Hello Don, this is not meant to discourage you, just to help you avoid some common beginner mistakes. A steam plant with all accessories mentioned above will be very complex (and expensive). For your first steam plant you might want to use a simpler one, which will let you learn the basics without having to troubleshoot a lot of components. Twin oscillating engines are good for beginners because they have fewer parts, are robust and need only 1 servo to control speed and reversing.
A common mistake made by beginners (which I also made) is to choose an engine which is too big (in terms of displacement) for the boiler. This wastes steam and leads to short run times.
The combos usually offered by the steam plant makers as units (as a minimum: boiler, engine, fuel tank, burner, lubricator, condensate tank) are fine for starters and you have the advantage of the components being more or less suited to each other.
It is important to keep in mind the following:
- First: Make sure the steam plant fits the hull in terms of size AND weight. It can be quite frustrating to build a nice boat and upon testing it on water, to realize the weight of the steam plant would make it sink.
- The boiler/burner combo is what produces your power. Select one with sufficient water capacity and heating surface to drive your engine and offer a reasonable run time.
- The engine needs to be coupled[/size] to the largest diameter propeller you can fit to the hull. Steam engines have the advantage of high torque at very low rpm. If the propeller is too small for the engine (a very common mistake) it turns fast and wastes a lot of steam. If the propeller size is limited by the hull shape, choose a smaller engine accordingly. Most engine manufacturers make recommendation for suitable propeller size for their engines.- You will need a r/c steam valve to regulate speed if one is not already fitted to the engine.
- Vertical boilers are quite popular but they tend to have a higher center of gravity. Make sure it's not too much for the hull, or it would encourage the boat to roll.[/font]
- Pumps, gas shut off valves, gas and boiler pressure regulator valves, anti-vacuum valves are all very nice and useful but make your steam plant complex.[/font]
- Whistles are completely unnecessary, but are the single most fun accessory to have on a steam boat, thus highly recommended! And they are crowd pleasers at the lake
