Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
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Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
All right, I know -- I haven't piped up for a long time. Lost my "day job" Nov 05, 2009 after 27 years. They just escorted me out with what personal stuff I could carry in both hands, sent the rest to me on a pallet ( ! ) after they cleaned out my desk and cubicle. But, I have been working on this beast, for an industrial client who shall remain nameless, for now. This is not flight capable -- real industrial strength construction, "for shop or outdoor use" - ha.
An unfolded FWE, not for propulsion. The client wanted high tail flame temps AND velocities. Exact usage is proprietary, but I'm just calling this an "industrial heating" engine. This is all Type 304 stainless, 2 mm thick. The tailpipe is 4-inch OD sanitary tubing; the intake is 2.5-inch OD, same material. The replaceable section aft of the chamber is not for tuning; it is for the client's experimental work. Steel wire O-rings (not shown here) are used as "gaskets" at the mating flanges under the clamps. This engine is almost 5 ft in length, and weighs in right at 25 lb [EDIT: NOT 40 as originally stated]. All fabrication by Jim Russell and his son Matt, with just a little help from me here and there along the way.
Enjoy!
L Cottrill
An unfolded FWE, not for propulsion. The client wanted high tail flame temps AND velocities. Exact usage is proprietary, but I'm just calling this an "industrial heating" engine. This is all Type 304 stainless, 2 mm thick. The tailpipe is 4-inch OD sanitary tubing; the intake is 2.5-inch OD, same material. The replaceable section aft of the chamber is not for tuning; it is for the client's experimental work. Steel wire O-rings (not shown here) are used as "gaskets" at the mating flanges under the clamps. This engine is almost 5 ft in length, and weighs in right at 25 lb [EDIT: NOT 40 as originally stated]. All fabrication by Jim Russell and his son Matt, with just a little help from me here and there along the way.
Enjoy!
L Cottrill
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Re: Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
Welcome back to the Hotel California Larry. I'm curious about your gasket wire, if it is a single strand of stainless steel or several windings. The only thing I have used for my tri clover clamping is a single loop of 1/16 inch copper tubing that fit in the concave groove, unlike the typical teflon gasket that also has a flange that extends both sides of the humped/raised region, well you know what I mean.
Nice looking noise maker, you can build muscles hefting it about. I once attempted an 18 petal valve, 4 inch diameter plumbing pipe pulsejet necking down to just 3 inches, with the head and connnecting bells, the thing weighed 48 pounds. That's some heavy lifting. ha
Nice looking noise maker, you can build muscles hefting it about. I once attempted an 18 petal valve, 4 inch diameter plumbing pipe pulsejet necking down to just 3 inches, with the head and connnecting bells, the thing weighed 48 pounds. That's some heavy lifting. ha
Presentation is Everything
Re: Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
Hey Larry, sweet looking engine.
I know it's not the purpose of this engine but do you have a thrust reading?
I know it's not the purpose of this engine but do you have a thrust reading?
Quantify the world.
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Re: Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
Hi Larry, great to hear from you again!
Great looking engine you´ve got there, any chance of a video of it running later?
Great looking engine you´ve got there, any chance of a video of it running later?
Re: Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
Very clean project Larry! Good to hear from you, hope this year brings better fortune.
Kindest regards, Joe
Kindest regards, Joe
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Re: Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
Ha - Hotel California, where everyone checks out but nobody can leave. The wire O-rings are just 1/8-inch mild steel filler rod, expertly crafted by Matt Russell for a perfect fit in the groove. I'm hoping the relative softness of the wire will cover any difference in expansion. My "estimate" was WAY off; I must be aging fast -- I weighed her last night (the engine alone) right at 25 lb. I'll have to edit my first post.Mark wrote:Welcome back to the Hotel California Larry. I'm curious about your gasket wire ... That's some heavy lifting. ha
Thank you, sir. No, I have no way of measuring thrust for such a beast. I wanted the opposed forces to minimize net thrust that their fixture would have to work against, since it's a portable rig.metiz wrote:Hey Larry, sweet looking engine.
I know it's not the purpose of this engine but do you have a thrust reading?
Thanks to you, as well. I'll definitely get some video, and stills as well if I can work that in.Johansson wrote:Great looking engine you´ve got there, any chance of a video of it running later?
Thanks very much, Joe! Good to hear from you.PyroJoe wrote:Very clean project Larry! Good to hear from you, hope this year brings better fortune.
