Jensen in the USA have offered electrically heated boilers on their steam models for over 60 years.

http://jensensteamengines.com/hobby/h70g.htm

Blondihacks on youtube recently built a boiler with an electric element for heat. A cartridge heater with integral male pipe thread fitting was used. These heaters are probably the simplest way to implement electric heating for boilers. Sealing and mechanical fastening is done on pipe threads and all electric wiring is on the dry side. Many industrial suppliers offer cartridge heaters.

Storage radiators heat the bricks to well above 100C so one could use solar panels to heat that then run a steam generator off that for overnight electricity. A stirling engine might be more user friendly for the general public and the dreadful inefficiency wouldn't matter so much if you were using the heat for house heating too.

At the Doncaster show there was a layout upstairs, electrically powered steam train, it picked up the electricity from the track as it went along, very nice it was too. John

Wilescos D32 was an electric heat model, has a micro temp hidden on the end of the boiler as a fail safe ! But if it fails it is not a spare part, one needs to know what it is and what to do to replace it. Noel.

The Swiss produced a full sized electrically fired steam loco to deal with their lack of coal during the second world war.

The Swiss Electric-Steam Locomotives………Lasik (douglas-self.com)

Beware of the Douglas Self site You can get lost in there for hours (days).

Jim Ewins measured the efficiency of model loco boiler at about 70%, so SOD is being pessimistic. Having said that I would imagine a 3kW electric fired boiler would be good for running stationary engine for display.

Back in the 1930's there was an article in ME about an electrode boiler, just pass current through the water, no heating element. Someone posted it here recently, but I can't find it. A bit dodgy unless you had an isolation transformer and could ground one end of the shell of the boiler

Long long ago I made a simple oscillating steam engine from a car brake cylinder. This was coupled to a bike dynamo and a small light bulb. Steam came from my mother's pressure cooker on an electric cooker. Input heat around 2kW. Light bulb 6V 0.5 A 3W. Efficiency negligable

Some here may recall Ron Jarvis' wonderful models of significant early steam-engines of various types, parallel in individuality, technical significance, quality and medal-magnetism with Cherry Hill's models. They did know each other, via the major exhibitions.)

If so, you may remember his Newcomen Atmospheric Engine – a sizeable model approaching two feet high as I recall.

He made all its correct, scale, lead pipes, timber framing, "stone" blocks or bricks for walls (very probably cast and laid individually, not engraved slabs), wrought and cast "iron", square fasteners and the like; but realised he could not reasonably coal-fire the partly-spherical boiler, 2psi w.p. as original. It is about the size of an orange – and dimpled like one to represent the hand-forged iron plates, though actually of copper or brass.

So Ron, a retired Civil-Service Scientist who taught himself computing when using computers meant knowing computers not just using them, decided on something that could not have come to Newcomen… electricity.

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Therefore the boiler contains a small, low-voltage electric element, controlled by a temperature probe and an integrated circuit discreetly concealed in the machine's base. The on-off switch and I think a small temperature or pressure meter (electric), are set into a panel in one side of the plinth.

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I do hope this and his other works have found a proper home where they can be appreciated; but I remember Ron would joke about this being the only example of an Eighteenth-Century Atmospheric-Engine with Computer-Control!

A replacement electric shower element would be a good starting point. Most are dual rated or a simple phaseangle "dimmer" would woork well. Get a small one though. 3kW limit on a 13A plug.

Robert.

I've not seen a replacement kettle element for some time

Flat ones at Espares and standard ones on the bay