The Home Machinist!

daves1459 wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 19, 2018 8:41 pm

.... I wonder if layout dye would be a viable barrier to the alum solution to prevent discoloration.

Dave

perhaps something sturdier ... Lacquer, nail polish [don't tell the wife ] ?

I believe that you can use alum (hydrated double sulfate of aluminum and potassium) available at the grocery store. It will attack steel but not brass. I believe I have used it in the past to remove a broken tap. Google "using alum to remove a broken tap".

... forgot to add: I have a gauge on the blower feed line in the cab. This gauge has a piece of tape on it which indicates the blower pressure that supports full fire (about 10 psi in my case). Excess pressure is just wasting steam and - again - bringing in too much air. If I let someone run my engi...

Hi Dave, Driving cross country at the moment (wife currently driving :-) ) so I'll try to be brief (difficult for the engineer in me :-) ) ... Getting propane burners setup correctly can take a lot of fiddling or trial and error so patience is required. I am returning from Train Mountain where my 4-...

In the car at the moment (wife driving :-) ). Arrange something on top of the injector that the 10-32 screw will pass through but will not damage the injector/threads. Put a nut on the screw then pass the screw through the block/whatever and screw it all the way into the steam cone. Tighten the nut ...

In case I wasn't clear: the 'vinegar treatment' is done on the parts after disassembly. Remove the injector, remove the bottom cap, remove the exit cone (the washer is on this) using a thin-wall socket, etc., remove the steam cone from the top using a screw/bolt that threads into it (I forget the th...

Assumption: I assume that you were happy with the system functionality using the 'electrical contact' attempt except for the reliability of the contacts? i.e.: you didn't have problems with false occupied or false unoccupied situations. If you did, we need to discuss your approach in the circuit tha...

20 minutes in vinegar is a good start (depends on how much scale buildup you have). I would not use any abrasive as suggested by Vance. This approach done year after year will damage it. The vinegar will accomplish the task without danger of taking metal away. If the washer is stuck on I'll bet, aft...

No, injectors work on the physics involved with steam. Do you dissassemble it and soak in white vinegar each year? Take out at least the exit cone and washer. Be sure the washer moves freely and the tiny holes in the cone are not clogged. DO NOT USE HARD WIRE OR DRILL BIT to clear the holes ... at m...

It saddens me to report that Warren Jamison passed away last night in Dunlap, TN. No further details available. Warren was a long time member of the Florida Live Steam hobby. He was president of Largo Central Railroad for many years and was very active in the state-wide Florida Livesteamers organiza...

I have drawings, photos, etc. for the burner in my Northern but I don't know how to post such here. If you send an email to misccdh@whitetrout.net I can email you a copy.

(I assume we are talking about a 'furnace' type burner, i.e.: one orifice, one mixing tube feeding a single manifold) To calculate the orifice size you need to know how many BTU your burner can produce. From that, and knowing the pressure you want to feed it, you can calculate the orifice size that ...