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Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: chuk williams (IP Logged)
Date: November 02, 2002 04:12PM

<HTML>I know stack venturis are used on steamboats--has anyone ever heard
of them being used on steam cars??? I want to increase the draft on
my car in order to go to a bigger fuel nozzle-and I'd rather not increase the
12V load by increasing the size of the blower. So a stack draft seems to
be the logical progression......does anyone have any suggestions about
where to find a venturi supplier-or how to make one??
As always----thanks very much to JW for an excellent forum/website!!!!

Chuk Williams</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Roland Evans (IP Logged)
Date: November 02, 2002 04:47PM

<HTML>Chuk
You got some good replies on the steamboat site. It’s no different on the cars. A boiler is a boiler.
I have one on my car and have never used it. Others have. Most of the cars use vaporizing burners. If you need to vent the combustion chamber they come in handy.
One car I know is running a 12V oil burner and he does use a 12V exhaust blower all the time. If you use steam all the time you will need to make sure your water pumps can keep up.
Rolly</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Ron Parola (IP Logged)
Date: November 03, 2002 10:26PM

<HTML>I'm using an air amplifier in my exhaust on the stanley, will suck out a backfire, and even the pilot light if on too high. It seems to help out on backfires if the fuel mixture, or lunar phase, or sunspots are wrong. RP</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Rolly Evans (IP Logged)
Date: November 04, 2002 01:18PM

<HTML>Ron
Are you using the air amplifier all the time you’re running or only to vent the boiler burner on flame out?
Chuk
What type of boiler are you running with an oil burner, and is it your intention to run a stack blower all the time you’re running.
Rolly</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: chuk williams (IP Logged)
Date: November 04, 2002 02:26PM

<HTML>Rolly--

I'm using a Smith Designed monotube boiler of the cylinder-within-
a-cylinder type. I do plan to use the stack draft all the time I'm running.
As I mentioned before, I'm planning to increase the firing rate from
4 gph to 6gph, and hope the stack draft will help out enough so that
I won't have to increase the size of the existing 12V blower.

Chuk Williams</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Rolly Evans (IP Logged)
Date: November 04, 2002 03:36PM

<HTML>When I built the12V burner for my big boat I used the 1700-RPM Beckett housing. They have a lot of squirrel cage fanes to fit the housing. You can get different blade configuration depending on the Cu ft of air you need to move. I used the larger housing and slower speed to keep the noise down.
Rolly</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Dick Vennerbeck (IP Logged)
Date: November 05, 2002 02:43PM

<HTML>Chuck,
We use an air amplifier (2") in the exhaust of Bud Leutza's model 70 to help prevent "popping" when driving in stop and go traffic. Like Ron mentioned, a tiny bit of steam will get you an incredible airflow rate. Jerry Blain has made a number of (steam launch) burners using an air amplifier and an a steam atomising nozzle. The sky's the limit on the firing rate. I'm not sure how you could control that kind of burner on your car.
Many years ago I had Ed Haas make up some steel parts for some air amplifiers (because I was sure that the aluminium ones would melt in the exhaust gas stream) You are welcome to the bits if you would like to try to build your own.
Here'a website that has the air amplifiers that you are looking for.
[www.exair.com]
Looks like you can get high temp ones also.

Have you thought about a locomotive type venturi in the stack and utilize the 4 cylinder exhaust ? And a raincoat too?

Dick</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: c benson (IP Logged)
Date: November 05, 2002 07:43PM

<HTML>Me thinks if your flue gasses are over 500 deg you are losing too much heat Cheers Ben,,,</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Mike Bennett (IP Logged)
Date: November 05, 2002 10:13PM

<HTML>Has anyone ever made a burner with an air amplifier?

