Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

My PSE beam engine arrived a short while ago, but this was the first chance I had to run it and do a review.  Their engine line normally has a tarnished or patina finish, but I had requested one without that finish, and this is the result.  They claim the castings are bronze, but it is so highly polished that it looks like brass.

The maker claims that it will run on air or steam, so I was interested in putting that to the test.  It does run equally well on steam or on air.  However, it does take considerable pressure for it to run.  Normally, a well-machined steam engine would run on 2 psi or less.  This one needs 12 psi or more to run.  It does, however, run without knocking, and is very smooth running. 

It was packed extremely well in a custom-made wooden box and it arrived with only a small nick in the wooden base.  The seller offered to send me a replacement base. 

My only real complaint is the way it exhausts from the valve chest.  There are two small holes with no way to install a pipe nipple so that the exhaust can be channeled away from the engine base and into a chuff pot.  It really doesn't matter when running it on air, but it makes a considerable mess when running it on steam.  I think, also, the two holes combined for the exhaust might be smaller than the size of the input line, and this may be causing some small issue in its running more efficiently. 

However, for the price, I am more than satisfied with the quality and beauty of this new engine, and have already ordered two of their other models.

Thanks for this detailed report Doug, good to get an honest opinion on these...

They look great, and i particularly love the "unpatinated" look of yours, since their usual fake aging tends to strike me as somewhat pretentious.
Personally i won´t invest in one of their engines, if an immersionheated 3" Jensen boiler won´t easily drive it.

I think this engine can be improved by disassembling it and
control the timing - the slide must be in the right position!
On the other hand, 1 bar is fine for a new engine to break in.
Perhaps there are also leaks in the valve body?
The lack of a properly sized exhaust pipe is a major problem
and should be corrected by the manufacturer. The "naked" look looks
better than the faux patina. Arnold

I will eventually pull the cylinder and valve chest, and see what modifications, better timing, larger exhaust ports, might be achieved. But first i will run it in a few hours with lots of lube and see if it helps.there does not seem to any other leaks anywhere. I also disconnected the piston rod from the rest of the mac hine and there is no binding.
Crazydoug

Thanks for this detailed report Doug, good to get an honest opinion on these...

They look great, and i particularly love the "unpatinated" look of yours, since their usual fake aging tends to strike me as somewhat pretentious.
Personally i won´t invest in one of their engines, if an immersionheated 3" Jensen boiler won´t easily drive it.

I agree with Jan , this iS a beautiful engine and I really wanted to buy one and was waiting for this review. I'd like to know what it takes to make it run with less binding ,when you turned it over by hand I could tell its stiff also , maybe it'll break in with plenty of running.
Thank you Doug.

One correction and a comment. I was mistaken about the castings being bronze. They are brass as given in the description on the sellers facebook page. They also state clearly that it begins work at 12 psi. Just want to be fair to seller and still give an honest review.looks like i,ll break out my big boiler next time i steam it!
Crazydoug

Not surprised it requires high pressure so early in its life .
 a lot of patience and air and oil will work wonders ( i hope )
I have considered getting one but I do not want the finished version
 I wanted just the castings and do the machining and assembling myself .
Those exhaust ports certainly dealing with

Cheers
Dennis

Thanks for the vid Doug.