Popular Mechanics

[bandmiller2]

Alan,I had a 120v. DC steam generator very much like yours,bought it from a guy in New Bedford Ma.it came off an old steam tugboat.DC is pretty specialized stuff I had no need of it.If you get a chance google "new england wireless and steam museum ri." They have an inverted "VEE" steam engine made by Granger in Rhode Island that was mine.Got rid of that one a real steam hog,"D" style valves had no lap full steam full stroke.It ran a large centrifuge in a textile plant.It was operated remotely on waste steam,and designed for abuse and wet steam.If you opened the throttle slowly she would just blow steam through the chest you'd have to snap the throttle open to seat the valve.But the two cylinders were 90 degrees out so it would start in any position. Frank C.

[Al_Smith]

Every so often at various steam and tractor shows someone would have an old hit and miss engine making ice cream .putt-putt ---   ----putt-putt-putt --- ---putt ----

[bandmiller2]

Those make and break engines are fun to play with but tough if your really trying to work them.I used one to mix cement for a  foundation at my home.It would work fine then for no good reason quit, usally with a full tub.steam is much more dependable. Frank C.

[Al_Smith]

The worst were the ones with a breaker igniter and a vibrater mag .If they get out of time you can fiddle with them forever .Most have been replaced with a sparkplug and a model T Ford coil .You can run them off of a lantern battery .

[enigmaT120]

I just toured that place yesterday with my wife and a couple of her friends.  I took some pictures but I don't know how to transfer them from my Flikr photo hosting site to this forum's photo site, and I don't have them on this computer.

Here's my Flikr site.  There's other stuff in my photo collection too, but the Hull Oaks stuff should be near the top:

--Photos MUST be in the Forestry Forum gallery!!!!!--/--Photos MUST be in the Forestry Forum gallery!!!!!--/photos/48661697@N02/[/url]

I see from the Youtube links that I'm not the only one who took a video of that band saw. 

I've also toured Freres Lumber in Lyons, OR where they also burn their wood waste to make steam that runs a generator to make electricity to run the plant.  Hull Oaks doesn't plan to do that when they retire their steam engines.  I guess the boilers and everything are too different. 

I also have a picture of the 85 foot long picnic table top at a park near the mill. 

Edit:  oh well, even the link to Flikr won't work.  And I don't see a way to delete this post. 

[bandmiller2]

Old reciprocating steam engines are as eternal as any machine man has ever built.Its always the boilers that are the problem and lead to the demise of a steam mill.I had a large worn out steam engine,had the jug minimally bored out.Built up the cast piston with brazing rod,remachined the piston and made new cast iron piston rings, good for the next 100 yrs.Boilers outher than smaller farm type require an engineer and licensed firemen to manage them and those folks don't come cheap. Frank C.

[Al_Smith]

They've had a couple steam traction engine accidents at several steam shows  within the last several years .I think one was in northern Ohio where a fellow took a steamer over a ditch with a full head of steam and exposed the boiler crown sheet to the fire .Of course when the water sloshed back over it the thing came apart like a dollar watch .

Steam is neat but it deserves utmost respect .