Trainman4602 wrote:There is no need to bother with a hand pump or even an axle pump. You only need the reliable Super Scale injector. Don't knock yourself out pumping you'll never catch up. If it is that bad blow down the boiler. Remember you only one lap away from the bays. That is unless your at Train Mountain
So are they (injectors) still available from Super Scale Locomotive?
Years ago, My 2" scale Atlantic had a hand pump and a large injector. The hand pump was invaluable a few times the injector wasn't working, and when the steam pressure was low. The boiler was 12" in diameter and ran ideally, at 125 psi. Never had a problem pumping water in with the hand pump when necessary. Can't remember what size it was, but the engine and parts overall was robust, almost as big as my Ottaway. A hand pump sure made a nice back up when we were carrying passengers on a 'schedule' during a 5 week Christmas set up.
Glenn
Moderator - Grand Scale Forum
Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge
Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
Folks are missing the point about boiler diameter...
you only have to pump IN what you take OUT, irrespective of the size of the boiler.
So if you are just sitting there and need make up, then a larger diameter boiler (theoretically because you must also consider length) is going to go down slowly...but then....it only needs to come UP slowly also.
A running one of Dave's cool 1-1/2" Reading A5s with 2" diameter cylinders doesn't use more water than my 2-8-0 with the same cylinders, even though the boiler is a bit larger in diameter and longer... Would someone say that a Reading A5 is too large a loco to run with a hand pump in a situation where the injector has become non-functional?
I remember a few years ago up at LILS where a fellow with one of the A5 camels had a derail and ripped the injectors off the side of the frame - got both of them. Didn't see it happen so have no idea what was involved...anyway:
His hand pump got him back to the turntable, but since he didn't have an axle or steam pump, he was done for the long weekend, pack up and go home.
Many people have good luck with injectors and more power to them and those fellows who make them. But...as they say -> stuff happens and it is always cool to have a backup (or two) if you want to keep going for the weekend.
Fred_V wrote:I'm not against pumps but on my Chloe there was no place to put one. No tender, just a riding car and saddle tank on the engine. I was just offering that you can live without one just like you don't have to have a way to drop the fire. Just put a glove over the stack and turn off the blower.
I think you mean put a glove over the stack and turn ON the blower. Sending the steam back to the fire will extinguish it quickly...
I too find it interesting that person A posts a problem and instead of helping them to solve it, there is always a guy, person B who makes a presumption that they don't know what they are doing or what they want and that he is going to re-direct person A to do everything his way. It happens on every forum that I'm on. It is, sorry to be redundant but it's presumtuous and slightly disrespectful. I often run into the fanatics who puff up their chests and say smugly, "Prototypes don't have handpumps -- they're usless!" A one inch bore double action handpump will pump enough to save a lot of trouble.
You would need a handle about 24 inches long to work the pump Just shut down if thing are that bad. That is just another check valve to fail and more piping Injectors are the way to go. I have two injectors on the K4 and I can run all day with ease no pumping my guts out.
The problem here is that most live steamers read to much about prototypes blowing up so they panic when the gauge glass get low. JUST SHUT IT DOWN MAN!
The same goes for axle pumps.
BTW I may have a print to build your pump I'll look for it.
ALLWAYS OPERATING MY TRAIN IN A SAFE MANNER USING AUTOMATIC AIR BRAKES