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Steam related discussions.
Re: A Members Perspective - 12 years ago
Ah, that's nice. A kiwi sent it in! At least I know now that "we" knew about the competition, but it surely missed my eyes. I wasn't reading the Forum much then. I have tracked down the winner and am sending him a copy of the issue with the articles on the XCOR competition and the similar General Electric engine. All the best,by Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: What about Helium ? - 12 years ago
Helium is not "steam" and therefor off-topic here but could be discussed in the Technicalities section. However the D-cycle is a heat engine that runs on steam in compression and expansion without condensing as in the Stirling. It is not constricted to the geometric relationships of the Stirling engine, but the events are separated much as James Watt separated the condenser from theby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Besler’s Kaiser - 12 years ago
From my files, well, from The Steam Automobile quarterly and the Steam Automobile Bulletin mostly, is all the material there is on the Kaiser-Besler. http://www.firedragon.com/~kap/SteamTopics/Kaiser-Besler.html I suppose now a raft of other information will be sent to me in emails, rusty steel-bound trunks and body bags, and I guess it's ok to be proved wrong like that, so perhaps I should sayby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: steamautomobile.com Feedback - 12 years ago
There you go, check "What's New" on steamautomobile.com Feedback here, bulletin@steamautomobile.com, karlp@firedragon.com, or phone 208 340 4570. I count zero replies through 12/26. You all must be AFK on the holidays.by Karl Petersen - Miscellaneous Technical
Re: What about Helium ? - 12 years ago
Helium molecues are denser than Hydrogen so they will give more substantial heat transfer/flux. Why not use H2O. The Stirling is a mechanical/geometric/timing device to compress, heat exchange, expand, heat exchange, etc. with energy pumping in one corner and shaft power coming out another. This is not the only mechanical arrangement. Come see my drawer full since 1965. No thought is too small. Slby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: steamautomobile.com Feedback - 12 years ago
I have spent some time with an expensive utility and completed a 350Mb text searchable archive of all quarterlies and bulletins (fits on half a 10 cent CD). Kudos to Tom Kimmel for scanning at the personal cost of a couple of steam cars. My dual-processor cpu can do a text search on the whole thing in 6 minutes. I use Adobe Acrobat 8.1 but I suspect any pdf searcher will be as good. If I add all tby Karl Petersen - Miscellaneous Technical
Re: Richard J. Smith drawings and hardware - 12 years ago
http://www.firedragon.com/~kap/SteamTopics/RJSmeet17Sep1967/ Okay, everybody, here is another website cleanup. The Backyard Meet at R J Smiths on his birthday in 1971 has been filled out with thumbnails and descriptions. I have been told that the thumbnails come through (they are jpg files) but that the big ones come through slowly (they are tif files). I have investigated and determined tby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Jim Crank LSR Bonneville 1981 - 12 years ago
Url corrected after index.html created. Try again. http://www.firedragon.com/~kap/SteamTopics/JDCrankLSR/by Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: September Meet---Video!! - 12 years ago
The only meet presentation on line is this three-reeler: http://www.firedragon.com/~kap/AmericaST/ The sound is really tubby, but whatever... Two people loaned me microphones after hearing it, but the results were no better. I guess it's software.by Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Edwards Development Center steam laboratory (K A Petersen and R J Smith) - 12 years ago
By popular request, and since I didn't have anything else in my life worth doing, I have revised the page with thumbnails--click to load if you like the big version. All the best,by Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Jim Crank LSR Bonneville 1981 - 12 years ago
Hey, now, that is a funny looking forged handle on a very expensive valve!! I bought lots of valves like that. I think it is still sold from the legacy valve selection at Swagelok, maybe a Whitey or Nupro valve. The cheapo valve is the one on the right. It just has to hold back garden hose pressure when you are filling the water tank. By the way, so it doesn't take so long to blind-load eaby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: US Land Steam Record!! - 12 years ago
Good discussion. Chuk, you can write me anytime if I can be of help. To check my technical skills look at petersen.bz for a short overview. Usually I feel pretty safe in making this offer, since it has been taken up zero times. This probably means I am not helpful or no one knows what to ask. All the best,by Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Edwards Development Center steam laboratory (K A Petersen and R J Smith) - 12 years ago
Please find my photos at http://www.firedragon.com/~kap/SteamTopics/EdwardsDevelCtr8-70/ I would be very pleased if you would comment on them here on this topic. All the best,by Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Jim Crank LSR Bonneville 1981 - 12 years ago
Please find my photos of the 1981 Bonneville run at http://www.firedragon.com/~kap/SteamTopics/JDCrankLSR/ I would really appreciate if you will comment at this topic on this LSR run. Perhaps we can get other people to tell us where their photos and notes are located so we can compare. All the best,by Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: MG 1100 Steam Conversion - 12 years ago
The links Mark shows are of my own photos, including the 1981 LSR run of Jim Crank's car. Since I took them, gave Jim copies and told him when they went on the site, it seems ok that I have put them on my own site. I didn't tell Lowell Edwards about the development lab photos being on site since he died about 30 years ago. I do this mainly to get interesting comments and questions from yoby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: MG 1100 Steam Conversion - 12 years ago
