After seeing the post on adjusting the side valves on the Ruby, I looked
at mine. (My Ruby has been a lot stiff of late). I adjusted them so
the line was barely touching with the driver cranks at TDC. (They
actually penatrated slightly.) It ran a little better, but when I
adjusted them back until there was about a line's thickness between the
line and the steam chest it loosened up quite a bit and I got over 30
minutes run time on the bench. Seems one reason it was tight was I was
trying to push the valuve farther than they could go and was actually
slightly flexing the stephenson linkage a tad each stroke.
So, does anyone have any thoughts on adding a sight glass to the Ruby?
I have a goodall valve in mine, but can't judge the amount of water
well. Too much and I'm pushing water, not steam, though my cylinders.
Not as efficient as I'd like. . .
From photos of other live steamers, it seems the upper end could be
taken at the turret on top of the boiler opposite from where the
pressure gauge attaches. That would only require one new penetration
into the boiler. There did not seem to be a lot of room for it unless
it is attached at quite an angle to the right. If the thickness of the
backhead at the burner is an indication, could a small hole be drilled
and tapped directly into the backhead or is a brass fitting required?
(Brazing in a brass fitting there would be a bit of a chore. . . ) How
does one attach a glass anyway? Two connections linked by a solid
object makes screwing them in impractical.
