat with a paddle wheel would probably be the best boat for it.

[@homemade_projects]

Try watching these videos vertical boilers are very efficient kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYCsZnmol5mLnKc

[@utubecommentssrs7729]

God will be highly obliged, if Steam powered auto-mobiles, gen-sets & tractors re-introduced in Africa, South Asia, Central & South America...

[@homemade_projects]

That would be great 😃

[@jblob5764]

That is a very impressive machine shop....

[@homemade_projects]

Thanks 👍

[@hoxfoxyt]

Very cool and impressive but one wrong move and it’s a homemade bomb

[@homemade_projects]

That is true can be very dangerous

[@abitofeverything9970]

i bet it struggles to steam with no inner firebox, oversized tubes and not enough tubes

[@homemade_projects]

It steams not to bad best on wood not coal. Obviously not very efficient but does the job

[@eifionjones559]

nicely done, congratulations on your work, I build model live steam industrial plants (or try too ) . subscribed to you and hope you show more

[@homemade_projects]

Thanks for your comment. I seen you models, absolutely fantastic job. Also subscribed to your channel, keep up the good work

[@harrybobb6927]

@@homemade_projects can you possibly build me a 7 GA 2-6-0 locomotive key fire box type boiler and have it ready to use and ready to run because I have a live steam engine powering off grid 220v and I need this type of boiler to be made call me 5747809243

[@homemade_projects]

That would take ages 😂

[@СергейХромов-ы6в]

hello friend, why did you make straight pipes inside the boiler? you could have bent them with the letter "z" for example, and then it would seem to me that there would be more heat and slightly lower fuel consumption

[@homemade_projects]

Thats a good idea

[@anthonyanna7595]

Would you be in interested in building another ?

[@homemade_projects]

Absolutely and with greater knowledge now would be better and safer but unfortunately i have very little free time at the minute or foreseeable future

[@jaswmclark]

As a Boiler and Machinery inspector I WOULD NOT APPROVE your design of boiler as there is not at least 3 inches water cover over the crown sheet with your water glass installation.

[@homemade_projects]

Ok thanks for the information

[@kappullen]

Hi James. I looked at your Chanel and there is nothing there. Let's see some of your projects. For being an expert machinery and boiler inspector, I don't see a crown sheet there. He could have put more tubes in the lower half and a couple of stay bolts along the top of the boiler. Job well done for a working model out of the scrap box. I'd like to see a pressure test to two times operating pressure, two safety valves set at working pressure and two ways to pump water in before operating in public. That is required pretty much required in my state and around the world. Kap Kap

[@homemade_projects]

Thank you for your comment. I do have one safety valve and a second modified for a whistle. The boiler has been pressure tested to over double the operating pressure with no problems. I understand the dangers with boilers and keep the pressure as low as possible. There are also drain and relief valves and boiler feed pump for adding more water.

[@earnierosenow9834]

please use caution when building live steam boilers=medina tractor show explosion

[@homemade_projects]

Yes they are very dangerous

[@steamandsmoke97]

The boiler is built entirely wrong. A) it's an entirely dry firebox so around 60-70% of your total heat transfer to the water is gone, B) None of the flues should go above the centerline of the boiler barrel. With flues that high, they'll never be covered by water and will overheat, eventually failing, which will be hastened by the way you welded them, which leads me to C) They're not full penetration welded and none of the joints are heat treated for stress relief. You just welded around the ends of them externally. The holes in the tubesheets HAVE to be countersunk and the tubes full penetration welded into the sheet, otherwise water will get between the tube and the sheet and corrosion will occur in that little crevace, pitting out the flue itself and the ligament it slides into which eventually will start to leak and be nearly impossible to repair without replacing the tubesheet if the ligament/sealing surface is badly corroded. The only time you can externally weld the outer end is if the tube is rolled or expanded into the sheet and the light welding bead is being used as a heatsink so the flue ends do not burn and get damaged.

[@rupert5390]

Let me guess you know steam and smoke and he builds 1/64 scale steam engines right. LOL@@jaydonfuller5256

[@steamandsmoke97]

@@rupert5390 Apparently you're not very good at reading, since I have a 7.25" gauge Steam Locomotive that dwarfs that Traction Engine which I mentioned in my previous comment to the other idiot and I'll gladly make a video to prove it.

