Q. Can I use firewood in your steam engine?

A. Fire wood consumption is a bit tricky to assess because of the variation in the characteristics of different timbers but all the testing we did was with what we call eucalyptus (gum tree) timber which is a tough dense hard wood and in particular the one we call red gum burns long, hot, strong and very clean.

If one uses a fuel like this the system will consume around 2 barrow loads of wood over a 6 to 8 hour period.

Coal would be consumed at the rate of about 200lbs over the same time frame but again it depends on how hard the system is being driven.

Q. How much gas would they use?

A. We have no figures on gas consumption as these boilers are not made to be run on fuels such as that instead their sole purpose is really for firing on a renewable biomass which comes literally for free.

Q. How long would it take to get one?

A. We do not have an Indy on the shelf we really only keep an odd Liberty in stock from time to time and we have an HMT47 boiler on the floor which is very close to complete. It takes around 12 to 14 weeks to bring a system together although quite often we beat that time.

Q. How much deposit do you need to get an order started?

A. We would expect a deposit of $3000 to start with and then another part payment as the job progressed till the final payment before we ship it out.

Q. What are the costs for individual components if we don't get the complete system from you?

A. If we supply just the engine with a governor, a boiler and pumps then the price would be as follows:

1. The boiler $4950

2. Engine with a governor and vac pump $6600

3. Feedwater pump $375

4. Packing crate and packing charge $650

5. Freight estimate $1500

Total $14,075

This does not include any insurance, fittings, pipe work, system bed plate fire bricks chimney etc although we can supply all the valves ,fittings, bed plate etc if need be but it would most likely be cheaper to get these yourself.

Please note that we will be updating these prices in 2008.  Call or email for a quote.

Please email us your technical related comments or questions to technical@thesustainablevillage.com.