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The pop-pop boats used commercially are usually manufactured from tin. However, the hull can be made of any materials, which has the property of floatation. A pop-pop boat made at home is usually made by using wood.
A boiler and some exhaust pipe make up the engine of a pop-pop boat. Boats with two exhaust pipes have replaced boats with one-exhaust pipes, which were used mainly in the 1920s.
Engines with two exhaust tubes are more popular because water sucks in through one tube and air escapes through another tube. This process becomes difficult with a single exhaust tube. This is because the complete removal of air is not possible with an engine with just one pipe. The exhaust tube and boiler are generally made of metal such as copper or tin.
The boilers may have various designs. The most common boilers are metal containers in the shape of a cylinder or box. However, if one uses a metal pan with a slightly concave top, even then an efficient boiler is possible to be manufactured. This, called a diaphragm type engine is commonly used in commercial pop-pop boats.
Another engine, made with a single tube which coils at the center is also commonly used in pop-pop boats. However, in this case, the ends stretch out straight to form the exhausts and the coil works like a boiler. Oil burners or candles are commonly used to heat the boiler by placing them underneath the coiled section. This engine type is called a coil-tube engine and it is the most commonly used because of the simplicity of its construction.
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