With folks living off grid and the uncertainty of future fuel supplies, I find it desirable to design a system that will create 20A at 110V and heat a small building using anything you can find to burn.

My Design Criteria

• burn most any kind of fuel
• easy manufacture with low cost of off shelf materials
• capable of being automated and unattended depending on fuel type
• low pressure - around 2 bar - no boiler permit need and safer

The main components will be

• vertical mounted double action steam piston with 2.5" bore and 4" stroke at about 300RPM
• turning a 20" flywheel to provide about 3hp to an automotive alternator and a bank of batteries
• an inverter for 3500W
• fire box made of 55 gal drum with flash boiler
• steam vessel also 55 gal drum
• oil injection and oil recovery system
• PLC control of fuel to monitor heat and pressure
• PLC control of valve to steam engine
• PLC monitor of RPM, oil and water levels and temperatures
• after oil recovery, the steam can be routed through a radiant heating system or bypass to a radiator and then pumped back into the steam vessel

here is the lower half of the valve body

here is the sliding valve

here is the body that holds the sliding valve to the valve body

Here are some views of the cylinder, the piston, the reciprocating shaft and the cylinder heads [incomplete]

I will update things as I go -