[Gasification] The Age of Steam

[Michael Redler]

Hey Tom,
   
  I hear what your saying but, I'm not willing to abandon steam yet.
   
  Because of our interest in gasification, I think we are uniquely prepared for the variables associated with steam power and are predisposed to developing an excellent boiler with the stove concepts already discussed.
   
  I don't remember my source for this information but, I think the generally accepted thermal efficiency for steam power is 17% but, I've always wondered about the conditions (i.e. closed or open system) under which that efficiency was measured.
   
  More to the point, if we look at steam power under the same microscope which was used to consider Stirling engines, we would be considering many more variables. Some of those variables include maintenance, number and sophistication of moving parts, etc.
   
  Please understand Tom, I respect your opinion and I'm not totally disagreeing with you. I'm just intrigued with how quickly steam power can be implemented and how the cook stove technology we've discussed in the past could help in that implementation.
   
  Mike 
  
Thomas Reed <tombreed at comcast.net> wrote:
  Dear Dean and All:

Steam is indeed an incredible heat transfer medium and it was widely 
used in the 19th Century, not so much now. There is a lot of technology 
associated with boilers that none of us know. Among other things it is 
necessary to remove all air from the steam before it achieves high 
rates, and boiling non-distilled water will eventually clog the system 
with mineral. 

So, by all means let's use steam for cooking and heating, but there are 
downsides. 

TOM REED BEF (Back from a 3 week trip to LA-SF)

[snip]