The wondrous pop pop boat

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 6:25 pm

I know this is way OT but you know me gotta be tinkering with something.
These boats date back too the 1800`s and are pretty cool.
Heck of a lot harder to make one that works than you`d think but after three days we got two done even though there not much to look at.
They work like a flash boiler, the water flashes into steam and expels out the back. The steam cools and creates a vacuum drawing water back into the boil where the cycle repeats.
The copper diaphram helps with the pulse and if made right will make a clicking sound.
Two things, my soldering job is terrible and the solder is melting from the heat.
What kind of solder do i need for high temps, silver solder?
The other problem is the flame is sooting up the boiler bad, it`s a wick lamp and i`m burning Coleman fuel, is that the problem and if so what would burn clean.
Thanks.

Video

nemhed · Post by **nemhed** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 6:42 pm

No suggestions Pitchy, but thanks for posting, I giggled like a 5 y.o. while watching that! If you need more project ideas, check the Instructables website.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 6:47 pm

How will she do in a blow?

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 6:54 pm

Chuck 100 yd wrote:How will she do in a blow?

Thanks guys.
A blow ?

Post by **Hobie** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 7:00 pm

Pitchy wrote:
Chuck 100 yd wrote:How will she do in a blow?
Thanks guys.
A blow ?

A high wind.

That IS wondrous! I really liked it.

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 7:15 pm

Thanks Hobie, if they`er running right they scoot right along. Guess what my 24x24 skating rink is going to be used for this summer.

2ndovc · Post by **2ndovc** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 7:40 pm

Freakin' cool! No suggestions for working out the kinks but.

You da Man!

jb

iceman · Post by **iceman** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 7:46 pm

Pretty neat!! A silver type solder would probably be better to withstand the higher temps. You would think the incoming water would keep the temperatures low enough to prevent the soft solder from melting. Alcohol may burn cleaner than Coleman fuel (naptha).

gundownunder · Post by **gundownunder** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 7:47 pm

That's cool.
You could have a lot of fun with that on a small pond. For outdoor use I imagine you would need a wind shield of some kind for the flame.
For a cleaner burn you could try methylated spirits, or lighter fluid.

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 8:18 pm

Thanks gents.
I forgot about Heet, use it in my alcohol stoves.

The solder may not melt now that they run right, if ya put to much heat to them it will boil the water out of the boiler and overheat.
I may try making one in sections that screw together where the copper top and bottum sandwhich in between some flat bars and put compression fitting on the tubes so ya can remove the boiler for maint.

Hayseed · Post by **Hayseed** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 9:00 pm

Cool Lenn !!!

ollogger · Post by **ollogger** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 9:09 pm

Well Pitchy that one really trips my trigger, Id love to see it on your rink when it thaws out
really something & its a 10

ollogger

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 9:31 pm

Thanks pards, here`s some pics of the two we made so far.

Ironwood · Post by **Ironwood** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 10:08 pm

Lenn, that is some steam boat! Can't wait until the skating rink thaws out.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 11:41 pm

Pitchy,

That's fun to watch.

I wonder if you could make a full sized boat like that?

Joe

FWiedner · Post by **FWiedner** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 1:31 am

I think that's the same engine the Iranians use in their stealth fighter.

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 2:02 am

FWiedner wrote:I think that's the same engine the Iranians use in their stealth fighter.

The principle is not unlike the pulse jets that once powered the German V-1, and other contraptions....Modern Ion Pulse engines will power space planes...

perry owens · Post by **perry owens** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 7:43 am

I used to make the boilers from a brass ring cut from 2inch tube, with a sheet brass bottom and a copper foil top. Soft solder should be ok provided you fill the whole thing with water from a syringe first. Block the ends of the tubes with your fingers while placing it in the water. For fuel I used pieces of the solid fuel pellets sold for hiking stoves.
Nowdays the ones imported from India are so cheap it's not worth the effort to make one.
http://www.poppopboats.net/toyshop/cat_ ... Range.html

Perry Owens

Borregos · Post by **Borregos** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 7:54 am

That is real neat Pitchy

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 8:00 am

Thanks again guys, Perry i have one coming in the mail today.
Joe, that thought is running through my mind

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 8:37 am

I thought you were making a still.

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 8:48 am

bulldog1935 wrote:I thought you were making a still.

Huh

that goes in the boat silly

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 10:12 am

To answer the solder question, yes to silver solder. On copper it makes a joint akin to welding. Needs a different flux than soft solder.

You could try olive oil for fuel if you want to use a liquid. It burns clean but probably soots when it's in close contact. But is a lot less volatile than gasoline. Child friendlier.

Great to see those boats. You can easily add a servo to the rudder and use a remote to drive them around. You could make a small log boom and tow that about the thawed skater pond. And you could put runners on one and drive it on the ice.......

Fun stuff, glad to see it.

Grizz

Tycer · Post by **Tycer** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 10:18 am

Use a scoop of Sterno.

Cool stuff. Now I know what to get my granddaughter for her birthday.

