The 1899 Locomobile Steam Car Replica, known as the Lykamobile is a full scale live steam automobile manufactured in 24 kits. This kit is available from a company called "Steam Traction World" located in Daventry, United Kingdom. Each kit is to be manufactured and sent once a month for 24 months. However for cost considerations I have chosen to have my kits batched and dispatched in larger crates to the United States (Topsail Beach, NC).

Specifications:
• Length 7ft 2.6in • Height 5ft 3in • Width 4ft 7.1in • Weight 904 lbs.• Water Tank Capacity 12 Gallons • Fuel Tank Capacity 7.3 Gallons

Construction:

CHASSIS Tubular steel fabrication, combination weld, bolted and silver solder.
STEERING “Ackerman” design tiller steering.
DIFFERENTIAL & DRIVE Spur gear differential similar to the original Locomobile, drive shaft and bearings.
WHEELS & TYRES Single tube pneumatic, treaded.
BREAKING SYSTEM Disc brake system.
ENGINE 21/4" diameter, 3" stroke modified “Hackworth” valve gear.
WATER FEED Twin mechanical pump.
BURNER Fuelled by diesel.
BOILER Multi Fire Tube, fully constructed and complete with necessary paperwork and inspected by notified body.
BODYWORK & SEATS Wooden with steel frame, seating capacity of 2 persons, with turned decorative spindles with leather style upholstery.
Gears: forward and reverse.
Assemble with hand-tools only
Step-by-step instructions
Technical service and help-line backup
Designed on ‘Solidworks’ CAD
Manufactured on modern CNC machines for build accuracy and high quality


Saturday, February 6, 2021

Water Tank - Boiler - Bypass System

I don't know how many times I have had to trace the plumbing to figure out the water circuit for the filling of the boiler and the bypass valve. The bypass valve when open will provide a piping system that allows the pumps (that are mounted to the engine that pump all the time when the steam engine is running) to "bypass" the filling of the water into the boiler. This is important because the boiler should not be filled to the very top ever. The boiler needs some head space for the steam to be generated and pressurized. This pressurized steam is what is sent to the engine to be expanded to drive the pistons up and down. Below is a hand drawing/sketch of the system with the bypass valve open.

I did not draw in the engine, but the engine drives the two pumps. The pumps will circulate water through the tanks in a loop. When the bypass valve is closed, then the water path changes as indicated in the next sketch.
With the bypass valve closed, the pumps will pump water into the boiler. The pumps are strong enough to lift the check valve ball and fill water into the boiler. You will notice that in the sketches there is a hand pump. This hand pump is used to fill or prime the boiler for the first time or whenever the boiler level is too low to fire up the boiler safely. To use the hand pump the bypass valve must be closed. If you don't close the bypass valve you will just be circulating most if not all of the water to the tank and not be filling the boiler.

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