Regards,
Mike</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Dick Vennerbeck (IP Logged)
Date: November 06, 2002 01:07AM

<HTML>Mike,
You can buy air amplifiers with an atomiser pickup tube brazed in the center of the venturi. I bought one of these and tried it out on kerosene. They need to have the fuel flow controlled and the air flow (not the operating air) restricted to get the proper fuel air ratio. The one I played with was one inch in diameter and made 12+ feet of hard yellow flame outside of Alan Amerians shop. This type of amplifier was designed to be used with a coolant in machining operations. Jerry Baine developed a much more sophisticated version using a 2" amplifier. You can melt your stack with one of these. Coburn is correct in stating that you need to keep the exhaust below 500 deg. In theory you really want to have snowflakes coming out of your stack......but in a boat, with lots of fuel, and a Big liquid condenser it is nice to be able to really turn up the heat in a water tube boiler and run with the simpling valve open so you don't arrive at the dock last! That not the sort of thing I would do in our Stanley model 60.
I'll find a photo of the burner in a launch and post the url or I'll go and take one for you.
Dick</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: chuk williams (IP Logged)
Date: November 06, 2002 05:01AM

<HTML>Dick---
I would like to try my luck with the Aluminum bits for the air amplifiers
that you have--I might be able to copy them in steel.....I'll get in contact
off list.
You mention the "locomotive type" venturis---how are they
configured??? Are they still available?? I thought I remembered seeing
stack venturis for sale somewhere, but now that I need one-I can't
remember where.......

Chuk</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Rolly Evans (IP Logged)
Date: November 06, 2002 09:16AM

<HTML>I built a new burner for my marine boiler with this type of air amplifier nozzle design.
Valves are needed on both the fuel and steam lines.
My burner is not a new idea. They were made in Scotland in the late 1800 before electricity was available. I have been unable to find detailed drawings and generated my own.
The mode of operation is to self generate steam with the burner so a cold boiler can be started. A pressurized tank of air over water is used. The air is used to atomize the oil till the vaporizing coils get hot enough, less then a minuet and then a three way valve is used to switch over to water. The water is vaporized to steam at the pressure in the tank about ten to fifteen Lbs. It super heated temperature is much higher though. The main problem I had was to size the coils large enough to vaporize the water. They are now 1/2" OD stainless steel and have a 3/8” metal filler in the center of the tube so the water is only on the inside skin of the tube. The other problem is the nozzle design. It has to give a cone or flat wide spread to the flame so the vaporizer tubes get hot enough to make steam. It also has to be designed to draw suction on the fuel so it can be below the burner and without a pump. The air amplifier design has worked. The burner is designed to burn about two Gal of oil per hour. Right now I can burn up to three gallons per hour.
You can see my burner on page six and seven of the NEMES GAZETTE news letter in PDF format. You will have to wait a minuet or two for download as it has twelve pages.
[www.newenglandmodelengineeringsociety.org] Gazette_files/g79.pdf
Rolly</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Mike Bennett (IP Logged)
Date: November 06, 2002 04:28PM

<HTML>12 FEET OF FLAME! I like it. Do you know who manufactures these with the atomizer tube? Thanks for the help.
Regards,
Mike</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Howard Randall (IP Logged)
Date: November 06, 2002 04:48PM

<HTML>Hi Rolly,

Your burner looks great! How simple things can be.

I have a small Shipman steam power plant (steam engine and porcupine boiler mounted on a common CI base) from the late 1800. It has an atomizing burner. The burner is started by using compressed air supplied by a hand air pump integral to the unit. Once steam is up, you switch to steam for the atomizer. Works great! I have a spare atomizing nozzle if you would like to have a look.</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Jim Crank (IP Logged)
Date: November 06, 2002 09:53PM

<HTML>Mike,
If you want to try out a really simple, cheap, and potent steam atomizing burner, try this, I saw several in operation and they were surprising.
Take a very large coarse threaded nut, drill the fuel inlet into the side of it, just dribble the fuel into it via a needle valve, and blow the steam through the nut. The fuel runs around the bottom of the threads. The sharp I. D. edges of the threads act as atomizers and the vapor came out like a fine fog.
The steam inlet side can have a venturi, giving primary air, and the nut is, of course, in the narrow part of the venturi.
They are still noisy and use a lot of steam; but one hell of a white fire.
As said before, a tiny tube jetting steam into the stack of the Stanley, gives marvelous draft and sure does stop the popping and backfiring when in traffic or going slowly.
Jim</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: C Benson (IP Logged)
Date: November 06, 2002 11:21PM

