Off-Grider Generator Kit

GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

The boilers at the family lumber mill were sawdust-fired, with the sawdust being generated from planing, resawing, edging, etc.
The sawdust was blown from the source to a large cyclone that was located over the sawdust house, and a small blower then blew it into the firebox of the boiler.
They also burned any scraps of wood that were a result of handling and cutting the wood (scraps can be seen on the floor of the boiler room).
But day-to-day operation used sawdust.

The boiler operator had a long rake, and every so often he would even out what was burning in the firebox, and drag out ashes.

They had two steam engines that ran line shafts.
I have a photo of one steam engine.
At one point they made boxes for fruit and vegetables, in the days before cardboard.

Had a large dual-whistle, and they blew it at 8 AM, noon, and 5 pm.
I use to use the old lathe, but did not really know what I was doing.

It was a very cool place to hang out when I was growing up.
I would just wander around for hours.
Us kids use to play a game to see who could stand inside of of the kilns for the longest, with the kiln operating at perhaps 160F.
One had to be cautious, since one wrong step, or a hand placed in a bad spot could easily be the last thing you did.
It was just assumed that a 5 year old would not do something stupid and get hurt; there was never any adult supervision.

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Roger B · Aug 7, 2024

Back in the days when people had steam engines or petrol engines to power their workshops Henry Greenly gave a design for a compound condensing engine with a flash steam boiler which was claimed to require little attention when in operation. The book I have taken these couple of pictures from, Model Engineering - A Guide to Model Workshop Practice by Henry Greenly, is still available as a reprint and is well worth reading anyway.

WisJim · Aug 7, 2024

Regarding using wood pellets to fire a boiler, I have a friend who has been working on a wood gasification unit to run a small internal combustion engine (using a common lawn mower type of engine) and is using an Arduino computer to control some of the functions to make the pellet feed more automatic. I would guess that some of this technology could be used to fire a boiler. I am picturing the kind of pellets used for home heating stoves etc., which are small, uniform, and quite commonly available around me.
I don't know details of his mechanisms.

krypto · Aug 7, 2024

If you are thinking about using steam power for a shop David Richards' Youtube channel is an obvious must view:

https://www.youtube.com/@davidrichards5594/videos

If you start at his oldest videos he goes through his entire shop and talks about the boiler maintenance & inspection, water injection, line shaft maintenance, etc. He makes it look easy but it's not for the timid. I believe he burns waste wood from a local factory to make the steam but when he's really busy he uses coal.

I have a pellet stove for supplemental heat but using that type of fuel for a boiler would be expensive especially with the low efficiency of the external combustion engine.

GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

I am ready, and I bought the same engine Dave Richards has, but mine has the original flywheel.
O&S model; very nice little engine.
Very strong for its size.

I am making a 3D model for it, and will be casting a model of it.
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GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

My O-S was worked on by someone out west, and the piston was peened onto the rod.
The peening stuck up a bit too high, and so it cracked the head, which was repaired.

I am in the process of making a pattern for a new head, and will be casting it in gray iron.
A few photos.

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GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

The old head works fine, but I would like a new one that does not have a crack on the interior.
I cleaned up the old head in the lathe.

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GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

I 3D modeled the head.
This was before I purchased the XL, so I printed it in halves on the MK3.

Somehow I got a slot in one of the patterns, in the rim, but I have filled that.

Now it is just a matter of getting a break in my work projects, so I can cast this item.

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GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

Considering how rare the horizontal O-S seems to be, I think this one is in great shape, and it is in good running condition.
It was a needle in a haystack find for sure.
It was in the Pacific Northwest, maybe Washington.

I have only seen perhaps three of these engines on the internet.

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Richard Hed · Aug 7, 2024

GreenTwin said:
Considering how rare the horizontal O-S seems to be, I think this one is in great shape, and it is in good running condition.
It was a needle in a haystack find for sure.
It was in the Pacific Northwest, maybe Washington.

