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Water pre-heat question.

Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 3:53 pm
by cp4449
Has anyone done either:
A: Placed about 2-4 coils of feed water pipe inside the front of the smoke box, to preheat the water? If done, does the copper pipe hold up?
or
B: Used a closed steam line into the tender to heat the water before being sent to the boiler? (I would assume i one sits on the tender, you rear might get warm)

Thanks for any replies

Re: Water pre-heat question.

Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 4:07 pm
by makinsmoke
Do NOT heat your water in the tender.

One of the reasons injectors won't lift is if they get too hot. A leaking boiler check valve is the usual culprit.

A friend had a return line to the tender that somehow got hot. The water in the tender got hot and the injectors quit working.

Tested by running cold water from a hose onto one injector. Once we figured that out, a hand into the tender weather revealed the source of the problem.

Re: Water pre-heat question.

Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 4:08 pm
by makinsmoke
The Gene Allen design has a coil or two of copper line from the axle pump, around the inside of the smokebox to preheat the water before pumping into the boiler.

Re: Water pre-heat question.

Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 4:59 pm
by cp4449
Then I will do the Gene Allen design. That seems safer, and easy to do.

Thanks

Re: Water pre-heat question.

Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 5:22 pm
by Pontiacguy1
make sure your lines are out of the way, and also make sure they are easy to clean. they will get a lot of crap sticking to them and need to be cleaned pretty often. Also, you need to use copper on these or you won't be doing any good. I like to use stainless steel for my tubing inside of the smoke box, but a stainless steel feedwater heater would transfer so little heat as to be useless.

Re: Water pre-heat question.

Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 5:34 pm
by Bill Shields
preheaters of this coil type, and one that I just removed from a loco that looked like a 'bed stead' are a mess to keep clean and take a real beating.

once you have one that works, make a spare and stick it in your tool box....

Re: Water pre-heat question.

Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 5:48 pm
by cp4449
How about three large coils around the inside of the smoke box walls, right near the door?

Re: Water pre-heat question.

Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 9:45 pm
by Bill Shields
whatever you can fit and clean around is better than nothing.

how much better is to be determined.

Suggest you build it so that it can be removed easily...