<HTML>Hi Howard,,,Did you notice how similar the steam regulating automatic is to the Stnley design,,,,We know they used Penney engines in the shop,,,but did they have a couple of Shipmans too,,hmmm,,I wonder,,,Cheers Ben</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Dick Vennerbeck (IP Logged)
Date: November 07, 2002 02:10PM

<HTML>Mike,
I looked till I was blue in the face...no luck on finding the manufacturer of the air amplifier with the liquid pickup tube. Look at the diagram of the amplifier here [www.artxltd.com] and imagine a small tube held in the narrowest point of the venturi with the tip of the tube cut square (parallel) with the airflow. The one I had (somewhere) had the tube attached to the inlet wall (brazed) at the same angle as the inlet opening. The end of the tube had been cut at an angle to parallel the airflow. As the unit operated the air going through the unit created a venturi effect at the end of the liquid tube and provided the reduced pressure to suck up the liquid. I hope this helps. I can make a sketch if you wish. RVennerbeck@direcway.com</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Rolly Evans (IP Logged)
Date: November 07, 2002 03:47PM

<HTML>Dick
The one I made for my burner is a copy of the Air Amplifier, only the hole is .125 and the taper is five degrees. The radius at the joint is also .125 Total length is .75 It will suck fuel either way. I can put steam through the center and it will suck from the side or I can put steam in the side and it will suck from the end. It will lift fuel three feet.
Rolly</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Rolly Evans (IP Logged)
Date: November 08, 2002 09:07AM

<HTML>I wonder how these air amplifier would work if you attached two of them to your venturi tubes on a Stanley burner and fed the vaporized fuel in the side for the power source. I wonder if they would drive more air in then the standard jet. Might like to try that this winter if I can find the time.
Rolly</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Mike Clark (IP Logged)
Date: November 08, 2002 07:57PM

<HTML>Rolly

I think your idea of air amplifiers on the Stanley venturi will work but an even simpler way to achieve more air might be just to fit an inner venturi which could be attached to the branch forks and funnel in to each main venturi tube, probably entering the tube by 0.25 to 0.5 inch and leaving an annular gap about 0.125 wide around the outside. The inner venturi would need a flared entry and the branch forks would need to come out to maintain their distance from the new air entrance.

This scheme would draw secondary air and lots of it just as in a gas blowtorch. Les Nelson has greatly increased the flame of his Stanley pilot by the addition of a small flared collar which pushes into the pilot air intake and which has a series of holes around the collar, these holes being at 45 degrees to the axis, pointing into the pilot. The loss of cross section due to the venturi is more than compensated by the improved airflow. This fitment and some work on jet position were written up by Les in "The Steamcar" magazine No 16. (Steamcar Club if GB).

Sorry to mention i.c. engines here but in this context the most highly rated fixed jet carburettor of the 1920's was the Zenith Triple Diffuser, common on Bugattis etc. This has a ring of small holes fed with fuel around the inside of a tiny venturi with a second larger venturi surrounding the first and the whole lot sitting inside an third outer venturi (OK you Latin scholars I know that venturi is plural but who ever heard of a venturus).
The idea in the carb was to improve atomisation of the fuel but the idea is similar.

