Jensen 55G Twin-Cylinder Model Steam Engine | Live Steam

Watch the Jensen 55G steam engine power plant running on live steam.
The Jensen 55G twin-cylinder steam power plant is classic made by USA-based company Jensen Steam Engines. In many ways Jensen's high-end engines are unique in the model steam engine niche market. Build quality is solid and typical of American-made hardware: very robust, somewhat overbuilt, and not too many decorative details. There are no flimsy parts that break easily, and no tinny boilers, tubes and accessories. All important parts are made of thick gauge materials. And since the 55G is part of the company's lineup of Collector's models, the base for the cylinders is made from a massive iron casting.
The 55G is a two-cylinder engine, and is self starting. It is also reversible by using a lever that operates a Stephenson reversing mechanism. Both cylinders are double-acting, have a cylinder bore of 1/2" (~13 mm) and a piston stroke of 5/8" (~16 mm). As you can see in the clip, its a very powerful and extremely fast model engine capable of driving a small generator. It can also drive multiple accessories with ease. It is so powerful in fact, that I used to have problems with the generator burning out my bulbs (even the 2.4 watt bulbs!) if I let the engine run at full throttle. In this video the engine is powering my largest 6V (at 1A = 6 watts) bulb, and I think I could blow it if I wanted to.
A very unusual and convenient aspect of this steam engine is that it's electrically heated. This means: No need for fuel tabs, no methylated spirit burners, no candles, no gas burners and gas canisters, and no fumes. Just pour water in the boiler and connect the heater to wall socket, and the 660 watt immersion heater element will build steam in a few minutes.
Some other aspects that I haven't seen on other commercially available finished steam engines is the Stephenson reversing mechanism and a genuine large and heavily built AC generator with an integrated lamp post that takes standard old-style miniature glow-lamp bulbs. This is a very nice touch. There's no cheating by simply using a cheap DC motor for a dynamo. This generator is clearly made by Jensen for the sole purpose of generating AC power for their engines, and being able to watch the large coils of the generator as it spins and generates power adds to the authenticity and learning experience. It would be a great model for educational purposes.
This is a fun engine to operate, and I hope you enjoy the clip.
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[@JustFun-iz9rf]

just beautiful to see it working

[@cino4919]

Nice little 2 cylinder. And a little physics lesson on electric generators: when the bulb is lit and takes energy, the engine must work harder.

[@kiwibootsy]

Very nice engine

[@dampfdirk5983]

I have the same Engine in my Collection 😃

[@RetroTechyNerdyStuff]

It's a really nice engine to run with lots of power, and I can understand why it's considered one of Jensen's most desirable steam engines.

[@psepolishsteamengines2021]

Nice; )

[@-Vovan007-]

Для смазки можно в котловую воду добавить немного глицерина.

[@unokarpa4405]

на лампочку надо пружину одеть чтобы не откручивалась от вибраций, но не в патрон, а на резьбу, или поставить выключатель на лапмпу и закрутить её как следует.

[@michaelbauers8800]

interesting that it seems to be mostly self starting

[@RetroTechyNerdyStuff]

Indeed it is. Since the two cylinders are both double acting (i.e. provide power both on out outward and inward stroke) and are offset 90 degrees relatively to each other the engine is self-starting from any position.

[@user-bj2kf7zb1e]

Перспектива просматривается!!!!

[@motoresesistemasautomatos.]

Muito legal motores a vapor. Poderia colocar algo ora coletar a água do vapor.

[@RetroTechyNerdyStuff]

Yes the engine generates a lot of steam. When running the engine for longer periods of time I normally direct the exhaust steam to a condenser.

[@michaelbauers8800]

Back in the days of steam locomotives, didn't they have some system to reuse some of the steam so they didn't have to water as often?

[@RetroTechyNerdyStuff]

They did. A condensing steam locomotive used such a device. In fact, large steam engines were improved in many ways to recover water and heat and make them more practical and economical in use. For instance steam engines on ships benefited from recovering the steam as water because fresh water supplies were limited and boiler water had to be stored on the ship. Condensers would not only recover the fresh water from the engine's exhaust steam, but they were cleverly designed to use the steam's waste heat to pre-heat the water before it was pumped into the boiler by the feed-pumps, meaning that less fuel was spent on heating the water.

[@michaelbauers8800]

@@RetroTechyNerdyStuff very cool, er ... hot :) There's something that captivates me about steam engines.

[@anythingoldmechanical]

Exchange the lamp for a 1.5v one, or even an LED with a diode- & watch how slow the engine will go to illuminate it!

[@RetroTechyNerdyStuff]

I have tried many of these experiments; this engine develops so much power that it will drive the generator very fast even at maximum load (= short circuit of the generator's terminals), and I have blown several bulbs with it due to overvoltage. I need to throttle the steam carefully to avoid blowing the remainder of my glow lamps. LEDs require less power but are more sensitive to over-voltage, and since they only conduct electricity in one direction LEDs tends to flash rapidly when powered by a small AC generator like this one. But there are many more experiments to do with this engine. I am still working on some ideas, so stay tuned :-)

[@m.naveedm.naveed8456]

Love u yr

[@sylar1989]

I purchased the Jensen 55 model; I also purchased a few bottles of their steam engine oil. When it arrived, I thought they had given me the wrong oil. Is there a reason their steam oil is so thin? it's almost as thin as 3 in one oil.

[@RetroTechyNerdyStuff]

The oil I'm using is from Stuart Models. The different steam engine oils supplied by Jensen, and also by Wilesco and Saito, are somewhat thinner. I believe they are OK as well.

[@bertyjustice]

I love steam engines but they are so messy pumping water all over the base

[@RetroTechyNerdyStuff]

True - I always use a wax coated table cloth to make the cleanup easier. I also find that the Jensen engines are fairly easy to clean because of the larger size than most other models and the lack of unnecessary ornamental details.

[@laknox88]

They =do= make bottles with needle oilers. Just sayin'...

[@shredder_shazza]

He probably knows that but he doesn’t =need= one