The problem with steam is, they are highly unstable if they aren't maintained properly and become a giant pressure cooker waiting to pop if the relief valves calcify, rust or fail to function properly. Grass Valley, California Fairgrounds had an exhibit of single piston steam engines that took out 11 of 12 experts who knew the engines inside and out in one fell swoop. There was another in Ohio that killed a few people as well(4). For the majority of normies, who typically lack common sense and think chicken comes from a grocery store, the learning curve would likely kill them. Wood gasification motors are best suited for small engines that don't move, although any carburetor gasoline engine can be converted with a little time and modification. FEMA has a pdf. for wood-gas conversion for generators on their website. They don't take anything more than a couple of simple hand tools and a few metal containers/filters to build, though a welder and some fabrication experience sure is handy. There are dozens of YouTube videos for off grid living that cover converting a generator motor to wood-gas if you are interested.
This is why steam boilers (at least in the UK) have to undergo rigorous and constant safety checks like our motor cars and lorries have to to keep them on the road. Does the US have a test requirement for boilers?
How old were these steam engines you mentioned? If they were exhibited at a fairground I should imagine they were very old indeed.
1880-1910s I believe, definitely antiques and a huge loss of knowledge when it happened. Those 12 people were some of the last who knew how to operate those engines. Boilers here in the US also have to be inspected regularly. I wonder if it could be like smog checks if they ever did implement them for civilian use?
I've always been fascinated with the old steam powered and half step motors that revolutionized the American industrial period. Technology and metallurgy have advanced to a point that there really is no reason for us to not bring back some of the older more efficient and long lasting designs of the past. The only thing really stopping us is the, "if it breaks, buy a new one" mindset most of western society is stuck in. Almost everything is designed to fail on purpose now days, with parts purposefully designed so they cannot be rebuilt. I'm not exactly certain how to get all of society away from that mentality, but it warrants some thought.
The problem with steam is, they are highly unstable if they aren't maintained properly and become a giant pressure cooker waiting to pop if the relief valves calcify, rust or fail to function properly. Grass Valley, California Fairgrounds had an exhibit of single piston steam engines that took out 11 of 12 experts who knew the engines inside and out in one fell swoop. There was another in Ohio that killed a few people as well(4). For the majority of normies, who typically lack common sense and think chicken comes from a grocery store, the learning curve would likely kill them. Wood gasification motors are best suited for small engines that don't move, although any carburetor gasoline engine can be converted with a little time and modification. FEMA has a pdf. for wood-gas conversion for generators on their website. They don't take anything more than a couple of simple hand tools and a few metal containers/filters to build, though a welder and some fabrication experience sure is handy. There are dozens of YouTube videos for off grid living that cover converting a generator motor to wood-gas if you are interested.
This is why steam boilers (at least in the UK) have to undergo rigorous and constant safety checks like our motor cars and lorries have to to keep them on the road. Does the US have a test requirement for boilers?
How old were these steam engines you mentioned? If they were exhibited at a fairground I should imagine they were very old indeed.
1880-1910s I believe, definitely antiques and a huge loss of knowledge when it happened. Those 12 people were some of the last who knew how to operate those engines. Boilers here in the US also have to be inspected regularly. I wonder if it could be like smog checks if they ever did implement them for civilian use?
I've always been fascinated with the old steam powered and half step motors that revolutionized the American industrial period. Technology and metallurgy have advanced to a point that there really is no reason for us to not bring back some of the older more efficient and long lasting designs of the past. The only thing really stopping us is the, "if it breaks, buy a new one" mindset most of western society is stuck in. Almost everything is designed to fail on purpose now days, with parts purposefully designed so they cannot be rebuilt. I'm not exactly certain how to get all of society away from that mentality, but it warrants some thought.