Mike Clark</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Ron Parola (IP Logged)
Date: November 17, 2002 11:14PM

<HTML>Generally have the amplifier on VERY slightly, moistly to keep the steam piping hot, too wet otherwise, and to keep a slight draft through the boiler at low speeds. At higher speed it's not needed. RP</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Ron Parola (IP Logged)
Date: November 17, 2002 11:29PM

<HTML>Have been running "boost venturies" now for eight years, them IC guys ain"t dumb. Anyway have two boost venturies about 3/4 of an inch around the fuel jets, they project into the venturies, I guess about a 1/16th of an inch. I can move move more fuel through the jets without getting too rich than I could without them. They are about an inch and a half long and flared out at each end. There a two drawbacks, 1, it makes it difficult to remove jets for cleaning and 2, they are noisier, a rather harsh dry hiss, you learn to love it after a while. RP</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Howard Randall (IP Logged)
Date: November 18, 2002 11:10AM

<HTML>Ron, do you have any pictures or drawings you can share with those who are visualization challenged!

I have used these devices in the past with great success to move light weight materials, but never considered them for this application.

Hooray, Forum!</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Dick Vennerbeck (IP Logged)
Date: November 18, 2002 10:55PM

<HTML>Howard et al,
I have some photos of Ron's secondary venturi's. Zip me a email and I'll send them to you as a .jpg file.
RVennerbeck@direcway.com

Forum for President!</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: Howard Randall (IP Logged)
Date: November 19, 2002 09:34AM

<HTML>Thanks Dick! Steamin-yankee@att.net</HTML>

Re: Stack Draft/Venturi
Posted by: George Nutz (IP Logged)
Date: November 19, 2002 10:50AM

<HTML>Ron,
If you have a good picture of them and wish to make public would you consider sending it to John Woodson so he can put it on the front page of this website?
Best, George</HTML>

<b>Re: Parola/Bunsen-Booster Venturi photo</b>
Posted by: JW (IP Logged)
Date: November 19, 2002 04:03PM

<HTML>If you want to see what those *hissing boosters* look like, just follow the link below.

This photo lives on the TechPage section of this site.

Dual Venturi => [steamgazette.com]

Tech Page => [steamgazette.com]

Geeze, that page sure needs some work-

JW

</HTML>

Re: Parola/Bunsen-Booster Venturi photo
Posted by: David K Nergaard (IP Logged)
Date: November 20, 2002 07:16PM

<HTML>I think there are two simple ways to boost air flow in Stanley burners. Bell mouth the mixing tube entries ala racing carburetor bells.
The fuel pressure is high enough that the usual straight nozzle is not efficient. With an appropriately designed De Laval nozzle, the output velocity would be hypersonic, perhaps twice the velocity with the normal nozzles. Thus, twice the air injection.</HTML>

Re:Bunsen- Venturi-supersonic
Posted by: C Benson (IP Logged)
Date: November 20, 2002 09:04PM

<HTML>AAAA H But can someone calculate if the mixture will be OK at lo burning rates,,,that is,,when shuting off or modulating ,,,to very lo fire,,,,That big burner in the black racer is just so mild,,,a real pleasure AND it very rarely HOOTS either,,,Seems to keep a good mixture over wide range of conditions,,,Cheers Ben</HTML>

Re: Parola/Bunsen-Booster Venturi photo
Posted by: Ron Parola (IP Logged)
Date: November 21, 2002 02:14AM

<HTML>Egad industral espionage, those Stanley guys will stop at nothing. Sorry about no response from me, but I only check the comfuser only ever few days, otherwise it frys MY brain. But it looks like JW and DV have covered for me, Thanks RP</HTML>

Re: Parola/Bunsen-Booster Venturi photo
Posted by: Howard Randall (IP Logged)
Date: November 21, 2002 11:13AM

<HTML>Ron, I beg your pardon! We Stanley guys will stop at some things. We will stop at all watering holes and hose connections, for instance. The frequency depends on model!

My order (to flood the market with cheep imitations) has already been placed in the Far East. My early retirement is assured.

Thanks</HTML>

Re: Parola/Bunsen-Booster Venturi photo
Posted by: Ron Parola (IP Logged)
Date: November 23, 2002 12:27AM

<HTML>BAH! RP</HTML>



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