Source for live steam engine

I am interested in Live Steam - full scale (not locomotives nor steamships, just automobile/steam launch size) and cannot seem to find a reasonably priced engine! Economies of scale aside, there just is not that much machining necessary for the smaller mobile engines. There are so few manufacturers (older engines are all considered antiques) that they seem to treat the market like a virtual monopoly (you sell yours over there, I'll sell mine over here, and we won't have any of that silly "Free Market Competition" that drives our profits down, eh?"...

Oh, all right, I am being a bit of a curmudgeon - good at that, I s'pose - but still - does anyone out there have a reasonably priced source for a reasonably sized (say, up to 10 HP, not greedy here) steam engine? The prices I have been finding should include engine, boiler, a launch to put them in, and hire of a stoker for a year! Okay, I am exaggerating again.

Please - anybody?

Thanks, all!

Reliable Steam:

http://www.pioneer.net/~carlich/RSE/RSEhome.html

10HP doesn;t come cheap, though...and at that HP level, you may be getting out of the "hobby engine" class and into the range that requries certification, both for the steam plant, and yourself. There are also lots of legal considerations if you want to operate a steam launch, depending on where you are..
Stay away from coal, stick with oil or gaseous fuels, much simpler to fire for a novice. Also, you really might want to consider checking in with a live steam club, or other steam group, and get the basics under your belt well befoer you invest money. Steam is not as simple or easy as it looks, and even at low HP/pressures, it can be rather dangerous for the inexperienced.

Cheers
Harold

Thanks, HAC! I had looked at Reliable some time back, and for some reason had convinced myself that they were much more expensive than they really are. I appreciate the second chance for a first impression.

I understand that 10 HP is about the upper reach of hobby steam, though some of the bigger plants make me drool... I don't plan on operating a steam launch commercially, of course, and I plan on staying within the limit as far as boilers go. I don't really care for solid fuel type boilers; the flexibility of a multiple-fuel (liquid or solid) boiler has some attractions, though, I must admit. In these days of rollercoaster fuel prices, being able to run an excursion on driftwood collected on the shore sounds really nice.

I do have some experience (enough to know that I don't know enough!) having spent some time years ago helping out at a railroad museum. I do plan on spending some time on learning more about what I need to know before jumping in at the deep end.

Thanks again!

WE MANUFACTURE STEAM ENGINES FROM 2 HP TO 20 HP.

V K DESAI
TINYTECH PLANTS
tinytech@tinytechindia.com

I have been looking at about that range also at this date the Reliable sight is down so not sure if they are still around. I am in the process of building a steam powered vehicle and was looking at Reliable's 7 HP plant and monotube boiler to power it. If anyone has some alternate suggestions for engines and boilers I am all ears.

I have seen the TinyTech sight and like your companies goals. What is the steam consumption of the TinyTech 10 HP engines and can the boilers be fired with propane? Can you also give me a rough idea of weight? Thanks

You might get an answer a bit sooner asking over here:
http://brassgoggles.co.uk/bg-forum/index.php
:}
this forum is essentially just for emergencies when the other one goes down.

Thanks for the heads up. Turns out Reliable was on vacation when I was looking. Their still going strong as far as I know.

Lots of rules around the manufacture of boilers and they have to be tested and certified. All ads to the price.