Hydrosonic Pump

[buzneg]

motors are 90% efficent, how efficently can one turn steam into electricity? stirling engine, or copper wire, transfering heat to the input water?

[rapttor]

Jim Griggs was able to produce consistant numbers of 35% - 70% more energy (output as steam) than the drive motor was using. It's not so much the HP of the motor, but rather a motor that's capable of 5-15K RPM so that you can fine tune it for the best efficiency.

-art

[mikestocks2006]

Art,

At 15k rpm on a 5/16 shaft, we are looking at aprox 6.7 m/sec surface speed. (surface speed is one of the critical factors in rotary seal designs, others are pressure, surface finish, liquid chemical reactivity with seal material vs temp etc.)
At 15k rpm it?s borderline between using mid and higher end quality seal material for longevity.
Nitrile might do the job too, PTFE (Teflon type) would be better. Buna-N rubber may not cut it for prolonged periods.
On the non drive side, cap it (no leaks) and use a bronze sleeve bushing, light press fit on the end plate, slip/clearance fit on the shaft, they are very cheap readily available and durable and you can get them with very high tolerances.

Once you post some schematics, it may help to provide more specifics. If you use the inlet through the shaft (requires a much simpler but more expensive design) there are off the self units available that can handle up to 20k rpm, over 1000psi  and temps to 250 F maybe higher depending on materials an usage specs.
For proof of concept the easiest and cheapest solution may still be the silicon O-ring/washer/spring combo suggested earlier.
It all depends on the scope of what the device/experiment is trying to accomplish.

I hope this helps.
Good luck.

[allcanadian]

Hey raptor we use graphite shaft seals on our pumps ,high pressure steam system . High temp, cheap and very durable. Go to a plumber ask for condensate pump shaft seals.

[idnick]

Hi Art

I am going to try to send a pic. of the Griggs Hydrosonic Pump that I replicated. Take note of the automotive seal I used. I've turned this unit at 3450 RPM but for my application 1725 is plenty fast to produce high temps (I shut it off at 240 degrees) and steam.  Rotor is 8 5/8" No problem with leakage.  If photo comes through, I'll send Stephan pics from start to finish. Rotor is about half impressive, even if I say so myself

Dave

Don't know much about sending pictures, but here goes..