Running on CO2?

[dorin]

My son has gotten into paintball recently and I noticed those
little 9oz and 12oz CO2 tanks have a lot of pressure.

What are the ramifications of running an engine on CO2?

I know the evaporation process makes things very cold.

Could you demo your engine using a small CO2 tank?

Thanks,
Mike

[gwrdriver]

In the early 1950's there was a C0² engine, a 4-8-4 in Oga, offered for sale commercially but how many were built or sold I don't know, one anyway. My guess is the engine was based upon wheel castings and chassis components made by Rollin Lobough whose electric engine kits were the standard in those days. It was an expensive model but was reported to run well and no reports I ever saw mentioned icing.

[pockets]

GWRdriver, I thought I was the only one that remembered those castings. I used a lot of them, on a C&O Greenbriar, many moons ago. If they were still available, at those prices, I'd be tempted back to "O" scale.....

I seem to remember some noise about "Cold Steam" vs Live Steam back in the 70's or early 80's.

[gwrdriver]

I'm not all that old, but I've been around a long time. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif"%20alt="[/img]

[mrb37211]

I've heard of the Little Engines 1/4" scale live steam loco kits being built to run on CO2 -- actually evaporating dry ice if memory serves. As Harry says, they were offered for sale and written up in Model Railroader. Charles

[Bill Gardei]

Mike:

CO2 is used on miniature RC and free-flight airplanes.
Here's a link to how they work...

http://www.keveney.com/co2.html

I looked into using CO2 for my steamer, but could not
find an equation for energy vs volume.

Besides, it would be kind of silly if everyone else was
getting 3rd degree burns on their smokeboxes, and I
had ice forming on mine.

If you do a Google search, looking for CO2 engines,
all you will find are articles on how engine manufactures
are trying to reduce CO2 emmisions. After all, it is the
#1 selling greenhouse gas in America. Running on
CO2 kind of defeats the purpose of trying to reduce
it's emmisions.

Bill

[UnkaJesse]

About 5 years ago I gave a demonstration of steam logging equipment at a Forestry Association meeting. Had my Bill Harris' designed skidder/loader,Falk and my Filer and Stowell. I ran the skidder/loader by using a bottle of CO2 that I got from the local Coca-Cola plant and the engine ran very well although the bottle became frozen to the dining room floor! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif"%20alt="[/img]

Once ran a Stuart #9 mill engine on Freon 12 at a gun show in Memphis, but that is another story.

Unka(Freon 12??? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif"%20alt="[/img] Yep the stuff that is now banned.)Jesse

[willjordan]

I just bought the bound reprint series on the Harris skidder/loader. Just another project for me to work on.

When I get around to building my big skidder, I hope to build an extended firebox VFT for it. More work than a standard VFT, but a lot more firebox heating surface and a lot easier to tube than a locomotive boiler.

[GerhardK]

Actually, no new CO2 is created for the compressed storage (while our steam engines do create new CO2), the supplier just takes it out of the atmosphere and then you re-release it. But there is some energy used for the separation and compression, and also in making the storage tanks.

- Gerhard

[dnevil]

More information on CO2 driven model steam locomotives can be found here:

http://ibls.org/mediawiki/index.php?tit ... eam_Engine

Happy cold steaming!
Daris

[Marty_Knox]

Would that be called 'Dead Steam'?

[Kimball McGinley]

According to Steve McQueen in the movie "The Sand Pebbles", "Dead steam" is water.