Mike, Harry et al,
Good thoughts Mike , however; there is value in the information "donated"
to us by Harry, and it actually gives me more confidence when running my
locos, for there is little chance they will ever blow up on me they way
they are fired. I have found it satisfying to know what the limits
are--most of us are curious about that--or certainly should be for in my
humble but very qualified (hee Hee) opinion it helps us establish
perimeters. I have seen a boiler heated up with a propane torch. If we fire
our locos according to design we are morre than safe--history proves this.
In a final statement (wait I'm never finaL!) I believe pre ious interest on
the part of listers motivated Harry to bring this matter up.
I am only being "gentle" with Harry boy, 'cos I want him to get on with
those GWR coaches!
Well Harry??!
Geoff.
Harry,
>
>You are a recognized expert on miniature boiler design and
>construction. Your guidance has been helpful to many,
>myself included. So, with all due respect, I am compelled
>to ask: What is the value of a boiler test conducted with a
>heat source ("a large Calor (propane) torch") that far
>exceeds that of our real world application? Academically
>interesting for certain of us, but is such a test useful in
>practical terms? I cannot make any sense of drawing
>conclusions extrapolated from these so called "tests" and
>then applying them to our varied applications. What am I
>missing here?
>
>I'm not advocating abandonment of proven safety practices.
>Far from it. However, I am concerned that this sort of
>discussion ("It exploded with a loud report and the barrel
>became a projectile and struck a tree 40 yards away") may
>scare potential builders away from the hobby. I'm sure you
>would agree that applied theory and empirical evidence
>pertaining to our actual applications need to be better
>disseminated.
>
>It is easy to concoct tests to demonstrate the "dangers" of
>any product or appliance if one is willing to abandon the
>domain of normal or possible operating conditions. I would
>guess that my toaster could become quite dangerous if I
>supplied current to it using an arc welder as a power
>supply. :-)
>
>
>Michael Martin
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
