Steam why is it ignored ?

[joel]

Mr.Tucker had a better car then the big three car maker, but they did not want him showing them up.

 

[Swing]

Oh, another that got the same deal as Tesla. I wonder how a steam car would be these days. I can just see the drag racing steam car. Very "Steam" punkish? Just wild thoughts running through my head.

 

[Weedygarden]

Steam engines would require 2 items very precious in the desert. Wood and water. Mesquite is plentiful here but is just a shrub and anything gathered will be needed for heat.

But you could have solar. It won't work in the same way for power, but would provide a different form of energy.

 

[joel]

But you could have solar. It won't work in the same way for power, but would provide a different form of energy.

Desert would work for Wind power also.

 

[viking]

Desert would work for Wind power also.

A lot of ranches and farms in the area surrounding Winnemucca, Nevada use wind power, it's wonderful considering that it's constantly windy in that area. I have been considering getting a small wind generator for our motorhome, it would do good for those non- sunny days when the solar array can't do their job.

 

[ssonb]

What presided steam was the water or mill type industry , Steam came to being mostly because of most of the good river sites were taken or too far away. Any type of off grid machine or manufacturing "plant" being in operation soon after a big (insert your favorite here) collapse will not succeed unless it is already set up and running . We will all be busy trying to keep food in production.

 

[joel]

True, but once the food plan is set forth we will have time & food production is easier to put into action now.
Knowing what you need to support & make the machine / plant will go a long way in getting started.
A forge, a casting or have the machine shop.
David J. Gingery has seven books on how to build a manufacturing plant for building machine with.
https://www.google.com/search?q=dav....69i57j0l2.42049j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Also Alexanders books: https://www.google.com/search?q=Ale...ahUKEwiR9b2XgNHYAhXC6IMKHS3zCzgQsxgIOQ&biw=10

 

[ssonb]

I agree with you. For the first coupla years until the remnant population comes to terms with the new reality the biggest problem in the keppin of the new food production, any group of people who come together for their mutual benefit will have the quandary of labor distribution , To large of a group and the food supply cannot keep up, to small and the labor required will overwhelm the workers. In the beginning to keep food theft to a minimum there will have to be employed a guard force and this takes away from the food production and storage.

 

[Terri9630]

But you could have solar. It won't work in the same way for power, but would provide a different form of energy.

We aren't going to at this house but have already cleared a spot for the panels at the new place.

 

[viking]

Here at home we seldom have enough wind to give our battery bank a boost charge on cloudy days, however I may get a small wind generator, just in case. Hopefully, I will soon start putting in the solar array, I need to start digging post anchor holes for the concrete bases of pressure treated 4X4's, I'll be happy to get the eight panels mounted and doing the charging instead of using the grid to charge the batteries, that works for short term emergency power but I'd rather the sun to be doing it's job. Charge generators are fine to have on hand but, if or when thing go south, propane, diesel or gasoline supplies may become a thing of the past. Having batteries will eventually become an issue, but at least it will give us time to make the change to a primitive type of living and even without batteries the solar array will provide some electricity, just probably not enough to run things like refrigerators and freezers. Steam could be a good idea for generating electricity but it would have to be designed to provide for heating as well and you would have to have a very good supply of firewood to feed the system and I see a lot of hard work in that.

 

[Resto]

Back to steam, anyone live in a house or apartment that had steam heat? Remember how noisy it could be and hard it was to control the temperature?

I worked on 2 Kewanees from the thirtys for a few years. They were the Heat Source for the Federal Court House in Down Town Prescott AZ. They were Originally Coal Fired, then a "Gas Train" was installed with a Control Box. I fired them in the Morning, and ran them till they reached 7 Psi, then shut them off. It took a little over an hour. That was all the Building needed for the rest of the day. I went to School on "Scotch Marine Boilers". IMO Steam takes too much work and Fuel to feed. Cutting down trees and bucking logs doesn't sound very good to me in a PAW. Another thing about boilers is maintaining PH in the water, lest Corrosion bores small holes in the Steel, then "BOOM". Boiler Explosions were very common during Steams HeyDay before Safety Valves and better controls were introduced and Stationary Engineers got better Training and Certs. Back in the "Old Days" any Idiot could get behind the Fire Box and make a big Mess and that happened a lot.

 

[Resto]

Notice that the Buildings containing the Boilers are Gone. This Locomotive was a Double Pass, Wet Back, I suspect. The Engineer probably Blew it up by Pushing it too hard,probably poorly Maintain also. The tubes sticking out are "Dry Tubes" that heat the water, by using the Draft from the Fire Box. Oh, and about 40 plus feet of the front Half, are missing from that Locomotive

 

[Resto]

Now, Heating with a Water Tank at zero Pressure Rocks. My Nieces Husband has a nice set up. He fills it with logs, lights it and it goes for 24 hrs. Everything is outside the house but the water tubes that heat the house. No pumps. Temp Differential circulates the water. Kinda like the Home Made Prepper systems on Youtube.

 

[viking]

Oh, another that got the same deal as Tesla. I wonder how a steam car would be these days. I can just see the drag racing steam car. Very "Steam" punkish? Just wild thoughts running through my head.

Steam engine have a lot of power, mostly torque, which can be at near maximum just beginning to rotate, way beck when they were making Stanley Steamers they had a model that did over 100 mph, Jay Leno has a Stanley Steamer that he got a speeding ticket with. Probably the biggest problem with steam is the boiler, they need to be inspected frequently due to the high pressures involved, basically a water heater is a boiler and if their safety valve doesn't work properly, they can blow up, years ago I got yelled at by a Fire Marshall for having a Pressure/temperature relief valve rated at a higher pressure than the water heater tank was rated. Resto's posting above talks about the only system I would consider, there is an outfit out on the coast of Oregon that makes boilers like what is mentioned, the only thing I would be concerned with is water lines freezing if I was unable to keep the fire going, like being away for too long.

 

[hiwall]

One place I worked many years ago was heated with a boiler. The owner had the steam boiler license but I had the duty of doing everything to keep it running. It was coal boiler that was converted to fuel oil and then later converted to natural gas.
Even with safety valves they can still blow up. Those safety valves have to be opened manually fairly often to keep them from sticking. The first time I checked the one on that boiler I had to brace myself and use all my strength to open the safety valve.
Had to add water to the system every day in the cold times. Very poor heating system compared to what is used now days.