The Steamboating Forum

Sorry about the video links ,I will get some help from my kids .

Here is the youtube url for low fire https://youtu.be/fPr8s6nmsl4

and high fire https://youtu.be/rGmphfMhAOQ its hard to describe four years development of the system while learning how to use the forum , the principal of burning pellets is the same as any solid fuel the fire heats the pellets they give off gas which burns and in turn heats the next pellets and also the boiler so the fire pot needs to be a pot rather than a flat grate so that it heats the pellets efficiently .
My cast iron pot is 200 mm at the top and 150 mm at the bottom and I have an 8 mm threaded rod down one of the center fire tubes with the cast iron pot lid attached to it as a baffle to direct some heat up the outer tubes (don't laugh at how crude this is but it has worked perfectly for about 4 years now) you can see the latest feeder attached to the front of my boiler in the picture of my boat in my original post .

Thanks Mike, this topic is getting a bit past the "Hello" topic I will start a new topic "Wood pellet firing" under Engines and boilers .

Hi Mike ,some pics of my canopy as requested , I laminated the frame from 2 layers of 1 1/2"X 3/4"hardwood using the boat as a jig the original idea was to follow the coaming however it sprang when I released the clamps so ended up with a bit less curve ! I had several goes at the front section originally trying to steam it around using steam from the boiler however the compound curve was too difficult so I made a jig from scrap wood the same curve as the coaming looking from above and cut 8 three ply strips 6" wide and laminated them and cut the horizontal curve in it after the glue dried and scarfe jointed it to the side sections. The roof beams were laminated from 3 layers of 1 1/4" x 3/8" hardwood on a curved jig. I radiused all the corners with a router. I attached the beams with wooden cleats notched out so as not to weaken the side frames and glued it all together with epoxy to make it very rigid so people can grab the posts for support when climbing aboard.




I then temporarily clamped the frame into place to determine the height and length of the posts .

I then screwed wooden cleats to the seats to support the bottom of the 1 1/2" square posts and also bolted them through the coaming for extra support and rounded the corners of the posts with the router.







The canvas cover was attached using press studs and have since had clear covers made that can be rolled up or dropped down when needed around the front section and back as far as the middle posts which makes the fwd section of the boat beautifully warm and dry on a cold day .

Andrew wrote a good article, with photos and drawings, on the design and building of his burner. It's published in Steamboating Magazine, Vol. XVII, pgs 3-7, May/Jun 2015.

Hi Andrew

A belated welcome from the lost land off the coast of European Civilisation.

I have read your post on the pellet firing process with interest (and got the posted links to work!).

Have you thought of writing an article about your research for either Steamboating Magazine or SBA's Funnel magazine? I know somebody wrote a short piece about burning pellets a while back, but I cannot find it. This surely seems to be a sensible way forward for steamboaters with some concern about keeping high carbon fuels in the ground, or just being able to lay one's hands on a suitable fuel.

Regards

Pete