Hello everybody
The "seasoned" experimenter who had the first "reserved" the AX could not come and get it: after weeks of waiting, he finally withdrew.
I was preparing to call the next one on the list, but then I ran out of gear with my first car (stopper).
And as I live in the countryside in the middle of nowhere I can not do without a vehicle.
As a result, I had to make up my mind to lose a day by train to the yard where I had left her - much to the owners' relief, get 4 tires up and take her home.
I was sincere when I wanted to give it, and I apologize flatly to those - many - who contacted me hoping to have this car. Maybe later...
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On the other hand, for the Gillier-Pantone experiment, I can no longer "pass on the hot potato": the problem again arises of making the adjustment of the water level in the reactor more reliable. This is the Achilles heel of the GV.
I remember that I have a vertical reactor, going down very low under the vehicle: there is no place to insert a steam generator below the reactor.
Also, after a quick abandonment of the bubbler, my idea was to generate the steam directly in the lower part of the reactor.
As Camel1 observed from its first tests, the "classic" assembly of the mainsail with the tank at constant level is random, given that the depression constantly raises the water column, which can lead to "flooding" of the reactor. This is the reason why on this AX the reactor is only effective for the first km ... At high speed it even started to swallow water in liquid form!
And despite my many tests, I have failed to ensure the balance of pressures between reactor and tank. Bad welds, leaks, total design error?
The main difficulty of this assembly was to send into the reactor a mixture of air and steam, as studied so far.
But it happens that Alex56 has successfully tested a GV where it has completely closed the air intake. And ... it works as well!
In other words, the boiling of the water produces enough volume of vapor to surround the reactor, and ensure proper operation.
Incidentally, it also shows that the reactor does not require to function, complex compounds from the air / water mix. For fuel, we knew it from Antoine Gillier ...
After some insomnia, I think I have found a complementary technique to the constant level tank. It's the same thing, but upside down:
A brass float (copper seems heavy) rises with the level of water in the reactor. It drives a stainless steel ball, which carries a conical hole, which ensures the arrival of water in the reactor.
Note that the basic level adjustment is always provided by the constant level outer tank.
The reactor rod, currently supported from below, should be maintained from above.
I look forward to your comments ...