Return flue boilers were common in stationary industrial and marine applications, but after early use in steam traction engines, only a couple builders, primarily Huber, stuck with the design into the later years.
In the return flue design, the fire travels forward from the firebox mounted low in the boiler, then turns around at the front, and returns through tubes in the top part of the boiler, exhausting above the firebox door. The effect is that of a much longer boiler, which allows more distance for the heat to be transferred to the water.
This big Huber was feeding a Power Eater, consisting of a generator and resistive load bank (heater coils). An electronic circuit cycles the load on + off, simulating many real types of varying load.
As always, we try to avoid showing faces at Amish shows, unless we have permission..
Mt. Hope, Ohio show
August 1, 2015
#509
150801c New Huber 25