Quote:
Originally Posted by jdgFirefly
I was serious about using an air conditioning system it is basically the same cycle, with most of the main components of the steam cycle. The parts are available in various sizes at your local salvage yard.
You don't need a turbine to make steam power. Its always been more difficult to manufacture a turbine than a piston motor of the same eff. So i think your more likely succeed with a seam piston rather than a built from scratch DIY turbine. Piston pumps and motors are easy to come by so you have a large selection of sizes and arrangements to chose from. Another option could be to modified air tools. There typically not piston but they are positive displacement (vane motor).
I think that having a positive displacement motor is important in this situation because it is less sensitive to varying loads and will work with a wide range of input pressures. Whereas a turbine needs to be designed for specific operating parameters (not DIY friendly).
What ever you decide I hope it works out for you. Heat recovery is really the last place for big gains in engine eff.
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Modified air tools, that sounds like a great idea! Just wonder if they can take the heat... I'm not even sure how hot its really gonna get to be honest. I can't imagine there are too many plastic bits inside air tools. Anyone know? I'm thinking a die grinder would be easy to adapt.