Steam Cylinder Cocks

[Marty_Knox]

Some one has plans for mini drains that are self opening. They squirt the water out and seal up when under steam. Any time they load up with water they will jet it out and reseal. Any body know where those drawings were, Kozo perhaps?

Those were from Bill Van Brocklin. He published them in Live Steam magazine.

[little giant]

Island pond railroad has a nice design that has a piston that will hold the ball off the seat for the feathering affect. Otherwise it is like the Bill Van Brocklin design.

http://www.islandpondrailroad.com/mikado/page29.htm

[Greg_Lewis]

Here's one by Rich Dean. This is the frequently seen pancake type with a Teflon diaphragm.

http://ibls.org/mediawiki/index.php?tit ... nder_cocks

[PeterCraymer]

I made a set of the Rich Dean design and they work great! make sure you have the right thickness of Teflon sheet so it can flex and seal the ports. nice to be able to control the steam outlet when starting. It really emphasizes the fact that it is a steam engine.

Peter

[kenrinc]

Bill Shields has a set of drawings for steam operated cocks that I believe were a design that came from Ben Nixon. I liked them because they were very low profile and small which is a big deal on a small locomotive with not much clearance in the cylinder height. Steam keeps them closed but they will open automatically if too much pressure is encountered. $.02

Pic below shows a set I built for my A3.

Ken

[Bill Shields]

yes, they were a Ben Nixon design and please help yourselves www.mehrs.com

you might need to fiddle with the dimensions a little bit depending on the actual id / od of the sealing ring (they might stick if too tight).

[RichD]

Re: the Rich Dean drawing. That is my slightly modified version of the Little Engines
Semi-Auto drain originally supplied. It was found the original PTFE (Teflon) thickness
was too thin and would deform under pressure to the point of plugging the exhaust port.
1/32" thickness solved the issue and had no effect on excellent operation.
This valve design will release water even when shut automatically. Of course it is much
recommended to open them before starting with cold cylinders.
These are steam operated via a 3-way tapered plug valve.

[Fred_V]

Bill Shields has a set of drawings for steam operated cocks that I believe were a design that came from Ben Nixon. I liked them because they were very low profile and small which is a big deal on a small locomotive with not much clearance in the cylinder height. Steam keeps them closed but they will open automatically if too much pressure is encountered. $.02

Pic below shows a set I built for my A3.

Ken

NixonCylcocks.JPG

I've made those for 2 engines and they work quite well but as Bill says the piston needs to be an easy fit.

[Brian Tusin]

I am very happy with the KSP Oakadees on my pacific. They work really well with no issues, they never get stuck open or closed. Plus they look nice on the engine too.

Brian

[squandt]

Some one has plans for mini drains that are self opening. They squirt the water out and seal up when under steam. Any time they load up with water they will jet it out and reseal. Any body know where those drawings were, Kozo perhaps?

Hello, go to the IBLS web site,you will find a drawing of what you are looking for, there are many drawing's you can use to make many thing's to add to your engine.

[Bill Shields]

Brian:

they are generally called "Van Brocklin automatic cylinder cocks"

you can find them here if you poke around.

They work well, but I like to have a little more control - ie: open the drains manually BEFORE the water gets there when starting cold...

maybe I am just too TYPE A personality...

[Brian Tusin]

Bill,

I do not have automatic Van Brocklin cylinder drains on my engine. They are the Okadee cylinder drains that Brian Keim makes. They are his own design like the steam operated water pumps and air compressors he makes, and are steam controlled.

Brian