Water glass revision

[DianneB]

The water glass on my 1-1/2" American drives me crazy! Too many problems!

1. The glass is vertical and in the shadows which makes it VERY hard to see when running.

2. It is not plumbed properly - it is impossible to "blow down" the glass so it is impossible to determine if the water is off-scale high or off the bottom.

A longer glass at an angle would help a great deal.

It would be advantageous to have some kind of combination valve for the bottom of the glass to save space. Is there such a thing?

[jtdute]

LocoParts has the lower water glass fittings that you are speaking of. It allows for proper "Blow Down" of the gauge. Attached is a picture of the whole assembly, however the valves are available individually. Also you speak of having a hard time seeing the water level. A "Candy Stripped" back will help identify the water level. The "Candy Stripe" on a 45 degree angle will appear horizontal where the water level is in the glass and appear normal angle above the water level. Attached is the "Candy Stripe" Gauge that we have available next to one of our standard red lined gauge Glass.
Hope this helps.

[cbrew]

it almost looks like your loco has an early version of the locoparts glass assembly be fore they offered the nice valve fitting they have now.
this is how i fixed it on mine. (see attached)
i did this before that new valve was available, it may be an option or go ahead and buy the longer glass from Jeff at Locoparts.

Jeff, do you offer that Candy strip in the short glass assembly version? if so. reply to this morning email, I will want a couple

[Bill Shields]

you can always use a clear tube with a float inside to show the level

[Marty_Knox]

I bought one of LocoParts new 'candy stripe' glasses and installed it on my locomotive. I ran it last Saturday and really like it. The stripes show the water level very clearly. Here is a picture.

[Hero]

You can use red ink to draw your own diagonal stripes on a piece of paper or white Bristol board, then wedge it behind the glass. Does the same job.