Who supplies Tallow (steam oil)

[GeorgeT]

Question for the group.

My friend has a steam launch, which has a compound steam engine (2 cyclinder) made by Black Staffe in the 60's. It uses tallow (wax) for lubrication. He has run out of it, and has been unable to find a supplier. Does anyone know where we can find a source? He has been using reqular steam oil and is thinking of building a displacement oiler but wants to keep it original.

George T.

[Prospect]

I;m just relaying what i'm told but i have a friend who also has a small steamboat and he uses Crisco lard. unfortunately , He's gone now and I can't ask the specifics. I;m curious though. ???. John

[bcody]

George T: My first full size steamboat had a Blackstaffe-Wood steeple compound engine running full condensing with a displacement lubricator. Boiler was a Perkins Grid water tube boiler fired with a three orface vaporizing burner. The displacement lubricator worked OK for about 10 minutes and then it ran dry. I could tell it was dry because of the screams I got from the engine and it slowed down. I replaced the displacement lubricator with a mechanical one and the screams went away and the performance went up, went up so much I had to get a larger propeller. The larger propeller slowed the engine so much I wasn't using steam like I had before and kept going on the relief valve. Ended up having to block one of the three burner orfaces, I was getting too much steam. Overall my boat speed/performance went up, engine speed went down and fuel/water consumption went down. All I have ever used for internal lubrication is regular steam oil designed for full condensing systems. I went on to use the same oil in my other three full size steamboats, all my 1.5" scale live steam locomotives (4) and my six steam powered R/C model boats. I strongly suggest you use regular steam oil for condensing systems in a mechanical lubricator. DON'T USE A DISPLACEMENT LUBRICATOR for full size boat systems, they don't have enough capacity for extended runs. Bill

[Mark Thompson]

George,

Tallow is simple. It is beef fat.

Go to a local butcher shop or packing house and buy a few pounds from them. Make absolutely sure that you have cut away ALL traces of meat. Keep it frozen until you need it.

To use as an additive to enhance steam cylinder oil: Cook it down to liquid . Add about 5% melted tallow to steam cylinder oil and thoroughly mix. If you are married, rendering tallow is best done outside.

If your engine has a tallow/steam pot: Just fill the pot with beef fat and your done, the steam will render it for you.

Use ONLY beef fat, not pork.

Or if you just want a good steam cylinder oil try-

http://www.steamenginelube.com/cylinderoil.htm

-Mark Thompson

[alanstepney]

As Mark said, it is easy to make your own.
However, you might find craft candle makers who use it, so worth asking around.

As for displacement lubricators, our GWR used it on all their locomotives to the end of steam, and preserved examples still do so.
So, it is possible, and can have some advantages.

[GeorgeT]

Thanks everyone,

Mechanical lubricator sounds like the ticket. I wonder if there is something out there we can adapt? I guess we can make one and run it off the water pumps.

Next time my friend has it out I'll post some pictures, it's quite a sight in Balboa Bay.

Merry Christmas to all,[/b]

[reubenT]

or go for the good stuff made for the job, they have weights for different temperature/pressure ranges. http://www.steamenginelube.com/