# How to power a small steam engine for testing?



## student123 (May 7, 2010)

Assuming I finally get my small wobbler engine made, how do I power it for the testing phase ?

I'v seen others using compressed air? In which case how do I supply that?

My local discount supermarket are advertising a £20/$30 compressor:

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/360b90ac#/360b90ac/1
(Thurs May 6th offers)

Unless theres a cheaper / better approach , would this give me whats needed? Is the spec sufficient ?

OTOH, future interests might be in making astronomical instruments, so if I can avoid paying £20 for something I may only use once...any lower cost alternative supply sources?

Mike


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## max corrigan (May 7, 2010)

Mike for the sake of testing out an engine i have used a pressure garden sprayer the type you pump up also the spare wheel from my car assuming you can pump up again via garage or one of those pumps form motor stores (halfords or argos in the uk) that are fed from a your cigar lighter in car
These methods do not last long, but long enough to let you know if your engine is working! and do not cost an unecessary outlay
hope this helps
Max.......


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## rondunn (May 7, 2010)

What can be used for long term power? For example, 1 hour, or even 8 hours?

I'm a bit leery of making boilers even though I survived a childhood of unsupervised Mamod, so assuming that I want people to see my work running, what options do I have?


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## Tin Falcon (May 7, 2010)

harbor freight air brush compressor or a industrial sized more or less hydroponics aquaculture compressor. 
I built a compressor from one out of a refrigerator. that is wispier quiet.
Tin


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## serhat (May 7, 2010)

Hello Mike,

For the trial purpose the cheapest way is an Air duster that are sold as 400ml aerosol.Mostly used for blowing dust from keyboards.

The compressor you mentioned is not working properly for running steam engines as they do not produce continous air.It is only ok for inflating the tires,boats etc..

Brgds


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## JimM (May 7, 2010)

Are aquarium air pumps any good for running models or do they not have enough pufff ? 

Cheers

Jim


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## ksouers (May 7, 2010)

JimM  said:
			
		

> Are aquarium air pumps any good for running models or do they not have enough pufff ?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Jim





Nope. Not worth a darn ;D


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## student123 (May 7, 2010)

Thanks for all the replies. The air duster can appeals as it's portable , cheap etc. I could buy a single can from amazon for under £2.

Maybe I'm asking a 'how long is a piece of string' question, but approx
how much supply would a single 400ml can provide (2 minutes ? 10 ? 20??)?

Mike


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## black85vette (May 7, 2010)

Not to muddy up the waters too much.  :hDe:  It is very helpful to have some sort of pressure regulator for testing so you can run at any speed and determine how much pressure the engine needs to run. Needing a lot of pressure can mean a timing, friction, or leak issue.

You can get in line regulators with a gauge used with paint guns for pretty cheap.


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## firebird (May 7, 2010)

Hi Mike

I built my own compressor for running engines, cost next to nothing. You can see it here.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=888.0

If you take a look at my recent build A SMALL STEAM ENGINE over in the a work in progress section you will see it running on this small compressor.

cheers

Rich


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## kcmillin (May 7, 2010)

rondunn  said:
			
		

> What can be used for long term power? For example, 1 hour, or even 8 hours?




I have a 33 gal air compressor 100 feet away in the garage with an air line to my house buried about 4 inches under ground, :hDe: and have used it to run one of my first steam engines for over a month straight, no breaks at all. I have done this a few times with the same motor. Granted it was only spinning 60 rpm. but that little engine has more than 2500 hours on it. All from a standard air compressor.

Kel


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## rake60 (May 8, 2010)

My big compressor is in the garage and my shop is in the basement.

I bought this little 2 gallon Campbell Hausfeld compressor for the hobby shop at 
Walmart for less than $70 USD







I had a post about that purchase here.
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=1227.0

Rick


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## kf2qd (May 9, 2010)

I can't imagine getting by without a compressor. If you have to buy/build one you will find so many uses for it that you will wonder why you waited so long to buy one. Blowing things off, airing things up, running steam engines, running an airbrush, and whatever else you could imagine.

I suppose you could get an air tank and a tire pump, but that will probably get old real fast.


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## old-biker-uk (May 10, 2010)

Low cost is to get hold of a fridge compressor as noted above. One tip though, squirt the odd drop of oil into it, in the fridge it's a closed circuit and the lubricant goes around with the Freon (or whatever), when you cut the pipes the oil goes out with the air. DAMHIK
Mark


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## kcmillin (May 10, 2010)

Just a thought. Last I heard it is a $10,000 fine in the US, to release freon into the air. 

Go to a used applience maintenece store and ask them for an old compressor.

Kel


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## TarheelTom (May 12, 2010)

Aquarium pumps are about $10 and will run for years. All you need in addition is a pressure regulator and a gauge.

Tom


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## student123 (May 14, 2010)

Thnaks for all the replies. My initial thought was get an aerosol can, now it's spend a little & get a mini compressor.


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