I guess you need a fairly deep pocket to repair & run a vintage steam car. But now that petrol/diesel prices are skyrocketing along with steady increases in cost of living, could modern steam cars become a practical solution to everyday motoring?
My take on this is as a watermill owner trying to be as self sufficient as possible, using home grown hydro power, woodstoves, electric vehicles, etc. But my grandfather built GWR locos at Swindon, and I saw my first steam car at an agricultural show last year..and was very impressed. So that is the reason for my question. could steam cars be a practical and less expensive alternative to petrol/diesel?

Practical...well with the right level of investment and backup perhaps on the reliability front - but fuel economy will never be a strong point, too many heat losses in the system.

Less expensive.....no way.

I don't know about emissions,C02 level ext. Might try and do some tests on my car one day.

Vee-tail

To appreciate the problems of making a modern steam car visit the forum of the Steam Autmobile Club of America. Many brains are occupied with this problem but the probability of building one with economy any where near that of ic engined vehicles is still remote.

[www.steamautomobile.com]

In theory the emissions of even a vintage steam car can be fairly clean owing to low combustion temperature reducing the output of nitrous emissions however the plain fact is that CO2 emission, which is what really concerns the world, is very closely related to the amount of fuel consumed which in a steam car is large. It is also very difficult to make a steam car burner (which has to respond to wildly fluctuating heat demand) burn as cleanly as an oil fired domestic heating system which runs steadily at a constant output.

But if you want entertainment - nothing beats a steamer!!

Mike

Many thanks for your response. Certainly looks like a lot of fun, and the practicality of being able to fix most problems in a small workshop appeals. Modern i/c engined cars have far too many electronics which require specialist equipment to fix!

Dear Vee-tail, You wrote: "could steam cars be a practical and less expensive alternative to petrol/diesel?" One of the biggest selling points of a steam car is that the steam car is also an alternative fueled vehicle. They run on not only gas, diesel, & kerosene, but also on cooking oil, alcohol, paint thinner, propane, and with a little tinkering: waste oil, or about anything that will give off heat. Try that with an IC car. When we run out of fossil fuels, you will probably see more steam cars on the road with alternative fuel being used.