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Old 07-26-2010, 02:59 PM   #194 (permalink)
jdgFirefly
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: canada
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the dented fly - '96 pontiac firefly
90 day: 52.21 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by C3H8 View Post
what i am now asking is, how would you prevent the alternator from over revving and blowing its self up under high heat and low electrical load conditions.
One of the nice things about a steam system is that it can easily store energy (for a short time). The boiler is a pressure vessel that acts just like the storage tank on your air compressor. If you want to regulate your power output you only have to add a control valve just before your steam motor. The unused steam will only build up pressure in the boiler until its needed.

If a low mass / flash boiler design is used than a separate tank may need to be added just for storing pressure.

The boiler can only hold the pressure as long as it can maintain temperature so adding insulation may help it hold pressure for longer, if that becomes a problem.
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