Blower

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FRED DADDI
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Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2011 2:53 pm

Blower

Post by FRED DADDI »

I need a good blower for raising steam. Any recommendations ?


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duckman903
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Joined: Fri May 28, 2010 3:40 pm
Location: Winchendon Mass. USA

Re: Blower

Post by duckman903 »

Do you have access to air or just electric, if air just make a venturi tube stick it in the stack turn on the air your done. Electric just get a blower and make an adapter to fit the stack stick it in and turn on.
Soot n' Cinders
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Re: Blower

Post by Soot n' Cinders »

Personally, Id go with compressed air if you have it. Its not any louder than your steam blower, which is nice since I've heard some blower fans that sound like a leaf blower. If you can tee in a fitting on the blower line on your locomotive, then at most you would only have to have an adapter to a standard air quick release fitting. Plus that set up will work with any locomotive regardless of the stack style or fitted spark arrestors.
-Tristan

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Builder01
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Location: Erie, PA

Re: Blower

Post by Builder01 »

For a blower, before steam is raised, I use the shop air run through the locomotives own blower. Most track have compressed air available at the steaming bays just for this purpose. If you need a blower that sits on the stack, Blackgates has them.

David
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Fred_V
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Re: Blower

Post by Fred_V »

not all tracks have compressed air at the steaming bays and running an air compressor is VERY irritating for the other guys.

go to ebay and search for "squirrel cage blower fan". you want something with a 5 or 6" wheel. should be able to get a Dayton unit for 64 bucks or so.

you can easily reduce the suction, if needed, by spacing the flanged pipe that fits the stack a bit away from the blower housing. this also keeps the fan from getting too hot. i've tried to control the speed on them but the shaded pole motor doesn't respond much to speed controls.
Fred V
Fred V
Pensacola, Fl.
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Builder01
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Re: Blower

Post by Builder01 »

No, I would never suggest bringing an air compressor and set it up right there in the steaming bays, that would make me crazy too. Typically, the tracks that do have air, the compressor is remote from the track, (if they did it right!). The blowers from Blackgates are ready to go and they are 12 volts I think. No doubt, you could get something off of Ebay or a surplus store and rig up something to do what you want. Even new little blowers are not too much, if you are willing to take the time to modify them.

David
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H&NERY
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Location: Hillsboro, Wisconsin

Re: Blower

Post by H&NERY »

I thought Marty from Fair Weather Foundry was making them, he had them posted on his Face Book page a while back.
Wolfgang
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Re: Blower

Post by Wolfgang »

Builder01 wrote:For a blower, before steam is raised, I use the shop air run through the locomotives own blower. Most track have compressed air available at the steaming bays just for this purpose. If you need a blower that sits on the stack, Blackgates has them.

David
This is the method I use to fire up ol' 2888. I have a small diaphragm spray-paint compressor from the 1950's which I belted to a modern light-weight 1/4 HP 110 VAC motor. The old motor was way too heavy to carry comfortably. The compressor itself is mostly die-cast aluminum and quite light.

I connect the air line to a small quick-connect male coupler in the blower steam line located below the running board. This male connector is isolated with a small valve.

If steaming bay compressed air is available then a pressure reducing valve may be required. I find that 30 to 40 psig air pressure is more than adequate for inducing draft for steam-up.

Once the boiler steam pressure hits approximately 50 psig I turn on the blower steam and disconnect the compressor.

Using this method it is most important that the blower valve is closed and leak free so that no air gets into the boiler. w
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Fred_V
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Re: Blower

Post by Fred_V »

You cannot make a quiet compressor no matter what you do. The blower fan makes no noise at all.
BTW, on most every engine I've ever messed with I could turn off the fan at about 25 PSI and open the stack blower.
Fred V
Pensacola, Fl.
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Builder01
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Re: Blower

Post by Builder01 »

Actually, it does not matter if the compressed air gets into the boiler, at least in my case. In fact, this allows me to use the blower valve, which was the reason in the first place. I also have a globe valve at the compressed air inlet. To see when steam is raised or not, I just close the valve, if the pressure falls, no steam yet. If the pressure stays the same or has risen above the track supplied air, steam has now been raised and it's time to close the valve and disconnect. There is of course a check valve in this line right at the boiler as well as the globe valve. (No need to put steam into the air line!) Our club track air is about 40 psi, which is plenty for my blower until steam is raised. I certainly do not have the blower valve open completely, no need for that.

David
Wolfgang
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Re: Blower

Post by Wolfgang »

Fred_V wrote:You cannot make a quiet compressor no matter what you do. The blower fan makes no noise at all.
BTW, on most every engine I've ever messed with I could turn off the fan at about 25 PSI and open the stack blower.
The small diaphragm compressor I use runs at perhaps 1200 rpm as it is belted down from the 1725 rpm motor.

Running outdoors the noise is certainly not objectionable and is definitely less than the racked caused by old vacuum cleaners that are often used to create the boiler draft. w
Wolfgang
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Re: Blower

Post by Wolfgang »

Builder01 wrote:Actually, it does not matter if the compressed air gets into the boiler, at least in my case. In fact, this allows me to use the blower valve, which was the reason in the first place. I also have a globe valve at the compressed air inlet. To see when steam is raised or not, I just close the valve, if the pressure falls, no steam yet. If the pressure stays the same or has risen above the track supplied air, steam has now been raised and it's time to close the valve and disconnect. There is of course a check valve in this line right at the boiler as well as the globe valve. (No need to put steam into the air line!) Our club track air is about 40 psi, which is plenty for my blower until steam is raised. I certainly do not have the blower valve open completely, no need for that.

David
My boiler is made of steel, including the boiler tubes, and I sure as h**l don't want any more oxygen in the boiler than is absolutely unavoidable. w
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