Thanks, Mark! Now I do wonder if anyone else read the post since there have been no comments. Hm. The weather department had a sale in December and the temperature is 80% off this month in Boise. Looking forward to the holidays with our molecules moving slow enough to greet as they go by.by Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
steamautomobile.com Feedback - 12 years ago
I have been working on a couple of additions to the web pages which were approved by the SACA board at the meet last month. They're pretty simple technically but took several days to prepare, considering the material they were made from was not on line already anywhere. They are not on the real steamautomobile.com yet, but on my personal pages so you can check them out. Please note the searchby Karl Petersen - Miscellaneous Technical
Re: MG 1100 Steam Conversion - 12 years ago
http://www.firedragon.com/~kap/AmericaST/ This is a three part narrated slide show on the car. Hope you all enjoy it! PLEASE write back your comments including if you think more of this stuff would be interesting.by Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Hinote Steam Car 1973-75 - 12 years ago
My MaxiSASS was built and run in by Smith himself, and it had no soot when I got it. I did not remember it was to be fired on gasoline and made it a bit messy trying to burn diesel oil in it, since my notes said I was going to be using diesel and it was 30 years ago... The efficiency Chuk has demonstrated is pretty dismal though. Since I have the exhaust going right on the front tire, I will uby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Richard J. Smith drawings and hardware - 12 years ago
http://hasbrouck.8m.com/ will get to the site. Engines without castings. There is a 2 x 2.5" 2cyl DA if I recall. It isn't tiny...by Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: The Fall SACA Meet/Time Trials--Berrien Springs - 12 years ago
The slide show I put together for the meet is complete in three sections online at http://www.firedragon.com/~kap/AmericaST/ Please write me to say if you would like more of this archival stuff. karlpete@yahoo.com Karlby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Condenser Question. - 12 years ago
Now I have discovered this thread, it appears it has gotten a bit stale. Here is what I have done. Just after the final engine stage, induce the exhaust into the hotwell with the jet from a circulating pump. This directly condenses all the steam into hotter water. Schutte & Koerting of Trevose PA, and ancient history. Allow the feed pickup in the hotwell, and let the rest circulate throughby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Doble's Ultimax engine - 12 years ago
I don't know where the engines are, but the Doble notebooks are available from the SACA Storeroom http://steamautomobile.com/SACAStoreRoomItems/ DNOTE $130.0 Abner Doble's Notebooks un-edited from the microfilm from the Bancroft Library. 2 volume set replaces the former DENG and DGEN. 18 S & H /US, all others contact Storekeeperby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Smith/Petersen Educator - 12 years ago
The front "grille" was cut from a sheet of gold color anodized aluminum expanded metal. The pattern is quite small and not very open, and was available locally for architectural trim in the '60s. I see that Hasbrouck has a 2 cyl DA marine engine 2" x 2.5", though it might be a little tall to sit upright under the seat of the Educator. Since it is built up from stock, shorteby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Richard J. Smith drawings and hardware - 12 years ago
The Double Stuart No. 1 built by Ed Puryear for the Educator is shown on the Backyard Meet page at http://www.firedragon.com/~kap/SteamTopics/ I had expected to find plans like the Hasbrouck engine for scratch. You will also find Smith related topics down the page under the Karl A Petersen group of files at America ST, Edwards Development Center and Autocoast links with audio or descriptivby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Richard J. Smith drawings and hardware - 12 years ago
Thanks for the photo. I know you wrote me directly some time ago, but I have not found your post just now. The other builder is in Sri Lanka and is coming along too. He especially liked the control system and the differential designs.by Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Richard J. Smith drawings and hardware - 12 years ago
Hi! This is great news. Hope things go well with your business and the Educator buggy. It looks like you just joined the forum, so welcome too. Karlby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Richard J. Smith drawings and hardware - 12 years ago
Okay you guys, very interesting, but only one "answer". 1. Did anyone build an Educator buggy other than the original one in '66? Apparently not. I know of two works-in-process and will be delighted to see a completed vehicle!! 2. Where is the minibike which Smith built for Bob Noble? I have some setup and operating instructions for it in the original pencil which would be niceby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: Hinote Steam Car 1973-75 - 12 years ago
I saw little of this car since I was no longer spending much time in Midway City, but was busy building the steam Citroen, then moved north at the end of 1974. The maxiSass coil set was cheap, maybe, but it certainly had poor heat transfer. Chuk Williams "T" chassis, my Citroen, Graeme's understanding and the Hinote car set no efficiency records due to this major producer of hot exhauby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff
Re: old SACA/Steam Power Club Guy returns - 12 years ago
Great to see your name and posts, Bill, and Graeme's pictures. As much as we were around Smith's place at the same time, it is surprising we never got together. I was glad you had your car put together when you did as it was the best of what Smith was making at that time. Karlby Karl Petersen - SteamStuff