[aubrey]

Hi Everyone
Problem: Need mechanical energy source in Malawi but petrol/diesel VERY expensive and electricity not available.
Looked at steam - Too Dangerous for the local level of expertise.
Looked at Stirling and Atmospherics as well - not enough grunt.
Came up with the following design which will give me power (how much I dont know) WITHOUT needing a boiler.
The fuel will be wood.

Theory on how it works:
Normal crank, conrod, piston and cylender.
The crank has a cam (as opposed to an eccentric) to operate the port sealer/water injector via a conrod.
The port sealer has a spigot on the front which engages the water injector piston (after the port is closed).
The water injector piston moves forward, closes the hole to the water supply hopper, builds up pressure which forces the water thru the one-way valve into the hotbox steam generator.
The hotbox steam generator has the fire made around it and is hopefully just about red hot at all times.
The injected water turns to steam which pushes the piston/conrod down which turns the crank.
At bdc the cam retracts the port sealer (the water injector piston moves back opening the port to the water supply and is re-filled) and the piston moves up, exhausting the steam.
Just before tdc the cam moves the water injector piston forward completing the cycle.

The beauty is that there is no boiler to blow up! This is VERY important as the people who will operate the machine are at best semi-literate and even if the thing overheats or runs dry, I cant see an explosion happening.

Connecting 2 together 180 degrees out of phase would give a constant power stage at the flywheel.

Please remember that this is not a desktop model but will be used to power irregation pumps, sawmills and the like in a very poor and rural setting using wood as the fuel source. Currently they are irregating thier crops by bucket from a well point at least half a mile away. They simply dont have enough manpower to get enough water to the crop and the result is a food shortage.

What I would like is for the members of this forum to rip the design apart and tell me what is right with the design, what is wrong with the design and how to rectify the problems.

Also, advice on what material to use would be appreciated. (ie could I use a VW Bug cyllender barrel and piston). Please bear in mind that average annual income of these people is less than $100 a year and the more "scrap" I can use, the better.

Thanks a lot guys, look forward to hearing from you.
Best Wishes,
Aubrey