JeffGarcia77 Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 With all the talk lately about alternative energy and alternative transportation, I got to thinking about steam engines again. Upon doing a search I found cyclonepower.com They produce, among others, a 6 cylinder, 37.7 cubic inch displacement, radial engine which is powered by steam. It is capable of producing 700 lbs./ft. torque right off idle, so there's no need for a transmission. It requires no external cooling system (radiator), can run on a wide variety of fuels, and weighs 326 lbs. It is supposed to be more compact than a conventional gasoline of diesel engine, and is a very low emissions power plant because the fuel is not burned fast or at high pressure. Check out cyclonepower.com, or just Google cyclone steam engine Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade_Charlie Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 just watched their 8 minute video, some super cool stuff. But i wonder what that would cost someone, I would imagen its more of manufacturers that are going to make a product with their engine. http://www.cyclonepower.com/video.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getZ Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 The problem with steam is you still have to burn something to make it. You will need an additional subsystem to make the steam. I didn't see whether or not they are recapturing the water vapor and turning back into to water. If not you need an on board water source as well. Looks like a good engine for a generator. If you could make a solar steam generator you would have a very nice power source. Build a battery powered car you have the potential of being self sufficient from a power company at least until the sun went down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 The problem with steam is you still have to burn something to make it. You will need an additional subsystem to make the steam. I didn't see whether or not they are recapturing the water vapor and turning back into to water. If not you need an on board water source as well. Looks like a good engine for a generator. If you could make a solar steam generator you would have a very nice power source. Build a battery powered car you have the potential of being self sufficient from a power company at least until the sun went down. You neeed to read the information provided. All of your questions are dealt with. All of the issues you bring up are part of the engine as it is demonstrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getZ Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 You neeed to read the information provided. All of your questions are dealt with. All of the issues you bring up are part of the engine as it is demonstrated. yep, I only saw parts of the video. After reading about the engine description I change my mind, but does it really work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZeder Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 just watched their 8 minute video, some super cool stuff. But i wonder what that would cost someone, I would imagen its more of manufacturers that are going to make a product with their engine. http://www.cyclonepower.com/video.html off topic but I hate sites that don't work in Firefox - making me open IE.....ahhh.. Interesting technology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Did anyone else notice one of these would fit nicely in the front AND the back of a Z? EDIT: Thinking about the torque numbers, it's not very impressive. I'm having a hard time connecting the dots, but I think that 350 pounds model is the one they have shown on the axle setup they showed in Chicago. They say it's a 100hp engine. How big would a 300hp version be?... But 700 torque with ZERO gear reduction isn't enough imo. My stock 180HP 280ZX can put down well beyond 1000 torque in 1st gear. Sure 700 might be enough to get a light car off the line, but it's not enough to make for a fun car. I'm also not seeing a redline for the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyuri Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 I think you're forgetting the gearing in the differential, which is still (I think) required. Calculate the torque at the transmission output, and that's what you should be comparing. Figure 203 ft-lbs (official output) at the flywheel for a stock L28ET, times 3.5 for a T5 in first, and you get ... 710.5 ft-lbs. But what if you don't have a T5? Now you're down to 621.6 or 674.2 ft-lbs. And that's peak torque on the L28, not starting torque. Still sound like a bad deal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 The model they show is a contained unit, it's not running to a rear diff from the looks of it. One thing that bugs me thuogh, is that wether or not a transsmission is needed isn't based on torque quantities as much as it's based off of rev range. If you can rev to 100,000 RPM, then you just gear it with a 30:1 rear gear and you're good to go. There just isn't enough information I'm finding on their site to make a good comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade_Charlie Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 The model they show is a contained unit, it's not running to a rear diff from the looks of it. One thing that bugs me thuogh, is that wether or not a transsmission is needed isn't based on torque quantities as much as it's based off of rev range. If you can rev to 100,000 RPM, then you just gear it with a 30:1 rear gear and you're good to go. There just isn't enough information I'm finding on their site to make a good comparison. Yea when they said no trans, I was wondering about rpms... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeeper42 Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 I need one for the Mr2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade_Charlie Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I need one for the Mr2! or twin engine mr2 LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JohnnyC. Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 take a look at the steam cars that were made by the Doble brothers, and after doing a bit of research sometime back, they made something like 1000 ft. lbs of torque and the rpms top out about 900. The Model E could accelerate 0 to 60 in around 10 seconds, and the car weighed about 5,500 lbs. Jay Leno has a Doble, and wrote a good article for popular mechanics about it: http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/jay_leno_garage/1302916.html?page=1 If you are interested JeffGarcia, I have found a website that has plans for engine called the Fire Dragon or something like that, that you build using a 1300cc volkswagen beetle engine. gets like 45 mpg of water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffGarcia77 Posted August 26, 2008 Author Share Posted August 26, 2008 Yes JohnnyC, I would like to see those plans. Actually, I started out thinking about converting my L28 to use steam as the working fluid, but then I found that Cyclone engine (fully self contained). But if a gasoline engine can be converted, hhmmmm.... Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JohnnyC. Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 Ok JeffGarcia, here it is: http://www.firedragon.com/~kap/Barrett/ there are other websites dedicated to steam engined cars, I just put in "build your own steam car" in google one day and found the link above. http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/automo.Html This is a paper done by Abner Doble about his steam cars. It has some sketches of the steam generator and the engine he used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffGarcia77 Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 Johnny: Thanks for the links. Very educational. Unfortunately, I don't have the machinist equipment necessary. But it is good to understand what makes a steam engine tick. I plan on looking into installing one of those 37.7 c.i. radial Cyclones into my '96 Chevy Z71 pickup first, then maybe into a Z. I don't want to do the conversion on my current 280Z, because it has too much collector and sentimental value to change THAT radically. I WOULD like to put a Rebello large-displacement L-series in it, though (sleeper). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 off topic but I hate sites that don't work in Firefox - making me open IE.....ahhh.. Interesting technology. Use IE-Tab Fire-fox plugin to right click on links and "Open in IE-Tab". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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