Hey guys

I have a Le Mans mamod RC.... I have to say it is not the most exciting thing to drive, sorry to disappoint you! It stalls quite a bit - espcially when turning (these steam engines are VERY low powered)... turning radius is pretty big, coupled with no throttle/reverse, you'd need a fairly large area, with no wind (wind cools down the boiler too fast, and sends the fire licking out). This was my first steam powered rc vehicle, and because of the disappointment of how it runs, I started hacking and making my own. The best performing ones in my fleet are the marine engines, they are made for nice power and with valves for forward / reverse / proportional power via a servo. These engines still have low power, so not very fast or have much torque compared to electric. The Steam Hauler has 3 speed transmission, which helps it run at decent speeds, otherwise they are all very very very slow. If you are expecting to drive like an electric or nitro, you will not be happy with doing steam conversions for rc. But.... you do get to play with fire

Just be careful, you are dealing with pressure, fire etc. If something goes wrong in your rc car, it fries, maybe burn out something. If something goes wrong with steam.... you've got steam shooting out, gas leaks, alcohol leaks with invisible flames, and possible explosion, not to mention catching your house on fire. Just make sure that you triple check everything, and test engines with a compressor before firing up, it will save you a lot of headaches

And yes, I am tired of changing batteries.... but steam is even worse - you have to load up fuel supply (tablets, alcohol, or gas), lube up every run, check and re check everything, long wait for the pressure to build up, short run times, something always seem to have issues. Changing batteries in comparison is quite easy, you plug it in and turn it on.

Anyway, glad to hear that you guys are interested in steam as well I don't mean to scare you guys, just make sure that you take extra caution when dealing with steam powered anything!

-Crabfu