All was going fine
until the time came to begin designing the boiler. Never did that
before. I made the decision right off the bat that I was NOT going to
build it myself. I can weld, but not good enough for pressure vessels.
Well after reading several books, reviewing the prototype blueprints and
discussing things with fellow club members and others, I was ready to
put together my design. I created CAD drawings and forwarded them to
the builder for comments. Made a couple more changes and we were ready
to go weld some steel. After about 4 months, the boiler was completed
and delivered. When I unpacked it, all I could say was "what a
beauty". Ray Pennell of Steam Age U.S.A. did an exceptional job and was
a pleasure to work with. Specifications were held tightly and the
finished product looked so good I'd hate to cover it up with jacketing.
Here are pictures of the boiler. I modified an engine dolly and put the
boiler on it so I could move around this 550lb baby.
.
The silver plate
in the firebox below is an arch for use with propane.