Piston+Steam+Engine

= // **THE STANLEY STEAM ENGINE** // = DUECE TIME ^_^ = = || = //about the stanley steam engine// = ||
 * By: Richard Robles
 * ** Steam cars unitize an external combustion (Rankine cycle) engine where the fuel source is consumed external to the engine. ** ** The Rankine cycle consists of six stages as follows; **

** 1) Water is heated at constant pressure in a boiler. 2) The water is evaporated into a saturated vapor. 3) The saturated vapor is further heated (called superheating) to gas. 4) In the engine the gas is allowed to undergo a controlled expansion. 5) The expanded steam is exhausted from the engine to condenser. 6) The spent steam is condensed back to water where it can repeat the cycle. ** || ||

= Stanley made a number of engine sizes over their 25 years of production. By far the most common engine was the 20-horsepower engine used in cars made from 1910 through 1924. A 20 horsepower engine had two cylinders placed side by side and lying lengthwise of the car. The steam is admitted to and exhausted from the cylinders with valves located between the cylinders. = = =

= The piston diameter is 4 inches and the stroke each piston makes in the cylinder is 5 inches. A steam engine is the only engine that produces maximum torque at standstill. When a Stanley's 600-pound boiler steam is applied to the two 4" diameter pistons nearly 7 tons of force is generated to push against the crank shaft. Both pistons are connected to a common crankshaft that has a 40-tooth gear at the center which come to the 60-tooth differential gear. = = =

= All the steam engines are "double acting". This means that pressure is applied to both sides of the piston as the engine operates. The 4 inch piston of a 20-horsepower Stanley engine is pushed by steam to one end of the cylinder and then it is pushed in the opposite direction by steam. The internal combustion engine's pistons are only pushed in one direction from the explosion caused by igniting the air-fuel mixture. This means that the steam engine's pistons produce power every stroke they make in the engine's cylinder as compared to the internal combustion engine where the piston only produces power for 1 in 4 strokes it makes within the cylinder. Thus in one revolution or rpm of the crankshaft, a two cylinder steam engine like the one in a Stanley, produces as many power strokes as an 8 cylinder internal combustion engine does. = = =

= = = = = The steam engine in a Stanley turns at quite a slow rate as compared to an internal combustion engine. There is no transmission on a Stanley as the gear on the steam engine crankshaft is directly engaged with the ring gear of the differential. There doesn't need to be a transmission as the engine can be stopped when the car is stopped ~ its just like a steam locomotive. = = = = ** The 13 Moving Parts In A Stanley Engine ** ** Left Piston & Piston Rod ** ** Right Piston & Piston Rod ** ** Left Connecting Rod, ** ** Right Connecting Rod **, ** Left Forward Eccentric ** ,a ** Right Forward Eccentric ** , ** Left Reverse Eccentric ** , ** Right Reverse Eccentric ** , ** Left Slide Valve & Rod ** , ** Right Slide Valve & Rod ** , ** Left Hook-Up/Reverse Link ** , ** Right Hook-Up/Reverse Link ** , ** Crankshaft ** , = = =