[@rupert5390]

Yeah but you should change your name to steam gas and farts - you may have a steam engine but i bet you didn't build it - incidentally 7.25 inches doesn't sound that big - we are having a go at you because you are a rude man that had a go at someone who built their own traction engine from scrap - and it seems to work wonderfully contrary to your snarky observations - It costs you nothing to be a bit encouraging rather than shitting all over the man's efforts which by everyone else's observations are very good - you could be nicer but you're probably a grumpy old fart. toot toot.@@steamandsmoke97

[@Frz45]

He does have a valid point though, the boiler poses risks to health and the safety of others, there is a reason that there is many many years of boiler development and why there is a boiler inspectorate body in every country. Although I do appreciate greatly the idea and execution of the builder of this engine.

[@steamandsmoke97]

@@rupert5390 Steam gas and farts? What are you, twelve? Your most recent reply really confirms just how ignorant and clueless you are to Steam Power and Engineering in general. It also shows your maturity level, or lack thereof. 7.25 inches refers to the TRACK GAUGE, The Distance between the rails on which the locomotive sits. Do you know what a Canadian National U-2C 4-8-4 actually is? The Full Size Engine weighs 383,000 pounds! My locomotive, which is a 1/8th scale working model of the real thing, weighs 2,100 pounds with an empty boiler, the tender weighs another 600. The Engine itself without the tender is 8 feet long and 3 feet high! By the way, I HAVE BUILT Several Engines (locomotives, stationary engines, marine engines, etc). This Engine was actually even more challenging, because while I didn't build this one in particular (it's 30 years old) I RE-built it from the ground up (it had been stored in a cold, damp shed for about 15 of it's 30 years) without blueprints or plans, having to reverse engineer every part to actually draw up MY OWN prints for it and remake said parts which were worn out, and also improving upon the original design. In addition, my locomotive is far more complex and sophisticated than this home-brew traction engine. Taking a 2,100 pound Locomotive to bits, remaking, repairing, and improving everything, then putting it all back together without an instruction manual and working from memory is no small feat. Speaking of the traction engine in this video, yes it works, but not very well and not very safely. There is a good reason for voicing what you call my "Snarky" observations (Which were not insulting in any way, and just stated the facts) because HIGH PRESSURE STEAM CAN BE DANGEROUS! And if the pressure vessel that is tasked with containing it is not designed properly, the results can be Catastrophic, and most probably Fatal. The boiler on this traction engine is not made of the right steel, it's not designed properly, and it's not welded together properly. Anyone who has half a brain about steam power can see that, and that's the reason why he cannot bring it to rallies because a boiler inspector would fail it on the spot. Yes it's good to be encouraging, but there's also something called Constructive Criticism that can help him actually build a SAFE and more Thermally Efficient boiler. I did not "Shit" on his efforts at all. If the boiler is built properly, it'll make steam far better, it'll be stronger, and last much longer. Is the engine and running gear a good first attempt? Yes. But the boiler certainly is not. He should have done much more research before he tackled that bit.

[@amjednaif6774]

I want to build one just like this but I don’t have the knowledge 😓

[@Noname-ny4vx]

Don’t worry mate you can try your best even if it doesn’t go to plan you still tried

[@homemade_projects]

Exactly and ive made slideshow to help give you some ideas

[@georgeblack589]

Incredible fabrication.

[@homemade_projects]

Thanks very much 👍

[@densondirosa4497]

Beautiful workmanship, with a big glaring BUT thrown in..... the tube bundle, if spaced closer together, with more tubes, would give better heat transfer. However the most disturbing & extremely dangerous feature I viewed, was that there is very little ‘LOW WATER COVERAGE OF THE TOP TUBES IN YOUR BUNDLE !!!!! If you show a 1/2 glass in the glass, under fire, if you add water to the boiler, at best you’ll collapse the exposed tubes, at the worst...... the rapidly superheating waters steam production will overpower the boiler shells & safety valves capability to contain it & produce a catastrophic explosion. Not trying to criticize, just trying to save your & other peoples LIVES buddy.

[@paulwelsheimer9164]