Bill in Oregon · Post by **Bill in Oregon** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 10:29 am

Pitch, I had not heard of these. I am simply captivated! AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME! My inner child is running screaming around the yard wearing nothing but a gunbelt and cap pistols!

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 12:17 pm

Go on Ebay fellers there`s all kinds of them, even the Titanic.
We are making one as we speak, lunch break, no solder on the boiler at all.
Will post a video if it works.
Thanks.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 4:34 pm

I think your pop pop boat is great..

I have a little tin one made in China that uses a small candle to heat the water. I tried to post some photos of it but photobucket won't play ball.

Bill in Oregon · Post by **Bill in Oregon** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 6:50 pm

Ordered one for me and two for friends off Ebay.

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 7:07 pm

PB must of been messed up just got some pictures to download.

They`ll have fun with them Bill.

Well gent we got er done, love this boat and it runs perfect.
The boiler can be disasembled and removed with ease, takes very little heat to run.
It`s 5 wide and 19 in. long with 2 in. sides.

Video.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 7:16 pm

Fun!!

Ironwood · Post by **Ironwood** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:22 pm

Yes, this one looks much cleaner than the others. Sounds better too. Good job. Looking forward to when the skating rink thaws.

FWiedner · Post by **FWiedner** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:31 pm

That one is cool, Pitchy.

I don't know why but I instantly pictured it transporting a stick of dynamite...

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:54 pm

what's the biggest boat this kind of engine has pushed, and how many miles per candle does it get?

and how does the throttle work? 2 candles?

love the sound, evocative of the one-lung make and break engines.

great project Pitchy

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:57 pm

Thanks guys, check out some of this guys videos.
I found a little info about large engines of this type and this spring will experiment with it.
I can see a pop pop canoe engine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvlM-_glZ_g

perry owens · Post by **perry owens** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 5:08 am

Nice work as usual Pitchy. When my new mill arrives I am going to restart my project on another type of pop-pop, a valveless pulse jet. Those guys pop at serious levels - the little one I made a few years back popped at 400Hz and 130 decibels. Engines with no moving parts are a fascinating technology.
Perry Owens

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 8:36 am

Looking forward to seeing that Perry.

Bill in Oregon · Post by **Bill in Oregon** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 11:12 am

Pitchy, that's your best contraption yet, and you have built some real wonderments. The engine has excellent tone. I wish I could see it in person to understand the details better. A larger scale engine would be fascinating.

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 11:30 am

Bill in Oregon wrote:Pitchy, that's your best contraption yet, and you have built some real wonderments. The engine has excellent tone. I wish I could see it in person to understand the details better. A larger scale engine would be fascinating.

Well i`m only about 1800 miles away, jump in your rig and come and have a look see.

I`m giving it a paint job as we speak, why does paint take so long to dry

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:26 pm

Hayseed · Post by **Hayseed** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 1:08 pm

Cool ! Is the new burner a sort of Betty Lamp ?

Bill in Oregon · Post by **Bill in Oregon** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 1:10 pm

Looks great, bro! Say, did you simply tack weld your boat hull? What kind of metal did you use? I forgot I have one of those little Harbor Freight wire welders.
And thanks for the link to Daryl in Canada's wonderful Youtubes.

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 1:17 pm

Thanks Bill, used pretty heavy gauge tin like they use for heating duck work.
Welded a bead right down the edges of the seams, come on you can do it.

When ya get and run your boats be sure to prime the engines or you`ll melt the solder in the boiler. Stand it on end and fill in one pipe until it comes out both then hold your fingers over the ends of the tubes and put in the water, very important.
Also don`t get carried away with the heat, just enough to make it run.

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 1:19 pm

Hayseed wrote:Cool ! Is the new burner a sort of Betty Lamp ?

Thanks bro, the burner is a copper pipe end cap with a tube soldered on the side and a wick pulled through it. Using Heet now and seems to burn pretty clean.

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 3:43 pm

You have me thinking about stainless pipes, compression fittings, and a Benz-a-matic adjustable torch

Might propel a larger craft.

Bill in Oregon · Post by **Bill in Oregon** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 6:22 pm

The pulsing metal bladder reminds me a bit of a beating heart. I'll bet a feller with some skills could build a heart-shaped engine for Valentines Day. "Awe, now ain't that sweet!"

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 7:27 pm

Reminds me of that oo.

The line up.

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 7:45 pm

Reminds me of a Product Development discussion I had (as translator/facilitator) between a pair of Israeli scientists and some Russian Boat Manufacturers...

Simple Physics that neither group had properly correlated into a marketable product... (and I didn't gt a penny...

)

ollogger · Post by **ollogger** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 7:56 pm

Thats just awesome Pitchy!
My big build for the day was trimming brass, but then even that beats working saturdays

ollogger

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Sat Feb 09, 2013 8:58 pm

Thanks guys.

Bill in Oregon · Post by **Bill in Oregon** » Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:50 am

Pitchy, one of the most remarkable things about you -- and there are many -- is how quickly you turn inspiration into reality. A few days back you posted your first engine, and now you have a refined, painted and complete fleet! THE PITCHMEISTER ROCKS!