Thread: Steam - the power of the future?

Commonly electrical fires happen if the wiring is terribly outdated, or has been tampered with by someone that does not know what he's doing...

Originally Posted by KimFella

I'm constantly amazed how these YouTube videographers just happen to be on the spot and facing in the right direction when something interesting happens.

They do these test from time to time to demonstrate why the pressure relief valves are a really GOOD idea and shouldn't be blocked off.

Originally Posted by paco664

I'm an industrial electrician by trade and a volunteer firefighter. Nothing new to see here. Nobody ever said things can't go wrong with electrical systems, they just don't go wrong as often as with old steam systems.

Originally Posted by KimFella

I'm constantly amazed how these YouTube videographers just happen to be on the spot and facing in the right direction when something interesting happens.

it's a scene from mythbusters :P
they were trying to figure out what happened if you disabled the safety systems on a commercial boiler

Originally Posted by MickRussell

I'm an industrial electrician by trade and a volunteer firefighter. Nothing new to see here. Nobody ever said things can't go wrong with electrical systems, they just don't go wrong as often as with old steam systems.

me also...

Originally Posted by fragalot

it's a scene from mythbusters :P
they were trying to figure out what happened if you disabled the safety systems on a commercial boiler

I like the one where they wanted to see if you really could loosen dried cement from a cement mixer truck, using dynamite!

Originally Posted by KimFella

I like the one where they wanted to see if you really could loosen dried cement from a cement mixer truck, using dynamite!

that was a great episode.... i love it when they blow stuff up.....

Steam is not totally unsafe. It is simply a different animal to electric. The overall principal is similar to internal combustion or even an air compressor and we live with and run these ALL the time. The truth here is that many steam boilers are in use today for commercial and residential heating.

Not sure on this but, doesn't a high torque steamer use a bit lower pressure? I mean the locomotives ran like 2000 - 3000 psi (I think). Then it becomes a simple matter of gearing, Right? (simple, hahaha)

Electricity = instant gratification and much less maintenance. A steam driven shop will work if there is a local power outage.
Sounds like fun to me.

Look on Leno's Garage he has a couple of steam and heat engines similar to a sterling. Neat videos.

Jeff

MIND the electrical BONDING of belt driven/driving machines. The belts can generate an amazing amount of static! Something else to watch 4.

so happy... spent the week in class at work... studying "arc blast"......

all the forms of power are inherently dangerous.... steam, electricity, water wheel *(drowning), dog power *(they bite)....

sigh.... what will we do...

at least nuclear power is still safe.....

Why don't you go with the ultimate steam power, nuke power. All you have to do is black male the U.S. government and say you will make nuke weapons and just like it started with president Ike, our goverment will give you the technology and the funding to build your very own recactors, and if that doesn't work make a sterling engine and use LPG,natural gas, hydrogen, or any thing else but gasoline form BP.