In a message dated 3/27/2000 8:50:06 AM Pacific Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Great goin'! How is your run time, and what did you do to fix it (since we
ran in December)?
Jon,
I had it running fairly well at DH, but still had a burner problem. Since
then, I changed to a RH jet (still haven't decided if a 5 or a 6 works the
best). I changed to Cheddar Model ceramic material but found that to be not
the problem. The most important was that the burner(which came from the
WalMart camping stove) has a baffle under the ceramic material which
restricted the flow too much. The current boiler is a vertical with four
5/16" tubes and a central 3/4" tube with a superheater in it. Steam comes up
real fast to 60# but with all the firetubes and too large of a firebox, water
space is limited. Run time is limited to about 10 minutes but with the
goodall valve I can run indefinitely. I am currently building a larger
capacity boiler with simple crosstubes now that I have more heat. I am also
considering a boiler feed pump.
The thing that really made the difference though was a change I made in the
engine. Charlie had posted on the message board about O-ring rolling in
their groove and made me realize that I had not allowed for this. The
results were absolutely impressive when I took Gordon's advice on groove
width. It is amazing how some of the littlest things make the biggest
differences.
Since, we ran and since DH, I have also coupled the wheels so I have
substantially increased pulling capacity. As it is, I took a trophy there in
the pulling contest, pulling with one axle more than other geared locomotives
did.
I am also starting the next generation of this beast with a two cylinder osc.
engine with reversing capabilities. The materials are on order and I should
have it built by the Spring Steamup.
Bob
