Large Oscillating engine - Rudy Kouhoupt

[Ed Hume]

Before I built my Kozo A3, I made two stationary engines. I would recommend a similar course to any new builder - get some experience with machining small projects and tooling before tackling that many year locomotive project.

This engine of Rudy Kouhoupt's design was published in Live Steam magazine in 1993.



I would enjoy seeing photos of other projects and comments from other builders of stationary engines. Don't be bashful - this forum can become a valuable resource for someone who is looking around for his first project or his next project.

[Harlock]

That is really nice. I'll post pictures of my father's Tiny Power engine that is now in my posession. After not machining for many years, he used it as a refresher course. About $1,000 in tooling later, he was ready for the Chloe project.

I was a bit crazier and went into the A3, thankfully the book holds your hand really well. It's just a much longer project than a stationary engine and I'd echo the advice given above.

One day I'd like to eventually make something that has a centrufigal governor - a corliss engine or similar. To me it echoes the finest of Victorian engineering.

[siggy]

Here's a couple that you may find interesting.

The marine twin is based on a Rudy Kouhoupt design that I modified into the form you see below. I had the chance to meet Rudy in person at the PRIME model engine show in Eugene, OR several years ago. He was selling plans for a similar engine that I believe he had originally done for Popular Mechanics magazine back in the early 1970's.


This next one was originally published in Live Steam Magazine in 2000. It's an all wood "steam" engine made from maple, cherry and walnut hardwoods. The most interesting thing about this one is that it is 100% wood - no screws, nails, etc. All parts are held together with #2 tapered walnut pins. This engine actually runs beautifully on about 5 lbs compressed air.




Robert

[Ed Hume]

Siggy,

I knew about the marine twin - what a stunner! Didn't you give it to your father? I didn't know you built that wooden model. Do you still have it? I'd like to see it run.

Ed

[siggy]

Hi Ed.

Believe it or not I've given both of these engines to my father as gifts. In fact, the reason I built the wooden engine was that my Dad had seen the issue of Live Steam with that engine on the cover and bought a copy and sent it to me. At the time I was doing quite a bit of woodworking and he thought it might be of interest to me. I figured if he was so impressed with it to go to the trouble of buying and sending me the magazine he might like to get the real thing so I made it and presented it to him for Father's Day that year.

I did take a video of the engine running and I've posted it to my Flickr account. You can find it at www.flickr.com/photos/rsigler/2885576765/in/set-72157606398694441/ if you wish. The audio in the video got really screwed up in the post - the pitch is waaaay too high but you get the idea. If you want to hear the real thing I think you can download the original .mpg file from the "embed" link above the image. (BTW - I couldn't seem to be able to embed the flash video into the post)

Robert

[siggy]

Althought this one isn't really a "stationary engine" in the sense that this thread was intended some readers may get a kick out of this engine, which is stationary. This was a real fun project to do! I know, I know, the photography is really bad...

Robert

[leeharrysouth]

Very nice work on all engines shown above. I especially like Rudy's marine twin. Can anyone tell me what type of boiler to use for such an engine.

lee

[Dan Rowe]

Lee,
The type of boiler is not as importand as the steaming capacity of the boiler. This is not really a simple question as the heating surface of the boiler has to be matched with the engine size. An asumption has to be made as to how efficient the heating surface is. This topic is covered in Model Boilers and Boiler Making by K.N. Harris.
Dan