Flame-eater on track 'Gauge 1'

[Chriske]

Hi there,

I've read about a flame-eater driving a train. This project is described in a booklet 'Heisluftmotoren VII' bij Udo Mannek.
I'm interested in building such an engine, but my intension is to drive a small train (or maybe just the loc) with it. My goal is to drive a train to have it run on a track 'Gauge 1'.
Question is : Is there someone out there (beside the writer of the article) who has build this flame-eater and train. But most of all I want to know : Is it actually possible to drive a train with this engine. It's not that I do not believe the person who wrote this article, but before I start drawing and building I have to be sure it'll work. Point is until now I did not find a movie about a working model on youtube (or other site/forum)
I'd like to do this as a schoolproject. Together with my pupils I would like to build this to have it run on a track.
Or maybe there are other plans and drawings to be found on he internet of a flame-eater capable of driving a small train(set).

This http://gti-duffel.be/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 981614b829 is a project my pupils and I did the last three years. Two of these trains were electr. powered. My intension is to power a few other with a flame-eater.

Chris

[Ian S C]

Chriske, you'v set your self quite a task, I think its possible, I'v got a flame-eater, it has a boer of 1" and a stroke of 1 1/2". A motor that size might just about haul its self around a track, it would not be hard to scale it up a little bit, I'm not too sure of the size limits of Gauge 1. Ian S C

[Chriske]

Ian,

Do you have drawings and info I could use to build us that engine please..?


Chris

[Ian S C]

Chriske, have a look at my photo gallery, theres a diagram there, thats all I went by. It was in "Model Engineer" 17 April 1970. I just used the scale thats on the drawing. There are ball races on the crankshaft, and the big end. The piston is cast iron, and the cylinder is mild steel(hot rolled). The valve that slides up and down is made of cast iron about 1/16" thick, and lapped against the cylinder head to give a good seal. The base, bearing and cylinder uprights, flywheel cam, are all mild steel. The con rod, and rocker arm are aluminium. The roller is made from an annealed roller out of a large roller bearing (its about 5/8" dia).
At first it would only run on a flame from a gas torch, but now it will run on a meths burner. Its not as reliable in its running as my stirling engines, but it goes. Sorry no photo of the motor is self at the moment. Ian S C

[Chriske]

Hi,

Meanwhile I found myself this :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxBKE_8kicE
and the beauty of it, the man who created this magnificent running thing lives almost nextdoor.
He has no plans or drawings to work with, but he's prepared to meet me in a few days, so we can discuss and talk about it.

Thanks Ian,

Greetings

Chris

[Ian S C]

Chriske, unfortunately my browser is out of date, and it won't do U Tube, but its amazing where you find people following the same or similar track to you, I found a fellow hot air man on another forum who lives only 40Km away, and when I went to visit him I found that I play, and umpire indoor bowls with his wife(ex). Its a very small world we live in.
You can't beat hands on for getting to grips with the workings of anything mechanical.
It could be worth while (you may all ready have), take a look at Jan Ridders little flame eater, it has the advantage that it will run in either direction.
http://heetgasmodelbouw.ridders.nu This chap from the Netherland (Holland) has plans for hot air, vaccuum, and internal combustion engines, he is most helpful to fellow modelers. Ian S C