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| Dave B |
Gobsmacked!I haven't been able to spend much time on the forum lately - work, family, basement reno's just have not left me much free time, but I just had to share this!My first week back at work after Christmas had me working in the Mechanical Engineering building on campus - I love this place - there are SO many interesting projects going on at any given time. Robotics, Aviation, CAD design, BioEngineeering... I have a hard time working sometimes. At any rate, as I was working in a lab, I started looking on the shelves in the back corner - dark, dusty, stuff which hasn't been used in ages. What caught my eye? Stirling engines - several of them. Then I looked on a table beside the shelves and saw a boiler, steam hammer, and beam engine mounted on a base! All Stuart, all dusty! I stopped working at that point, and started asking questions about this collection. The lab tech said "Oh yeah - that stuff - hasn't turned a wheel in ten years, no-one uses that crap anymore" My jaw dropped as he proceeded to open a cabinet and showed me two more Stuart boilers and engines, more stirling engines, and boxes of unknowen parts and pieces. I asked who was in charge of the "crap" and was told to talk to the Technical Manager of the faculty. When I asked Nick who's collection it was he said that the prof who used it as a teaching aide had passed away several years ago, and gave me the name of the prof who had taken over from him. I talked to Rod the next day and offered to inventory, clean, lube and make any repairs to any engines that were there. I just wanted to see them taken care of! He said OK, none of the engines were being used, and he wasn't really interested in any of it! I said that I couldn't believe that the department wouldn't use the equipment. His reply? Our Safety Department has effectivly stopped the use of any live steam engines as teaching aides (we all know how inherrantly dangerous they are). Well. Rod said if I wanted to work on the Stuart beam to start with, it was OK with him. Make arrangements with Nick to fill out the long term loan paperwork and take it home whenever you want. WHAAAT? Take it home? Yup, it is all just taking up space here, you might as well have it at home - and when you are ready for the others, just make the same arrangements. I am gobsmacked. I now have in my possession this beautiful piece of engineering, with (so it seems) more to come. Because I showed a bit of interest. Un-freaking-belieavable. I brought it home on Friday, soldered the gauge back on to the syphon, re-affixed the flywheel, cleaned and repacked the feedwater pump, read the hand written (and VERY vague) instructions, and fired it (with my home made propane burner - not the kerosene burner that came with). It blew out a load of congealed oil, gunk and brown goo. It sputtered. It farted. It ran. Beautifully. The hammer - it hammers. I wouldn't want my thumb under it. No drive belts for the generator, but I may put the dental floss to use next time I fire it. I am just amazed at this turn of events. If there is anyone here who can provide any kind of information on time of manufacture (no serial #'s that I can find), operating instructions (how do I blow it down, for one thing), or anything else that would be of use I would really appreciate it! Oh yeah, I have also been playing with stepper motors, diodes and LED's with the SE3. For another post though. Some pics. Cheers! 
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| Stitch |
What a great find and even better that you can take home as a loan to enjoy 
It is a shame they aren't used and enjoyed by the students. However, universities seem to have become dens for political correctness and conservatism. The students' loss, your gain 
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| Wallace |
That is an amazing find Dave. Beautiful
Certainly makes you wonder what other stuff is out there that has been pushed aside
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| Manxman |
Great story. I love it when this kind of thing happens.
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| Les |
Some people vave all the luck  , well done. If you go to this site, it may give you some information on what you have,
http://www.stuartmodels.com/ |
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| Dave B |
Thanks Les Lucky? Not usually, but this time for sure! I've been on the Stuart site, and found model #'s, but not a lot of "hands on" information. Any other web searches I have done haven't helped a lot either. This unit seems an order of magnitude more complex than the engines I am familiar with - the last thing I want to do is screw something up through ignorance. (he says AFTER firing it up...) |
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| tmuir |
Now that is a score!! 
The web site Les listed also has some historical info about Stuart and is worth a look for that and then go look at the prices a new machined one of those sells for and you will realise just how sweet a deal you have just got yourself.
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| Les |
Try these. http://www.stuartmodels.com/downloads.cfm/the_grp/9 |
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| Dave B |
Oh Aye - A step in the right direction! Cheers! |
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| Cranko |
At some point in life we all get one lucky break except of course for Moose who has one ever week 
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| IndianaRog |
Holy cow Dave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have a couple thousand dollars worth of stuff there at least. The beam engine is a beauty for sure. Enjoy your loan...with any luck the university will lose the paperwork and in time they will be yours by default. |
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| MooseMan |
Absolutely brilliant - good news it ended up in capable hands, I dread to think how many must have been simply written off and scrapped. | ||||
| johnreid |
Seriously you should see that the School regains some shelf space, they could store Floppy Disks on those shelves and you could save them a trip to the landfill
I guess you wont get that lucky
If nothing else you have been able to help preserve those for some future generation, who might in fact appreciate them. |
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| tmuir |
If they are unused and unneeded I wonder if you could convince them to sell them to you for a bargain price as at the moment its just wasted money sitting on a shelf as far as the university is concerned. | ||||
| Les |
Try offering a donation, or fill up the shelf space so they can't take them back. 
