
The Last Great Steam Car (2006) - jmadsen
http://www.damninteresting.com/the-last-great-steam-car/
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bradleyland
> It is true that the technology poses some difficult problems, but one cannot
> help but be curious how efficient a steam car might be with the benefit of
> modern materials and computers.

It's easy to shrug off questions like this, placing them in the category of
"if it were feasible, someone would obviously be doing it already", but it's
still interesting. Having read a pretty extensively about how steam
locomotives work, and some additional reading about steam power in general,
it's interesting to read this article and catch small windows in to the
overall progress of steam during the era. For example, reading the remarks
about closing the steam circuit reminds me of the progress made in condensate
and heat recovery developed in steam power at the time. Really remarkable to
see that in something as small as a car.

As an academic exercise, I think it'd be really cool to develop a "steam
powered auto challenge". Of course, no one is going to get behind it because
steam is not a green technology, but sometimes we can learn important lessons
from the past. Working on a completely unrelated technology and studying its
progress can teach us lessons about the development of current technologies.

~~~
RobGR
Because the combustion products must transfer their heat to water before the
energy can be used, I think there is an inherent limitation on the efficiency
of a steam engine as compared to internal combustion.

I was interested in steam cars for a while, I have a manual to a Stanley
Steamer and a short book published by Lindsay on them.

However it was reading the history of steam that is in the opening chapters of
Lyle Cummin's "Internal Fire" and his description of the limitations of steam
and sterling engines, that I came to think there was a fundamental reason
behind it.

The Doble and Stanley era cars seem to have gotten about 10 mpg.

On the other hand, they do have a possible advantage in being able to consume
a variety of non-standard fuels. There may be a niche market for that, which
given the relative size of the car markets in 1925 vs 2015, is quiet huge and
could support a sizeable company.

~~~
Retric
This is far less of an issue than you might assume. Modern steam engines can
have around 48% efficacy and combined cycle power plants can hit ~60% where IC
engines rarely top 35% with cars generally averaging less than 25%.

A much larger issue is trying to scale this down. Power plants are optimized
for efficiency and cost not weight, where IC engines can be very light
relative to their power output.

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Frenchgeek
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUg_ukBwsyo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUg_ukBwsyo)

( 1925 Doble E-20 Steam Car - Jay Leno's Garage )

~~~
Alkim
It is a fantastic automobile and a great video from Jay Leno, whom we all owe
a debt of gratitude for preserving our technological legacy, similarly to Bill
Harrah from a generation earlier.

Imagine what a Doble could be with a few processors handling all the
complexity....

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jackgavigan
As recently as 2008, Scania and Volvo were eyeing steam for powering trucks:
[http://www.nordicgreen.net/startups/article/ranotor-
develop-...](http://www.nordicgreen.net/startups/article/ranotor-develop-
steam-engine-powered-hybrid-trucks-together-scania-and-volv)

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jhallenworld
A Doble engine powered this airplane:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw6NFmcnW-8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw6NFmcnW-8)

~~~
zombees
It's really cool how they can arbitrarily turn the prop on and off like an
electric aircraft, even reversing its direction. Might this be one of the
earliest examples of thrust reversal for breaking? Also, could this be a more
efficient arrangement than IC engine+prop governor?

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tolmark12
Also interesting, North Korea's wood burning trucks developed out of necessity
due to oil sanctions :

[http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/how-north-
kor...](http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/how-north-korea-fuels-
its-military-trucks-with-trees/)

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jakejake
Was I the only one who saw this as a sorta commentary on how we might be
looking at combustion engines in 100 years? It will probably seem ridiculous
that we were burning smelly fuel.

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rmason
Bill Leer, inventor of the Leer jet, spent millions in the early seventies on
a modern steam car as a solution to the oil crisis.

[http://www.progressivevalues.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-
lear...](http://www.progressivevalues.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-lear-steam-
engine-you-never-got.html)

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awjr
Steam is primarily an engine driven by gas pressure (as are most combustion
engines). I see the compressed air car as an evolution of the Steam car.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_air_car](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_air_car)

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garagemc2
Probably one of the most interesting articles I've read recently. Well written
and to the point. Bookmarked that site.

~~~
jmadsen
His entire site is like that, and full of fascinating articles - the more
recent of which also have audio readings.

Wasn't expecting this post to take off the way it did, but glad for him. He
does a really nice job on these stories.

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ryanstanton
Steam is cool, yes, I love the history behind antiques and the insight into
their periods of history, but electric is SOOOO much better. Steam does not
give instantaneous torque, nor the ability to precisely control individual
wheels / motors. I just can't see steam making a comeback.

Electric = exponential

Steam and ICE = incremental

~~~
ams6110
Steam does give instantaneous torque (once it's built up pressure, that is).

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ceequof
Something wrong with the text margins?

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andrelaszlo
Overfull hbox? :P I think they fixed it now?

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mikro2nd
Published 24 October 2006

~~~
ForHackernews
Steam car technology hasn't advanced much in the last 9 years.

