OK...next steps.
First I need to build a frame to hold the lens and move the lens with the sun. All off-the-shelf stuff. Will use metal from Home Depot for the frame. Sun tracking electronics will cost around $200. Motors to move the frame will likely be old windshield motors from a salvage yard. After I get the lens mounted and tracking, I'll need a boiler with heating element to fit in the focal point.
Thinking about a flash boiler design. Two chambers. A large outer chamber to heat water to steam that exits the chamber and sits in separate container. The steam off the top of the second container is forced back into the chamber through a coiled pipe that will wrap around the heating element that collects the solar heat from the fresnel lens. This should bring the steam to superheated steam which is then piped off to a steam engine.
The steam engine will be a big jump and will depend on the pressure the boiler achieves. Gauges to measure the output will come first, then search for the right engine.
Will let you know progress as I get there.
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