Aluminium Boiler

[Nigel BennettParticipant @nigelbennett69913]

Back in WW2, Stuart Turner produced a device, using a Sirius steam engine and an attached boiler – the Firefly. I recall it was described in ME years ago. It was used by partisans (Listen carefully; I shall say zis only wince) in France to recharge the batteries in their radio sets so they could communicate with London; fuel was just bits of wood and suchlike.

Stuart Turner then redesigned it, using a single-cylinder piston valve engine and a finned cast-aluminium boiler. There's an article here about this later type:

https://www.royalsignals.org.uk/photos/steam.htm

Anyway – I am now in possession of one of the latter variants. It's been used quite a lot judging by the soot on the boiler, but I am intrigued by the fact that it's aluminium – and it's been full of water for the last thirty years at least!

Here it is in its box with all the connecting pipes clipped into the lid:

Intriguing-looking piece of kit; I haven't connected up any of the pipes.

The engine has a variable-stroke feed pump and an integral lubricator pump also. Exhaust is directed up the chimney to draw the fire.

It even comes with a spare gauge glass in the box.

Has anybody ever steamed one of these with its original cast aluminium boiler? Those pressure cookers we cheerfully use in the kitchen (only at 15psi) aren't a lot different; you don't hear of many of those exploding.

I would imagine anybody wanting to run this device in public would have to make a new copper or steel boiler to get insurance for it.

[Nigel BennettParticipant @nigelbennett69913]

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Wow. Awesome piece of history. It looks like you could unbolt the front and inspect inside for corrosion. Pressure cookers usually have a safety valve, even if it's just a rubber plug. Does this have some sort of safety valve?

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Looks like a safety valve the other side of the water guage,

regards Martin

[Rod RenshawParticipant @rodrenshaw28584]

I saw one of these sets ( or one like it) on display at a traction engine rally once. The owner had it in steam and powering the engine/ generator set to produce power to light a lamp

. The owner said that the boiler was effectively in 2 halves which screwed together so it could be disassembled for cleaning out.

On active service the water would often have had to come from streams or pools etc, I don't remember seeing a boiler feed pump or any boiler drain valves. The set seemed quite a big heavy thing but I suppose in the days of valve/ tube radios it was needed to recharge the accumulators without making a noise.

Rod

[Nigel BennettParticipant @nigelbennett69913]

Yes, Hopper; that's a fairly substantial safety valve to the right of the water gauge. The website I referred to said it was run at 60psi, so it would make quite a bang if the aluminium gave way. Funny stuff, when it gets old…

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

These were sent to Norway too, and I recall seeing one engine and dynamo combination at least, in the Resistance Museum in Oslo. I can't recall if it has the boiler or not.

[Paul KempParticipant @paulkemp46892]

What a lovely thing to have. Make a new compliant boiler and you can charge your iPhone with it!

Paul.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Posted by Paul Kemp on 07/02/2023 19:22:41:

What a lovely thing to have. Make a new compliant boiler and you can charge your iPhone with it!

Paul.

A fabulous bit of history for collectors

[Author]

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