The Home Machinist!

Bill Shields wrote:Here is a very rough drawing of what I have used many times. It is not only a drain, but a relief valve in case the cylinder fills up with water.

Excuse the crappy spring drawing, but you get the idea.



A = valve ball
B = ramp ball
C = spring
D = Pin to hold it all together. I just slid in a brass escutcheon pin and bent the end over slightly so it wouldn't fall out. Not very high tech, but functional.

The main body can be as small as 1/4" diameter.

The 'rod' with the ramp is 1/8" thick x .093 high in this example, but that is not a critical size either.

The only fiddly thing is the spring. I used a bronze spring from a ball point pen in my Hudson (30 years ago), and they are still there. I adjusted the 'ramp' angle and height to make the spring I had work.

I have, on occasion made them for people without the bottom ball and just had the spring ride up / down on the 'ramp'. It seems to work OK that way also.

You can activate the rod either from one end or from the center, depending on your circumstances.

I see that I forgot to label the 'discharge hole' seen on the right hand sketch, just above the ramp ball. This blows the steam / water out to the side, rather than digging up the ballast and making a mess of things.

Be creative, this idea isn't new - I have seen dozens of variants, all of which worked just fine.

Back to work now...