I have only seen perhaps three of these engines on the internet.

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Yummy, probably from Moses Lake. Can hardly wait to see your progress. Wish I had the $$ to ask for a set for myself. Any more fotos of the whole ?

GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

I don't have a genset for the O-S, but just speculating that it could be used for that purpose.

I really purchased this engine in order to make an exact 3D model, and then cast scale model engine casting kits.
This is still on my list of things to do, but I don't know exactly when I will get time to do it.
Not retired yet.

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Richard Hed · Aug 7, 2024

GreenTwin said:
I don't have a genset for the O-S, but just speculating that it could be used for that purpose.

I really purchased this engine in order to make an exact 3D model, and then cast scale model engine casting kits.
This is still on my list of things to do, but I don't know exactly when I will get time to do it.
Not retired yet.

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It's beautiful. Thanx for the pics.

GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

O-S made some great small engines.
I tried for a long time to get my hands on an O-S bottle engine, but could never find one for sale.
I did find a Wach, and it is a nice little engine.
The Wach needs a bit of surfacing work on the valve and port face, since they are worn to the point where the leakage almost prevents the engine from running.
The round steam chest is a pain in the rear when it comes to trying to machine the port face.

I plan to make casting kits for a scale model of this engine to............one day.

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GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

And I ran across this engine at the same time I found the Wach, and so who could resist.

It was a real pain in the rear to transport these engines.
One was in New Jersey, and the other in CT.
I got them both on the same trip.
Drivers in CT suck, just so you know.

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GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

And I found a very rare Dake on ebay.
Never thought I would see one of these.
Luckily it was small enough to be shipped, in a carboard banana box no less.
Banana boxes are quite strong, luckily.

This one is also destined to become a scale model engine casting kit, if the planets align correctly.

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Richard Hed · Aug 7, 2024

GreenTwin said:
O-S made some great small engines.
I tried for a long time to get my hands on an O-S bottle engine, but could never find one for sale.
I did find a Wach, and it is a nice little engine.
The Wach needs a bit of surfacing work on the valve and port face, since they are worn to the point where the leakage almost prevents the engine from running.
The round steam chest is a pain in the rear when it comes to trying to machine the port face.

I plan to make casting kits for a scale model of this engine to............one day.

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HA! That is the first time I have ever seen a round steam chest. Thanx for letting us see that.

Richard Hed · Aug 7, 2024

GreenTwin said:
And I found a very rare Dake on ebay.
Never thought I would see one of these.
Luckily it was small enough to be shipped, in a carboard banana box no less.
Banana boxes are quite strong, luckily.

This one is also destined to become a scale model engine casting kit, if the planets align correctly.

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That Dake looks realatively easy to cast. Am I wrong?

GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

Richard Hed said:
That Dake looks realatively easy to cast. Am I wrong?

The Dake would be "relatively" easy to cast, assuming you were good at core work.
The engine itself has three moving parts, and so is simple from that respect (crankshaft, inner piston, outer piston).
The Dake design is quite complex and sophisticated in my opinion.

The original design was by Roots ,which you can clearly see from this Roots patent drawing.
Dake came along 20 years later and got a patent on the same basic design, but with improvements.

I think the Dake design is better than the Roots design, but the genius was with Roots, since he came up with the unique engine format.
This is a two-cylinder engine, with flat rectangular pistons, one riding inside the other.

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GreenTwin · Aug 7, 2024

This the the Dake patent.
The Dake company went on to produce large numbers of these engines in various sizes, and it was a highly funtional, totally enclosed, quickly reversible steam or compressed air engine.
Hoists and winches were a good application for this engine, since it was very compact, totally enclosed, and so easily reversible.

Note that the manufactured Dake engines varied a bit from the original Dake patent.

This engine design is pure genius in my opinion, and while it looks very odd, these engines worked extremely well.
This was not necessarily an efficient engine, but for hoist work, it was ideal.

It was also used for ship steering engines.

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