Steam Engine

Product Description

Powered by the heating and cooling of live steam, this precision handcrafted desktop Steam Engine is an engineer's dream. Solid, heavy duty copper clad steel components on this Jensen steam engine is made in USA with old world quality. Steam powered engine model features include steam engine with safety steam boilers and auto release safety valve, steam engine water level sight gauge, multiple and reversing takeoff pulleys. Model steam engine approx. 11" x 12" x 9". Model steam engine power takes 3 dry fuel tablets per run; 20 tablets included. Additional fuel tablets sold separately.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #162835 in Toys & Games
• Brand: ComputerGear
• Dimensions: 7.00 pounds

Features

• Own the steam engine you have always wanted
• This precision handcrafted desktop steam engine is an engineer's dream
• Steam engine constructed from solid, heavy duty copper clad steel components, made in USA with old world quality
• Model steam engine approx. 11 inches x 12 inches x 9 inches
• Model steam engine power takes 3 dry fuel tablets per run; 20 fuel tablets included. Additional fuel sold separately

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Totally cool, loved it as a kid
By D. Alexander
I had a similar model to this years ago. I was a take-things-apart sort of kid into RC models, electronics, building kits, and so on. This was like a combination of everything I loved most: moving parts, wires and electric motors, pulleys, and the kind of variable results that you can only get with physics-based models. I hesitate even to call it a toy, the build quality of the metal parts is very high and the internal components perform as if precision-machined.

This particular model is one of fourteen in this line. Here, the steam pressure turns a wheel on a piston engine. Theory and practice are functionally identical to a steam locomotive. In other versions, steam turns the wheel, which is linked in turn to an electric light. I think those models are preferable because they illustrate the transformation of heat to mechanical energy to electrical energy, an extra principle which is also analogous to a modern nuclear reactor.

My only concern with operation was that the maximum boiler pressure was never clear. With full-size boilers, engineers never let the water level drop too low because that would cause cooling capacity to go down and pressure to go up. With this boiler, there's nothing stopping you from piling in extra fuel (the standard tray takes two at once, but there's room for more), letting the water level drop to a third, and sealing the stream release. The result is a noisy and impressive pace that would have hurled Thomas right over the hill and into someone's backyard. I did this a number of a times to no ill effect, but it wouldn't surprise me if the manual warns against it. I've been alerted in a comment that models today may come with pressure gauges.

If you do buy this steam engine or any other that uses solid fuel, you'll want to pick up extra fuel. Each rod lasts perhaps five minutes. With two at a time, that's almost 25 for an hour of continuous operation. A less physically-accurate model also available uses electric power to heat the boiler.

I'm not sure what the policy is nowadays for gas lighters and solid fuel, but if you can get it into a school without raising the hackles of the administration, it'd make a hell of a show-and-tell item for students 10 and under. Coupled with a nice presentation, it'd be an easy A and lots of fun to boot.

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