OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

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DianneB
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Location: Manitoba, Canada

OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by DianneB »

Doing some work on my American this fall and turned the tender on its side to make some plumbing changes and couldn't believe the size and quantity of BUGS that had accumulated in the fuel filter I use on my injector line! SHOCKING!

It makes me wonder if I should have a filter on the water line to the pumps as well?

Can't believe I have been feeding my boiler that much protein all these years :shock:

(My water sources are clean so they must be getting into the tender through the slot for the hand pump.)

Anybody else find bugs in their tender? (Maybe I just attract bugs LOL!)
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10KPete
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Re: OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by 10KPete »

Creepy! What kind of bugs?

Pete
Just tryin'
little giant
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Re: OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by little giant »

One year at our club a member had trouble with his injector not working properly. Come to find out little wasps were building nests inside the end of the water hoses. When filing his tank very fine blades of grass got caught up in the water screen for the injector. Now just before we fill our tenders we run the water into the ballast before putting the hose into the tank to clear out the water line.
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NP317
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Re: OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by NP317 »

That's been my habit for many years of operation.
Always first make sure the water lines are clear...
~RN
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DianneB
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Re: OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by DianneB »

10KPete wrote: Sat Nov 10, 2018 8:42 pm Creepy! What kind of bugs?
Looks like small flies. They may have been attracted by the water or the shade on a hot summer day I guess.
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Bill Shields
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Re: OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by Bill Shields »

a screen on the water inlet is never a lost cause
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
blff cty lcmtv wrks
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Re: OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by blff cty lcmtv wrks »

this is a funny story. the late Austin barr had a track at Whitehall ar many years ago. the late bob Wilson and I debugged and ran his ic 2600 locomotive there. Austin had a converted air/ hydraulic auto lift that was used to aid in the unloading of locomotives. it also was used as a turntable. we were transferring the locomotive out of his shop to the outbound track, when we discovered that the lift would not go down. it would only go up. at the time, we had no idea why this was happening. finally, after about an hour of head scratching, we discovered that the exhaust pipe for the air line was mudded up with a bunch of mud dauber crud. I guess that's what a mud dauber's purpose in life is to do, mud up all the holes he can find. it's his job. which brings up another question, I understand that said mud dauber lays an egg, fills it with insects for the little grub worm to eat when it hatches, the muds the whole thing over. then the m.d. repeats the process over and over again. when the first egg hatches, does he or she have to wait until all the rest hatch out? that would be pretty boring. btw, I dug out about six inches of dried mud from that exhaust line before it finally broke loose.
John Hasler
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Re: OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by John Hasler »

It may be different mud daubers mudding over each other's work.

They like the coolant drains on my tractors. They will also plug up small sockets.
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Bill Shields
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Re: OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by Bill Shields »

and garden hoses left out....
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
blff cty lcmtv wrks
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Re: OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by blff cty lcmtv wrks »

I would sure hate to be the first one in that hole. you have to wait until all the other little dauberettes hatch.
rkcarguy
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Re: OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by rkcarguy »

I've had a terrible time with some kind of small black beetle like bug that builds these little white fluffy nests in fuel vent lines(boat, truck, go kart, etc). Go to use said vehicle and it runs for a few minutes starves for fuel then dies, huge vacuum on fuel filler cap. I ended up cutting one end off of one of those cheap clear plastic fuel filters and plugging it into the vent hose on the truck and boat. The kart is easy enough to see and blow out with compressed air.
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Fender
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Re: OMG, Kamikaze bugs!

Post by Fender »

Heard an interesting/scary story about a locomotive on a sugar cane plantation in Louisiana many years ago. These railroads were seasonal operations, usually operating only from October to January during the harvest (grinding season). When they fired up their forney at the beginning of the season, the pressure climbed to well over 200 psi without the safety (supposedly set to 160) lifting! A shop man went out on the running board and started whacking the pop valve with a wooden stick.
When the valve finally opened with a mighty roar, the shop man fell backwards off the running board into some mud! The engineer, who was calmly observing from a safe distance, said “damn mud daubers...”! They were lucky that day.
Dan Watson
Chattanooga, TN
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