Nice job well done, I think that's awesome to build such a Monumental task the machine built to harness the power of steam in your own garage is awesome. To build a functional operational steam engine in any way shape or form and yet so simple in theory but complicated in design in with the many engineering challenges has been a stumbling block for me in the whole design process revolves around the boiler. But I do have an area of concern but it's more constructive criticism and some of the trolling responses and comments on here and the such negative hate or just inappropriate but I will address one in regards to a wet Firebox a dry Firebox and I'll say this at least with a dry fire box you don't have to worry about it's Crown sheet and all the associated consequences and potential hazards that go with it, I doubt as he claims 70% efficiency rate that you lose energy transfer, at the end of the day you burn a few more lumps of coal who cares, it was built for personal enjoyment that the man built with his own hands in his own garage, so was that there will always be those people who will never understand the joy and satisfaction of accomplishment in the time effort and hours to build this steam-powered tractor not an easy task but always willing to be there point out every flaw. I applaud this guy's tenacity in building such a complicated steam-powered machine and it gives me the little more encouragement to build the project I want to build so I guess what it boils down to oh that's funny Boyles no pun intended just ignore the haters, but I do have to agree with the comment seriously 2 mine and this is only constructive criticism in my opinion, I did notice right off the bat 8 slight design flaw and a little concern of the or lack of expansion chamber and I did not see any room for low water mark, and since there are no steam domes, I was a little concerned the tubes were too far above the center line which in my opinion could lead to some operational problems with no room in the boiler to build was inadequate space Steam and thereby running the risk of exposing your top tubes, but I am not an expert or an engineer that's simply my opinion in an observation that I noticed and in no way meant to be negative in any way. I thank you for showing the pictures of your building I think it's great I would like to see more operational pictures now your thoughts likes dislikes what would you have done different a future update would be nice and ignore the haters life's just too damn short and I ain't got the time for them

[@jamesdavis5517]

Paul Welsheimer Far out.

[@steamandsmoke97]

@@paulwelsheimer9164 I didn't not say 70% "Efficiency" Rate, I said 70% of the total heat transfer to the water in the boiler occurs in the firebox of a conventional wet leg Locomotive-Style boiler. Big difference. No tubular boiler of any kind could even hope to reach 70% thermal efficiency. I wasn't being a troll, I was telling him why the pressure vessel is a risk to his own life and others around the engine while it's in operation and the reasons it was not properly built. And it's not just a matter of "Burning more coal". Without enough heating surface you will not be able to make enough steam to run the engine no matter how much fuel you burn. The boiler has to be sized for the Engine it is tasked with supplying with steam. You have to calculate the amount of lbs per hour of steam an engine would consume based off of the displacement and the operating pressure, (typically 32 lbs per hour per horsepower is the rule of thumb) and you size the boiler accordingly to meet this demand, (approximately 10 square feet of heating surface is equal to 1 boiler horsepower, depending on design and the factor of evaporation). He's lucky the boiler makes enough steam to run that engine in any capacity let alone a serious load. The constructive criticism you mentioned is pretty much exactly what I said in my post. I was just more blunt about it. By the way, I have built, rebuilt, and restored several of my own engines and I'm talking from experience. Look at some of the videos on my channel and you'll see about 1/3 of my total collection.

[@homemade_projects]

Thanks for all the comments. It was a massive task to undertake the building of this engine without all the proper knowledge at that time however it does steam and it has no efficiency at all but thats not what i was going for just wanted a steam engine to mess about on. It has safety valve's, boiler drain valve's, boiler feed pump and i keep the pressure to the minimum and have pressure tested the boiler to over 20bar pressure. I know exactly how dangerous these engines can be so that's why iam as careful as i can

[@dan05k]

You have gone to a lot of effort and skill to build this, which I commend you on. But as mentioned, the design is very flawed, and extremely dangerous. I would consider building a new boiler with consultation from sombody which experience in this area, as it is a very specialised field . Great job but👍🏻

[@natorusemporium645]

dan05k, I think you are completely right, if it is not done correctly then it could explode.

[@briansmith-tw9ue]

so is spelling......

[@homemade_projects]

Yes they are very dangerous indeed i follow as many safety rules as possible

[@sourabhquestionpaper1260]

What is the size of piston ❓

[@homemade_projects]

3.5" dia

[@sourabhquestionpaper1260]

@@homemade_projects bore ❓ Stroke ❓ please specify in millimeters.

[@homemade_projects]

88.90mm bore x 200mm stroke

[@maxwellcousineau4612]

Groovy 😀

[@homemade_projects]

Cheers 😃

[@karltrussler316]

Do you have the boiler inspection evey yaer?

[@homemade_projects]

Of course 😂

[@jamesneff2519]

No sound? Maybe I'ts me.

[@jamesneff2519]

Like this kinda stuff!

[@homemade_projects]

No i didn't make any sound with it just a slideshow

[@franciskenny2115]

The builder of this monstrosity obviously does not know how to construct a high pressure boiler, no boiler inspector would pass this as safe, ie the tubes are above center of barrel{highly dangerous} plus the welding is atrocious,and a dry firebox is a nono.i could go on but nuff said.

[@homemade_projects]

I wouldn't go as far as atrocious