Wholesale Tin Toys
Resources
|
Pop-Pop Boats |
| |
The humble Pop-Pop boat has fascinated everyone
from children to physicists for over a hundred
years.
Otherwise known as flash-steamers, hot-air-boats,
toc-tocs or more accurately a Pulsating Water
Engine (P.W.E.), the pop-pop boat originated in
an 1891 British patent for the coil type water
pulse engines by an inventor named Thomas Piot.The
popularity of the boats spread quickly, however,
and they were soon being manufactured in many
countries. |
 |
|
In early publications, mention is made of a series of
boats made in the early 20th century by the German toy
makers Ernst Planck. In 1916 a US patent was granted
to Charles McHugh for the diaphragm type engine. The
German name for the boat, toc-toc, originated as a product
brand name for a diaphragm-boilered boat in the late
1920's, while they have also been called put-put, phut-phut,
and pouet-pouet boats elsewhere.
There are two types of pop-pop engines. One is a copper
tube coiled in the middle with both ends protruding
from the rear of the boat. The other has two tubes connected
to a boiler with a diaphragm that improves thrust and
produces a popping sound.
The coil type boats are powered by a basic boiler comprising
a thin coiled copper tube. The coils in the middle of
the tube are positioned over a flame, which heats the
water in the coils. The end of the tubes protrude from
the back of the boat into the water. When the water
boils, the expansion of the steam pushes the water out
the tube at the back of the boat as a jet of steam,
and the boat moves forward. After expansion, the steam
cools to create a partial vacuum, sucking water back
into the tubes to allow the cycle to begin again. It's
that simple.
|
| 
|
The diaphragm type engine is a slightly more
sophisticated version which substitutes the coil
with a shallow chamber with a flexible diaphragm
for the coil. The flexing of the diaphragm gives
a little more impulse to the escaping steam, as
well as making a louder pop. |
|
| |
Pop Pop boat instructions
Place the candle into the fuel pan or pour a small
amount of olive oil into the pan. Thread a wick through
the holder and place it into the pan.
Prime the engine with water. Squirt water into a jet
using the straw or syringe provided. Do this until water
comes out the other jet.
Place the boat on the water trying not to let any water
escape from the jets. Light the wick and carefully place
the fuel pan beneath the water boiling pan.
After a little while, the boiler will heat up enough
to create steam from the water inside. As the boiler
gets hotter, the boat will get faster. |
| |
Pop-Pop boat troubleshooting
Most problems with pop pop boats are due to either
no water in the boiler, improper heating of the boiler,
or a clogged water tube. Using the straw or syringe
provided, flush water through the tubes and place the
boat in a tub of water without letting any water out
of the tubes.
The Fuel Cells (candles) need up to 2 minutes before
the candle generates enough heat to get the boat moving.
If you are using olive oil, make sure the wick is not
too short or too long. The proper length of the wick
should be about 5 mm above the oil, the same goes for
the candles. Other types of fuels either do not work
well or will over heat the boiler causing damage to
it.
|
| |
|
|
|
