Lubricator

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cbrew
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Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 12:17 pm
Location: Vancouver Wa

Re: Lubricator

Post by cbrew »

the issues i had with mine is more related to the steam oil getting into the roller clutch, with the thick oil the rollers would not reliably grab the shaft with the short stroke.
If it is not live steam. its not worth it.
ccvstmr
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Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Lubricator

Post by ccvstmr »

I'll ditto Tim's remarks...hardened shaft material. Had someone help with the rebuild of both lubricators back in '15. Doesn't take much wear on the shafts to render the clutch bearings useless. Replaced the shaft material AND both bearings in each lubricator (4 total fro 2 lubricators). Bearings alone were around $15 each.

Keeping the eccentric on the hardened shaft perfectly aligned with the ram was a challenge. More like trial and error...until the mechanism could make a full revolution without binding.

After rebuilding the mechanism, had to keep choking down the crank stroke. Otherwise, too much lube oil would be dispensed. Additional holes in both the crank and motion pick up point were drilled (sometimes think there's still too much oil being dispensed).
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Hope this helps anyone that follows with similar lubricator issues. Carl B.
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Bill Shields
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Re: Lubricator

Post by Bill Shields »

One thing that I also found also helps:

mash an o-ring down on the shaft to provide some 'stiction' so that the shaft does not tend to 'rock' when the clutch is disengaging / engaging.

I like to put the o-ring in the INSIDE to keep the steam oil away from the clutch (see cbrew comment)..and put one on the outside to keep dirt out....of course this means that it needs to be occasionally lubricated....

roller clutches have been in use industrially for a VERY LONG TIME and are very reliable, assuming that they are installed correctly. :lol:
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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Harold_V
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Re: Lubricator

Post by Harold_V »

FLtenwheeler wrote: Fri Jul 19, 2019 7:06 am The shaft needs to be hardened. Not just drill rod but hardened drill rod. I am sure they spec a hardness.

Tim
This would be an excellent example of where the use of a drill or reamer blank would provide the required shaft material.

H
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Bill Shields
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Re: Lubricator

Post by Bill Shields »

or a gauge pin from someone else's set....
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
daves1459
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Re: Lubricator

Post by daves1459 »

My Torrington catalog says for full one way clutch capacity and life the shaft should be Rockwell "C" scale 58-62. That hardness is about the same as a dowel pin. Oil hardening, water hardening, and air hardening tool steels will work. Although the quench temperature is quite high. Not just red hot, but orange hot. For the home shop water hardening (W-1) is probably the easiest to harden. Quench is room temperature water with some salt dissolved in it and agitate the part during quenching followed by a 300 F temper for a half hour.

Dave
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