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Various Photos
Here is some early experimenting. A two cylinder double acting engine I cast into a mold I made. Didn't work! Learned the importance of short port paths after valve openings. And a lawnmower engine using a rotary valve. It either leaked like heck or would seize. Hmm...perhaps another route. Worked well on air though. This led to finding easier ways to convert lawnmower engines.
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And an early boiler bottom fired with alcohol. Tough to keep the water level controled. Wet steam most of the time. This was based on a White boiler design. The delivery of feed water was difficult to balance with demand and fuel delivery. It often flooded. Had this up to 150 psi. Pressure and thermostat controlled mechanically.
 
Here are some experiments utilizing the silica fabric and an alcohol fuel. To the left is saturated fabric lit, to the right is the same fuel with the addition of the blower. The fire swirls due to the tangential entry of air. The lip of the burner is curved downwards to encourage complete combustion. With full fuel delivery and ample air supply this flame rose 4' high with a bright blue base.
This is a horizontal boiler made using an ESPAR Hydronic 10 heater. Electronics were reworked to sense pressure and temperature. Very quick fire up and delivered about 20 lbs per hour.
 
Below is a gasoline fueled burner utilizing a carburetor and spark ignition. I quickly abandoned this line of work. I never knew when it would fire or if it was. Bad idea!
Here is a cam re-made for a steam engine. Notice the double sided cams. 
Never made the boiler below. The dimensions are rough. The idea is sound firing from the top using alcohol wicked into silica fabric at the base of the burner tube. The need for small and compact using common components drove this design.
The Lynx 1.5. This is a converted Honda 6 HP engine. Runs nicely. 
Here is an early boiler design you may find interesting. The 2" copper pipe in the middle acts similar to a LaMont style boiler. The super heater section is fed by saturated steam from the 2" vessel. A 12 volt probe senses the presence of water and acts on a feedwater solenoid. The pressure regulates the blower. The thermostat didn't give enough control motion so I switched to a thermostat bulb containing pure antifreeze set for 370 F. At this setting the fuel is shutoff to just a pilot flame.
Here is the first steam engine I designed , and completely machined myself.
 
Below is a picture of the LYNX Monotube Boiler. I since reworked the thermostat and it is shown here separate from its housing to show some detail.
It is bottom fired much like a solid fuel Doble boiler. It is three pass and is comprised of 1/4" to 3/8" copper tubing. The thermostat and pressurestat are made from 5/16" tubing and 1/4" brass rod and orings. These are adjustable and are inter-related in the control of the flame and feedwater. This boiler is suitable for all types of fuels, but best with solid fuel or alcohol.
The three coils of copper that make up the three pass solid fuel boiler.
Please send along your photos so we can share ideas.
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