EvhCo
RCTalk Qualifier
- Messages
- 172
- Reaction score
- 22
- RC Driving Style
- Racing
WARNING!
Boring story ahead.
With all respect to owners of 1:1 scale electrics and RC electrics, I never even gave thought to a future powered entirely by electricity, until I read about the potential fossil-fuel vehicle ban that is planned in certain countries. As the head-on petrolhead I am, these news scared me to hell. I couldn't imagine driving a car that is propelled by a cylinder filled with magnets and a coil (artistic exaggeration, of course), when my love is about oiling cylinders, building your own car and listening to that engine roaring like it's pissed-off while the smoke is stinging your eyes. Hell, I think only a petrolhead can see the heaven in this picture.
This got me thinking of all the shapes a combustion engine can take. As long as it burns hot, sounds good, has plenty of moving parts and fills the area with smoke, the fuel isn't of much importance. What is something that matches these conditions and is also enviroment-friendly?
Oh god. Of course!
Steam!
First of all, I'm aware that nitro (or methanol, to be more precise) has nothing to do with the fossil fuel ban, but all my 1:1 automotive thoughts automatically mirror to my RC thinker. We've got nitros. We've got 'ellies. We've got petrol, and we've even got hydrogen. Why not steam?
To be practical in an RC, a steam engine would need to fulfill a couple of conditions. It needs to be small, it needs to be light, it needs to provide ready-and-packed power whenever the controller needs it, and it needs to be "stand-alone". Following this research of mine, I started building probably the first stand-alone big-block steam engine to be used in an RC, and I am actually close to finishing it.
What do you guys think of my research? I'll be sure to post photos of the steam engine as it progresses if anyone is actually interested in my project.
Boring story ahead.
With all respect to owners of 1:1 scale electrics and RC electrics, I never even gave thought to a future powered entirely by electricity, until I read about the potential fossil-fuel vehicle ban that is planned in certain countries. As the head-on petrolhead I am, these news scared me to hell. I couldn't imagine driving a car that is propelled by a cylinder filled with magnets and a coil (artistic exaggeration, of course), when my love is about oiling cylinders, building your own car and listening to that engine roaring like it's pissed-off while the smoke is stinging your eyes. Hell, I think only a petrolhead can see the heaven in this picture.
This got me thinking of all the shapes a combustion engine can take. As long as it burns hot, sounds good, has plenty of moving parts and fills the area with smoke, the fuel isn't of much importance. What is something that matches these conditions and is also enviroment-friendly?
Oh god. Of course!
Steam!
First of all, I'm aware that nitro (or methanol, to be more precise) has nothing to do with the fossil fuel ban, but all my 1:1 automotive thoughts automatically mirror to my RC thinker. We've got nitros. We've got 'ellies. We've got petrol, and we've even got hydrogen. Why not steam?
To be practical in an RC, a steam engine would need to fulfill a couple of conditions. It needs to be small, it needs to be light, it needs to provide ready-and-packed power whenever the controller needs it, and it needs to be "stand-alone". Following this research of mine, I started building probably the first stand-alone big-block steam engine to be used in an RC, and I am actually close to finishing it.
What do you guys think of my research? I'll be sure to post photos of the steam engine as it progresses if anyone is actually interested in my project.