Kindest regards, Joe
L Cottrill
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Some More Details
Here are a few new photos that should clarify some of the details.
The mounting fixture for the starting air and fuel pipes is a chevron shaped flat blade with clamping blocks welded on. All 304 stainless. This would be too bulky and crude for a "moving" engine, but should be fine for a stationary intake. Its worst feature in reality is that the flat blade has to be mounted off-center in the flare (to get the pipes in the center plane), which means it perverts the flow into the flare to some degree. Shouldn't be a big problem, though.
The mounting truss is made up from 1-inch square plain steel tubing, with heavy washers welded on at all mounting points. There are four mounting points for the engine and a triangle of points left over at the front to bolt the truss onto the client's fixture. All 3/8-inch bolts (about 9.5mm). Naturally, I couldn't get the right size AN6 aircraft bolts locally, so I drilled out four standard hardware bolts for cotter keys on Jim's drill press. Some fun, but they work. The sheet aluminum heat shield (maybe 24 ga alloy) is captured between the engine and truss as they're bolted up. This should be a really good mounting setup for the client.
L Cottrill
The mounting fixture for the starting air and fuel pipes is a chevron shaped flat blade with clamping blocks welded on. All 304 stainless. This would be too bulky and crude for a "moving" engine, but should be fine for a stationary intake. Its worst feature in reality is that the flat blade has to be mounted off-center in the flare (to get the pipes in the center plane), which means it perverts the flow into the flare to some degree. Shouldn't be a big problem, though.
The mounting truss is made up from 1-inch square plain steel tubing, with heavy washers welded on at all mounting points. There are four mounting points for the engine and a triangle of points left over at the front to bolt the truss onto the client's fixture. All 3/8-inch bolts (about 9.5mm). Naturally, I couldn't get the right size AN6 aircraft bolts locally, so I drilled out four standard hardware bolts for cotter keys on Jim's drill press. Some fun, but they work. The sheet aluminum heat shield (maybe 24 ga alloy) is captured between the engine and truss as they're bolted up. This should be a really good mounting setup for the client.
L Cottrill
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Fuel and Air Pipe Setup
Here it is with the starting air (bottom) and fuel (top) pipes clamped in place. Note the black lines on the pipes -- the distance of these lines from the front face of the front clamp = the distance of the business end of the pipes forward of the transition from intake tube to front chamber cone edge, i.e. where the airflow "breaks" into the chamber. As shown, the fuel spouting point is about 1 inch (25mm) forward of the transition, the starting air spouting point about 3 to 4 inches farther out.
The fitting on the fuel pipe is a 3/8-inch "compression" fitting. The hoses I use for fuel delivery have nifty fittings equipped with rubber O-rings that perfectly seat in this type of fitting, without the need for wrench tightening. On the air line, I just leave the standard brake line flared end, which fits the rubber tip of the typical compressed air "blow gun" quite nicely.
L Cottrill
The fitting on the fuel pipe is a 3/8-inch "compression" fitting. The hoses I use for fuel delivery have nifty fittings equipped with rubber O-rings that perfectly seat in this type of fitting, without the need for wrench tightening. On the air line, I just leave the standard brake line flared end, which fits the rubber tip of the typical compressed air "blow gun" quite nicely.
L Cottrill
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Experimental Fuel Pipes
I finally figured out the 'macro' setting on the new ELF camera my son Jonathan gave us for our anniversary in November. So, here's a shot of the "business end" of two fuel pipes for this engine - in both cases, 3/8-inch steel balls welded into the cut ends of 3/8-inch OD steel brake line.
The left one is intended to provide only moderate turbulence, with very free flowing fuel vapor around the ball. The other one is an attempt to maximize downstream turbulence. This includes creating slight "back pressure" in the line at strong flows, due to the somewhat restricted port area. On that one, the downstream half of the ball was ground off after welding.
I'll talk about these in more detail on the Tools and Construction Forum later.
L Cottrill
The left one is intended to provide only moderate turbulence, with very free flowing fuel vapor around the ball. The other one is an attempt to maximize downstream turbulence. This includes creating slight "back pressure" in the line at strong flows, due to the somewhat restricted port area. On that one, the downstream half of the ball was ground off after welding.
I'll talk about these in more detail on the Tools and Construction Forum later.
L Cottrill
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Re: Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
Hey Larry, welcome back.
Beautiful work, as ever.