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| Steve_S |
Stories like that make my day. Just incredible luck!
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| steamgranny |
A case of the right man, in the right place, at the right time to save these beauties
What a treasure trove!!! |
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| Minor1PJG |
Well done. I'm sure everyone will be happy if no-one was showing any interest in them leaving them dusty on a shelf.
Be careful with the pipe lagging/ insulation as it may contain Asbestos
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| toxx |
... Dave, what a dream come true. Congrats, mate!
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| bessytractor |
brilliant
well done on that, the beam is one I would kill to have a go at building. The fact you ran it pleased me no end. Can we have a vid please? |
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| mc_mc |
Tell them you couldn't get it to work and it'll be expensive to fix and ask if you should just throw it away?
I did well today O found a oxygen regulator with lots of copper pipe, fittings, a valve and two pressure gauges just thrown in a skip. I have now retrieved it... |
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| Les |
What have you in mind for that? |
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| mc_mc |
No idea, but it seemed a shame to leave it sitting in a skip. The copper pipe I can probably use for something and the pressure gauge perhaps.
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| Kevin Klein |
I'll bet that in a few weeks or days, they will forget that you even have these things, congratulations, way to go!!! | ||||
| Nick |
I know it isn't the most honest thing to do, but if I was in your position, I would do everything I could to keep them. I would try and get them to forget that you even have these, avoid talking about them at all. Then they may end up being yours. I think if they went back to the university, they wouldn't be appreciated enough and may be abused or thrown away. Try to hang onto these ones and good luck! | ||||
| redryder |
This is a fabulous break for you, a stroke of luck and genius all together!
I hope you "sign out" the rest of the collection on long term loan "for cleaning and care" as soon as you possibly can. With any luck those things will be in your care for life. You are getting all the benefits of ownership. While I could say that I own this piece or that, I just don't think of it that way. I believe that all the pieces in my collection are timeless and will be around long after I'm gone. Each time I buy a piece I am simply paying for the priviledge of being it's caretaker and guardian until I am done with it or done here. You have achieved this without paying. Once again FANTASTIC !!! Gil |
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| redryder |
Universities states side have bcome dens of political correctness and liberalism. Gil |
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| shaygetz |
Wow...what a beauty. | ||||
| flywheel61 |
Wow, all they were waiting for was someone who knew that they 'weren't dangerous, what a stroke of good luck, well done.
Cheers
Chris |
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| Mister Occlusion |
Same thing here. It's my thought that most student lose their socialist zeal once they have to get out, earn a living, and pay real taxes. Me, I grew out of my socialist phase in...oh, grade 7 or so I think it was
Oh that Stuart kit is to die for (or kill for, depending ).
Yes, my larcenous side also says to forget and hope they too forget. That hammer is steam powered right off the boiler, then? That's a unique bit of hardware itself. Great looking dynamo too. Next you should head over to the physics and engineering departments to see if they have any dusty old Jensen 51's wasting valuable shelf space
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| johnreid |
It never hurts to ask, I have always found that honesty is the best policy. IMHO it doesnt matter how nice it is, it isnt worth losing ones job over. However whoever is in charge of it might not think it is of any real value and would not mind to see someone who might appreciate it taking it off of their hands.
I know that I would lose sleep if I absconded with something like that, just the way I was raised I guess. |
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| Dave B |
Here it seems to be political foolishness and vandalism...
Die or kill? Nah, I'll just bide my time... having it as a "long term loan" is fine by me! Yup, the hammer is steam powered, and packs a whallop! I've got to get some large (4 1/2" and 6") o-rings to use as drive belts to run the dynamo - the dental floss wasn't quite enough... I want to bring home anything else that the Mechanical Engineering Dept will loan me before I start looking elsewhere... |
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| Dave B |
Oh yes John, my thoughts exactly - just to have the opportunity to work on and play with this stuff is all I asked for, and the icing on the cake is I get to do it at my own leisure, and in my own home. I learned very young not to take what dosen't rightfully belong to you, and what goes around, comes around. I'll keep my job, and give back anything I have borrowed when asked! |
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| Dave B |
I've been working in asbestos infested mechanical rooms for decades, I don't want the stuff in my house too! I just assumed that the insulation upstream of the cylinder was asbestos, and I removed it last night. Safely. Soaked it all down, bagged it, cut it off, double bagged the first bag, disposed of it. My daughter has a roll of 100% natural hemp string, and I lagged all of the supply lines with it. Tonight the exhaust lines will be done. I have fired the unit twice, and my right hand and wrist are covered with little burns from opening and closing the condensate bypassess on the cylinder. Hopefully no more burns... |
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| Les |
Thats all part of the fun, and the more you run it , the more you learn and the less you get burnt, probably. 
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| Cedge |
Holy Smokes Batman!! Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Marvelous set of circumstances and a treasure trove to be envied.
Steve |
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| Dave B |
Tonight, with any luck... |