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Why does a steam engine puff through the smoke stack??
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I'll elaborate on a point mentioned above. <br /> <br />When steam is exhausted from the cylinders, it is directed toward the base of the exhaust stack within the smokebox. That base is at perhaps the midpoint of the diameter of the smokebox, and is flared out (this portion of the stack is sometimes referred to as the "petticoat"). <br /> <br />The drum-shaped smokebox is airtight, except for the exhaust stack, the exhaust jets from the cylinders, and the flues which run horizontally from the smokebox back to the firebox. As steam is exhausted from the cylinders and up through the stack, a vacuum is created in the smokebox. This vacuum draws combustion gasses, through the flues, from the firebox. Not only does this draft fan the flames in the firebox, but it increases the efficiency of the boiler: the heat induced to the flues by the combustion gasses further heats the surrounding water in the barrel of the boiler.
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