Green steam

Energy & Sustainability

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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July 25th, 2007 82

Our pal I-Wei Huang, of Crabfu SteamWorks, sent us a link to this “green” steam engine, a super-efficient two- (or more) piston engine that is allegedly easy and economical to build. It has a very ingenious way of converting reciprocating movement into rotary movement, the action of which you can see in an animated GIF on the site. It’s amazingly efficient, (freewheeling at a mere 2 psi).