New steam car

[Paul Grahovac]

A 1978 patent shows how to change the valve timing on a car engine and use steam to push the pistons.

Please let me know what you think.

This patent is now public domain. Anyone can use it.

See below for a paragraph from the patent and a link to the text-only online copy at the patent office. I will send a pdf with the drawings to anyone who provides their e-mail.

Paul Grahovac
corporate attorney, business development executive, and former Department of Energy patent licensing and technology development executive

grahovac@comcast.net

"....just as each piston passes top dead center, the associated intake valve is opened to admit live steam which drives the piston toward bottom dead center. As the piston approaches bottom dead center, the associated intake valve is closed. As the piston passes bottom dead center, the associated exhaust valve opens and the spent steam is exhausted from the cylinder as the piston returns to top dead center. Just before the piston reaches top dead center, the exhaust valve closes, and as the piston passes top dead center, the intake valve is again opened. This is true for each cylinder if the original engine is more than one cylinder. As a result, each cylinder completes two working strokes in the same number of revolutions of the crankshaft in which only one was produced when the engine operated originally as an internal combustion engine."

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...0&RS=4,102,130

or go to

http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html

enter the patent number in the first box 4,102,130

click on Search

Scroll to the bottom and click on the same patent number

[Clark Bigger]

the steam is the source of power...you could do the same with compressed air

[j dayman]

The valving arrangement might work, but steam blowby past the piston rings (especially at temps over 700 F) will cause water to enter the oil in the crankcase. This will make a grey brown emulsion and will ruin car engine bearings rapidly.

Steam at 1500 F will soften aluminum car engine pistons also.

Jeff

[greysteam24hp]

Use steam cylinder oil for high temperature and psi mix from oil injector. Older cars has cast iron type when patented in back then.

[Andrew Mackey]

In theory, it will work. in fact, it is not practical. First, the cam has to be modified to open the valves at the correct time. An effecient steam engine actually does not use steam pressure to do all the work. The admission valve is actually closed early on the intake stroke, and expansion of the steam as the piston recedes down the bore, actually does the work. The steam is then exhausted after expansion has been depleted. To be effecient, this expansion is used several times, in increasing sized cylinders, and lower pressures, in order to gain the most work from a given volume of steam. To merely use the steam once is a waste of energy. In a simple engine, like a hobby engine, or most of your 'farm engines', use of the fuel and water was not much of a concern (figuretively), as both fuel (wood, coal, oil, etc), and water were plentiful, and readily available. In today's age, both fuel and water must be conserved. After the steam has given up its energy, the water must be returned to the boiler, free of the steam oil. This means a condenser, and seperater must be employed. Fuel supply and costs must now be considered as well. For automotive use, the boiler assembly must be light, effecient, and use a readily available fuel, such as Kerosene or fuel oil, or perhaps even alcohol. Now besides your fuel considerations, you have the EPA to deal with. The boiler must also pass emmissions standards, as well as work effeciently. There are also pressure vessel standards and licensing to consider as well (got a seal to run the boiler?) Cost effectiveness has gone out the window! Several steam cars have been marketed, the Stanley being a real notable. At one time it held the land speed record for automobiles! Although the boiler design was nearly bullet proof, the car's water consumption was a severe draw back. It seemed that for every gallon of kerosene fuel it used, it needed 10 gallons of water. The engine used steam, once and done, and got about 10 MPG on water! The steam conversion engine envisioned, on a modern auto engine, probably would not get much better milage without some type of condensing unit, which adds weight to the vehicle. As stated earlier, you also have to worry about water getting into the lower end of the engine. On most steam engines, the cylinders operated independant of the crankcase. With the modern auto engine, the case is integral to the cylinder arrangement, with no practical seperation of the two readily available. You would have to make some type of independant lubrication of the pistons and bearings available, and have a total loss collection for the used oil. This arangement was used with multi cylinder 2 stroke marine engines, in the 1970s. These engines had a forced oiling system for the bearings - factory, and worked well when converted to steam. Steam use effeciency, and water reclamation was the issue, when these engines were converted. The biggest problem was rust forming on shut down, and the resultant corrosion and wear from condensed water. I believe that in the mid 1970s the Popular Mechanics Magazine ran a series on these conversions, as well as a steam turbine designed to run a bus. With all the research done already, it seems that if an engine was not purpose built as a steam engine, it probably would not be a viable option to use as you intend.
As a side note - I had a B&S 5 or 6 S engine that was converted to steam for work as a bilge pump engine in a steam powered shrimp boat, back in the 1950s. I found the engine discarded in the trash of a neighbor, missing a lot of parts. I asked him if he had the missing parts, and he still had them! When I asked him what the engine was used for, he told me his father had used the engine in the boat, to run the pump. Charley Stuart, 'The Briggs Man' now has the engine in his collection. That engine had all the cooling fins removed from the block and the head. The spark plug was removed, and a pipe plug installed in it's stead. The shroud and starter assembly was removed, and all the air vanes were removed off the flywheel. The mag was also removed, and the backing plate cut down to the block, to lighten the engine. A drip oiler was installed on the block to provide oil to the con rod and internal moving parts, and the sump was run dry. The cam had been altered so as the engine ran as a single acting steam engine. The neat thing about the engine, was the fact that it was fitted with a manual reversing valve. This meant that the engine had the ability to start at all times, except if it stopped at exactly TDC or BDC. I ran it on compressed air, and it made good power in both directions.
Andrew

[renewablejohn]

In the UK they have modified a Mazda Wankel engine to be a combined steam/petrol engine.

[FWurth]

What about some sort of three-way hybrid car using s small steam turbine to generate the electricity for the driveline? Then you would not need a separator, only a condenser (something resembling a radiator). You could place the bearings outboard like in a powerplant turbine would and not have to worry about water getting into the lubrication system. You could also use dynamic braking like the Toyota Prius does to help replenish the battery charge.

The biggest obstacle would be the pressure, because in order to increase the efficiency of the turbine you would need a rediculously high pressure. And I don't think that the general driving public which is visible on the streets today would be able to deal with this sort of equipment (someone would probably break a nail ).

[terry tabb]

get you going hydrogen peroxide,we have the know how to make deffrant types of fuel, i could tell you all types of things to build , but it cost to much for me to do,or build it right, so the back yard inventors just have s, not that we dont build things but there crude, and not the best looking some times but they do work, im talking for must of us too, not just me,we just cant afford to waste any money on some thing that might just fiz,,, wood gas is one you can build thats not that hard ,hh2,, in this trend, hydrogen peroxide would give you some trustput the paddle to the metal, and hang on,nov, 26,/2008,well heres another one for ya,

[renewablejohn]

Originally Posted by FWurth

What about some sort of three-way hybrid car using s small steam turbine to generate the electricity for the driveline? Then you would not need a separator, only a condenser (something resembling a radiator). You could place the bearings outboard like in a powerplant turbine would and not have to worry about water getting into the lubrication system. You could also use dynamic braking like the Toyota Prius does to help replenish the battery charge.

The biggest obstacle would be the pressure, because in order to increase the efficiency of the turbine you would need a rediculously high pressure. And I don't think that the general driving public which is visible on the streets today would be able to deal with this sort of equipment (someone would probably break a nail ).

You mean something like this using woodpellets and a lithium battery

http://www.biomassauthority.com/a/pr...r-biomass-car/

[Craig A]

His valve timing arrangement is all out of whack.......
A steam engine needs advance for for the admission of steam too.
The idea as he is proposing it, even if it WAS practical, would be one heckuva a doggy engine........