Sorry to hear about the job loss, that's a hard one to suck up and keep a smile on your face. Tough finding another gig, too, especially once you get beyond 30, and even more so in this "unstable" financial climate. Let's hope this little beauty opens a few doors.
Simon
Beautiful work, as ever.
Sorry to hear about the job loss, that's a hard one to suck up and keep a smile on your face. Tough finding another gig, too, especially once you get beyond 30, and even more so in this "unstable" financial climate. Let's hope this little beauty opens a few doors.
Simon
Re: Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
Hi Larry,
Sorry to hear about the job situation - hope things work out for you.
Praying for you dude.Cool engine...
Jutte
Sorry to hear about the job situation - hope things work out for you.
Praying for you dude.Cool engine...
Jutte
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Re: Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
tufty wrote:Hey Larry, welcome back.
Beautiful work, as ever.
Sorry to hear about the job loss, that's a hard one to suck up and keep a smile on your face. Tough finding another gig, too, especially once you get beyond 30, and even more so in this "unstable" financial climate. Let's hope this little beauty opens a few doors.
Simon
Thanks, gentlemen! I probably made my situation sound lots worse than it is. I did end up with a good slug of retirement savings, and we qualified for COBRA so our health insurance can continue (with us paying something for it, of course). I sent out resumes for a while, but finally just decided I'd be better off working to do business.Jutte wrote:Hi Larry,
Sorry to hear about the job situation - hope things work out for you.
Praying for you dude.Cool engine...
My main difficulty really is that I need to make my corporation pay off, somehow -- which it never has. Even this prototype isn't a money maker. However, if the client's experimentation goes well, we could allegedly end up making these by the hundreds, and I certainly would profit from that. (Actually, my main difficulty is learning to think like a businessman instead of an artist. Now THAT's a tough row to hoe.)
Also, there is nothing "exclusive" about my design for this engine. So, I could offer it for other heating uses, as long as I don't divulge the proprietary nature of what the client is doing with his. We think that if we made a quantity of these (even as few as ten at a time), we could make a profit selling them at somewhere around $2000 US, and possibly much less. That surely can't be too bad for an all stainless engine this size, if it's a good fit for a particular industrial application.
Re-engineering this one for propulsion would not be difficult, either. It could be folded, or a standard sanitary tubing U-bend could make it a sort of "Ecrivesse". Done that way, it would make a nice bike or kart engine. It could be easily re-designed for a conical tailpipe to optimize thrust. "Limited only by your imagination." Ha.
L Cottrill
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Re: Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
Hi Larry,
Long time no chat.
A very nice build!
Did you get a chance to try the new injectors? I need to make something much better than what I currently have on my large PJ before I fire it up again.
Sorry to hear about your job. I hope you can get that order. It sure is nice to make money at something one loves to do.
Take care,
Hagen
Long time no chat.
A very nice build!
Did you get a chance to try the new injectors? I need to make something much better than what I currently have on my large PJ before I fire it up again.
Sorry to hear about your job. I hope you can get that order. It sure is nice to make money at something one loves to do.
Take care,
Hagen
Hagen Tannberg
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Re: Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
Badass engine larry, all the best with it I hope it rocks your world
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Re: Big Linear FWE for a Paying Client
Thank you, sir. No, haven't run with them. I thought I might be able to test outside today, but by the time I'd made some last minute mods to my aviation grade test stand (a monster treated plank with a slug of joist hangers nailed onto it) to get a better fit of the mounting truss, I was out of time and patience and it seemed pretty cold and windy. Snow tonight (maybe with freezing rain) running into tomorrow, but maybe Saturday will work. The client is mighty eager to know this runs.hagent wrote:Hi Larry,
Long time no chat.
A very nice build!
Did you get a chance to try the new injectors? I need to make something much better than what I currently have on my large PJ before I fire it up again.
I also think I have a problem with propane -- all I still have is just a couple of regular 20 lb cylinders, which I seem to remember somebody said have restrictors in the valves. Apparently, there is a small forklift cylinder available, 30 lb of propane, and no restrictor (obviously, since they have to develop a few HP). So maybe I can get my hands on one of those. The only other thing I could try is tapping into the supply for my Y2K generators. It's one of those big sausages 3 ft diam x about 8 ft long. It's rigged to deliver a sort of 'intermediate' pressure out through 5/16-inch OD copper tubing, and I could probably tap into it there to drive the line regulator / throttle rig I built.
L Cottrill