Blower

This forum is dedicated to the Live Steam Hobbyist Community.

Moderators: cbrew, Harold_V

User avatar
Fred_V
Posts: 4370
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2003 3:26 pm

Re: Blower

Post by Fred_V »

Yeah Bill, that's the problem with getting older. You start leaking from places that didn't leak before!!!
Fred V
Pensacola, Fl.
User avatar
Bill Shields
Posts: 10459
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:57 am
Location: 39.367, -75.765
Contact:

Re: Blower

Post by Bill Shields »

actually it's more of leak when you don't want it to......
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
User avatar
Builder01
Posts: 726
Joined: Mon May 18, 2015 5:26 am
Location: Erie, PA

Re: Blower

Post by Builder01 »

Thank you Bill, my point exactly. As I said, putting compressed air in a boiler to run the built in blower is not going to shorten the life of the boiler in an amount that any one can measure.

David
Marty_Knox
Posts: 1724
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 6:50 pm
Location: Michigan, USA

Re: Blower

Post by Marty_Knox »

Builder01 wrote:Thank you Bill, my point exactly. As I said, putting compressed air in a boiler to run the built in blower is not going to shorten the life of the boiler in an amount that any one can measure.

David
It certainly will on a steel boiler! But there is no reason to put compressed air into the boiler to run the blower. Run the blower line outside to a tee before it goes into the smokebox. Attach a valve and an air fitting to the tee, shut off the blower valve on your turret, and run the blower on house air.
That is how every full size locomotive I've worked on is set up.
User avatar
Builder01
Posts: 726
Joined: Mon May 18, 2015 5:26 am
Location: Erie, PA

Re: Blower

Post by Builder01 »

It makes sense not to put compressed air into a full size locomotive. The "receiver" is so large, it would take forever to get enough pressure to run the blower. As for shortening the life of a boiler, how will putting air into a boiler that already has air and water in it, hurt it?

David
Marty_Knox
Posts: 1724
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 6:50 pm
Location: Michigan, USA

Re: Blower

Post by Marty_Knox »

Builder01 wrote:It makes sense not to put compressed air into a full size locomotive. The "receiver" is so large, it would take forever to get enough pressure to run the blower. As for shortening the life of a boiler, how will putting air into a boiler that already has air and water in it, hurt it?

David
I'm sorry you don't understand or agree with the point I'm trying to make. Putting compressed air in a boiler while firing it up greatly accelerates corrosion, specifically oxygen pitting. Water absorbs oxygen, with compressed air there is far more oxygen to combine with the water.
I built a replacement boiler for a Ten Wheeler where the original one had failed after 2 seasons running. It was an oil burner and the owner filled the boiler with compressed air to start up. It had steel tubes - they had many small holes that looked like they were drilled in.
User avatar
makinsmoke
Posts: 2260
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2003 12:56 pm
Location: Texas Hill Country

Re: Blower

Post by makinsmoke »

The Santa Fe had a valve shutoff just upstream of the steam firing manifold.
A line from a valve below and in front of the cab went into the firing manifold.

The shop would close the steam input valve and attach shop air to the outside connection, providing air (heck they could have been using shop steam!) to both the blower and atomizer, as well as the several blowout lines.

Once the engine had enough boiler pressure they would shut off and disconnect the air (or steam), and open the steam supply valve to the firing manifold.

There is a thread here somewhere with photos...
User avatar
Fender
Posts: 3084
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 8:33 pm
Location: Chattanooga TN

Re: Blower

Post by Fender »

Builder01 wrote:It makes sense not to put compressed air into a full size locomotive. The "receiver" is so large, it would take forever to get enough pressure to run the blower. As for shortening the life of a boiler, how will putting air into a boiler that already has air and water in it, hurt it?

David
If you use a boiler treatment with sodium sulfite in it (and you should with a steel boiler) then there will be little or no dissolved oxygen in the boiler water. If the boiler is then stored for a period while full of treated water, the sodium sulfite will continue to combine with (and neutralize) the oxygen from any air entering when the steam condenses.
Dan Watson
Chattanooga, TN
Phil Tucker
Posts: 92
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2011 3:28 pm

Re: Blower

Post by Phil Tucker »

One disadvantage of firing-up with compressed air is that every live steam track seems to have a different fitting on the end of their hose. Since there's no standardization you have to carry around an assortment of fittings in your toolbox, and piece together a working combination "on the fly."
User avatar
John_S
Posts: 709
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:21 pm
Location: Cumming, GA

Re: Blower

Post by John_S »

I use both methods: an electric fan (furnace blower) and compressed air so I'm covered wherever I fire up. I hid a needle valve under the cab which I can screw in a standard male quick disconnect fitting. The copper line ties into the blower line to the smokebox.

Some folk's fans are louder than any air compressor -- you've heard them. When they finally switch over to steam and turn the fan off everyone claps.
User avatar
NP317
Posts: 4557
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: Blower

Post by NP317 »

Referring to Marty Knox's discussion of dissolved oxygen in the boiler water, and the damage it can do, I have developed a steam-up process that decreases possible oxygen damage:
During steamup I leave a valve open on top of the steam dome. I let steam blow out for several minutes after the water boils. This is supposed to allow oxygen to escape before pressure build up. I learned this process years ago from operators at the Univ. of Washington steam plant. I'd be interested in Marty's (or anyone's) opinion of this procedure.
~RN
User avatar
DianneB
Posts: 733
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 3:05 pm
Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: Blower

Post by DianneB »

I picked up a small equipment blower with a metal fan from a local surplus house for a couple of dollars and mounted it on top of a tin can that fits over my stack. The motor shaft was long enough I was able to raise the motor 1/2" above the blower housing on spacers just to isolate the motor a little more from the heat. It is whisper quiet and only draws a few Watts. After steaming up, the motor is still cool enough to touch with your fingers.

When I had a 1/2 scale coal-fired traction engine, I made up a blower like Fred V posted on Page 2 - it worked excellent as well.
Post Reply