Re: Re: Re: Why did steam tractors die out

Posted by Hal/WA on February 18, 2003 at 22:19:04 from (208.8.194.18):

In Reply to: Re: Re: Why did steam tractors die out posted by Jon Hagen..........steam engine without water on February 17, 2003 at 16:22:06:

If I remember correctly, Bill Lear, of Lear Jet fame, spent a lot of time trying to build an efficient closed system steam engine. But I never heard that he was successful in making one work and be economically competative.

If someone could figure out a way to capture all of the heat energy of internal or external combustion and turn it into work, they would really have something. But even the most efficient intercooled turbo diesels still waste much of the energy in the fuel out the exhaust and through the cooling system. Gas engines are even less efficient and most steam designs only use a very small fraction of the fuel's energy.

I am amazed at the improvements in fuel economy in modern cars. But this improvement comes at a high cost: the high tech electronic controls cost a lot of money and it is not possible for the backyard mechanic to fix, or even find lots of the problems that come up.

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