Member postings for Martin Murray 2

Hello I would appreciate your experience. I want to build a garden track 31/2" to run a couple of loco,s- one a tank loco and the other a tender loco- I am not into passenger hauling but building a realistic scenic set. This means the locomotive will run light with very little load as the trucks are no weight at all. My question is -- given that the loco is well maintained what boiler pressure would be required to set and keep the loco in motion. Track will be virtually level-- the only resistance will be basically the weight of the engine and the friction against the track. Depending on the pressure required will govern the boiler parameters -have two chassis minus boilers and would get or construct boilers to suit. I thought of converting them to an electric set up but steam would be more realistic.

Thank you all for your response -- it gives food for thought. The information on these new infra red panels working at 3000 nm was given by the manufacturer---"""""Standard convention heating systems either radiant or hot air expend a lot of energy to keep the ambient temperature up all the time-- not practical for a not well insulated building. Infrared at this frequency releases energy on contact with a surface it doesn't waste energy heating air molecules. Objects in the building and the fabric itself collect the heat - warm up and then emit the heat back eventually creating a stable comfortable temperature."" A panel suitable for a shed 12 x12 would be 300 watts.----- what I am trying to achieve would be to supply that power for 50 percent of the day as the recommendation is to operate one hour on one hour off . Apparently it only heats objects not the surrounding and I have been told that working in the shed I also would be an " object" and so would receive infra red heat . It is said to be like the sun where you can sit out in snow field but the infra red from sun will warm providing there is no cooling air. So if it warms objects it is supposed to prevent condensation.

Thank you all for your response -- it gives food for thought. The information on these new infra red panels working at 3000 nm was given by the manufacturer---"""""Standard convention heating systems either radiant or hot air expend a lot of energy to keep the ambient temperature up all the time-- not practical for a not well insulated building. Infrared at this frequency releases energy on contact with a surface it doesn't waste energy heating air molecules. Objects in the building and the fabric itself collect the heat - warm up and then emit the heat back eventually creating a stable comfortable temperature."" A panel suitable for a shed 12 x12 would be 300 watts.----- what I am trying to achieve would be to supply that power for 50 percent of the day as the recommendation is to operate one hour on one hour off . Apparently it only heats objects not the surrounding and I have been told that working in the shed I also would be an " object" and so would receive infra red heat . It is said to be like the sun where you can sit out in snow field but the infra red from sun will warm providing there is no cooling air. So if it warms objects it is supposed to prevent condensation.

The ir panel consumes 300 w and is rated over 80percent efficient.the inverter runs at more than 70 percent efficiency. Ok so accordingly if my maths are correct total consumption is around 2-21/2 watts.100 amp/ hr battery would run system 24 hrs . The ir supplier suggests switch on/off 50 percent of the day/ night . Assuming then the battery would last 48 hrs without charge. A 100 w 12 v is the proposed solar panel which sould be enough to keep the system going. There could be alternative to the panel ---and that is using 3000nm diodes to generate the ir . These are easier now to obtain but have problems in controlling but use much less power.

The workshop is a cabin 1.25"thick interlock board -- wood floor covered --not insulated walls or ceiling Has been generally dry but noticed that as soon as temp by radiant heater heats shed above 12 C ,condensation forms on cold surfaces causing surface rust on some tooling . Ok I know the moisture if from the interior atmosphere and the heating causing the dew point to be crossed Propose to solve the situation as follows. Mount an ir panel 3000nm - this doesn't heat the air but heats surrounding objects and keeps them at 80/90 f. The panel consumes 300 w which would be fed by a 12 v battery using inverter to convert to 230/240. Battery kept charged by solar panel on roof. Ir at this frequency is not hazardous to health but according to manufacturers spec would eventually bring the temperature inside the workshop to a nice 60/65 ambient working environment. The unit would be on 24/7 maybe switching off in summer. What I would like to know if anyone has had experience of ir heating at 3000nm frequency? . This system is totally green and not reliant on wiring to shed. Thanks for any replies

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