Hi Walt,
You are correct. The actual firestarting procedure is with
kerosene soaked charcoal brickets, and as fire and temperature
picks up you start adding keresene soaked coal or anthracite.
Spreading thin even layers over the fire. By watching the flame
colour and steam
pressure increase, you gradually add dry coal or anthracite. With
a good drafting fan,
I can raise running steam in about 10-15 mins. Also I remove
the draft fan at 25lbs pressure and allow
engine blower to pull up to 60- 80 lbs pressure. Above 25 lbs
pressure the engine blower is more
efficient than the fan. After one lap of track, 300' ,
I close blower entirely. The fire
is drafted sufficiently through the firebox grill underneath. If
pressure
drops below 20 lbs while on circuit, the engine blower will
still raise the steam without the fan. I typically run about 4-5
300' lap circuits before adding more coal . i.e. 2-3 shovels
full. Shovel is approv 1" x 3'/4"
wide x 1/8" deep. I load immediately behind the firebox door.
Then while
running the coal moves forward. If you load to the back of
firebox, you will block the firetubes with cold coal.
My longest running time has been 1 hr 20 mins, then I
called it a day.
Next engine will be radio controlled.
Hope this answers your question.
Tony D.
At 08:42 AM 1/20/01 -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>Hi,
>For all practical purposes, I left PA when I granulated from grad school at
>PSU in 1960. Have only been back there for funerals, and the only one left
>now is mine.
>THEREFORE, I really do not have any idea of where or how to get PA coal. I do
>know that most live steamers in the area do not use it! My recollection is
>that hard coal is difficult to ignite and difficult to keep burning i.e. the
>Reading RR work on the Wooten system.
>I personally have never fired a Ga 1 live steamer with coal. Maybe I'm naive
>about this, but wouldn't charcoal and a very little amount of roofing or road
>tar be easier to use. Quick starting briquettes were impregnated with wax to
>make them easy to ignite. If they were impregnated with a little tar, they
>would give the smell and color of real coal, and would be easy to ignite and
>easy to procure. So what am I missing here? Why has charcoal not been used in
>Ga. 1? And don't say it is because the briquettes won't fit thru the fire
>door!
>Keep your steam up, using the fuel of your choice!
>Walt and Lunk
