Elesco pump drawings
- Bill Shields
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Re: Elesco pump drawings
A lot of work..
Not to be the wet towel...
Just getting it to run off the assembly table and then stay running are very big challenges.
How many people would want to pay $3000 or more for a pump?
What did Moe's charge for their compound pump? -> very few of which remained running for very long.
Not to be the wet towel...
Just getting it to run off the assembly table and then stay running are very big challenges.
How many people would want to pay $3000 or more for a pump?
What did Moe's charge for their compound pump? -> very few of which remained running for very long.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
-
- Posts: 174
- Joined: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:18 pm
- Location: Central NJ
Re: Elesco pump drawings
Hi Bill,
That's all part of the fun for me, and part of what makes this hobby great: we get to experience the entire spectrum of what steam locomotives were about. Their design nuances, all the work (fun) to build them, and all the work (fun) to maintain them. Running them on the track is just a small fraction of the enjoyment for me, albeit the rewarding payoff/icing on the cake part.
Sincerely,
Adam
That's all part of the fun for me, and part of what makes this hobby great: we get to experience the entire spectrum of what steam locomotives were about. Their design nuances, all the work (fun) to build them, and all the work (fun) to maintain them. Running them on the track is just a small fraction of the enjoyment for me, albeit the rewarding payoff/icing on the cake part.
Sincerely,
Adam
- Bill Shields
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- Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:57 am
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Re: Elesco pump drawings
I completely agree with you about the fun...but very few people understand or appreciate the effort that must go into a project like this...let alone appreciate the $ of building a running model in small scale.
I have had people ask how I can justify $500 for a small BvB pump.
Unfortunately, my usual answer is "you build one for $500".
Yes .you probably can...but if someone is going to build to sell. Stand back. Stay tuned...
My standard comment is "everything is easy for the person who does not have to do it themselves".
There is a very good reason why we generally speaking do not see these pumps on the market for sale.
I have had people ask how I can justify $500 for a small BvB pump.
Unfortunately, my usual answer is "you build one for $500".
Yes .you probably can...but if someone is going to build to sell. Stand back. Stay tuned...
My standard comment is "everything is easy for the person who does not have to do it themselves".
There is a very good reason why we generally speaking do not see these pumps on the market for sale.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
Re: Elesco pump drawings
It still seems like the approachable way to build one would be to use the internals from a keim or BVB style pump then essentially make a body that looks a bit more like the elesco.
- Bill Shields
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- Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:57 am
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Re: Elesco pump drawings
Nah...not realistic. Elesco valves are internally driven with a shuttle on top of each piston.
BvB pumps generally have side mounted slide valves for steam and ball checks on the front or back of the water end.
There are a couple of BvB models with top valves but they look nothing like an elesco..
Have you noticed that the BvB pumps are all simple and the elesco is compound?
Compound pumps tend to sieze up when running at low pressures because the low pressure steam end tries to run on water...
If you want something that looks like an elesco then the best bet is to get someone to make you a set of dummy castings.
BvB pumps generally have side mounted slide valves for steam and ball checks on the front or back of the water end.
There are a couple of BvB models with top valves but they look nothing like an elesco..
Have you noticed that the BvB pumps are all simple and the elesco is compound?
Compound pumps tend to sieze up when running at low pressures because the low pressure steam end tries to run on water...
If you want something that looks like an elesco then the best bet is to get someone to make you a set of dummy castings.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
-
- Posts: 174
- Joined: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:18 pm
- Location: Central NJ
Re: Elesco pump drawings
Hi Bill,
The Elesco CF-1 is actually not compound, in fact the two sides are completely independent and the equivalent of two separate pumps next to each other, just in the same body. This was an advertised design feature for Elesco, for reliability purposes: if one side stalls, the other side is unaffected. Their other advertised feature was using the top works (steam valve) from Westinghouse single lung pumps for ease of maintenance.
They did offer a version where the two sides were connected for purposes of the steam valve (akin to the BvB design but done with shuttle valves instead of mechanical linkage) but again they were two simplex pumps, not a compound.
Having built and rebuilt a few BvB pumps over the years, I absolutely agree with you that pumps are wayyyyy more complicated than some folks realize, which makes what Brian Keim and other pump guys in the hobby (such as yourself) have done even more impressive in my book.
Sincerely,
Adam
The Elesco CF-1 is actually not compound, in fact the two sides are completely independent and the equivalent of two separate pumps next to each other, just in the same body. This was an advertised design feature for Elesco, for reliability purposes: if one side stalls, the other side is unaffected. Their other advertised feature was using the top works (steam valve) from Westinghouse single lung pumps for ease of maintenance.
They did offer a version where the two sides were connected for purposes of the steam valve (akin to the BvB design but done with shuttle valves instead of mechanical linkage) but again they were two simplex pumps, not a compound.
Having built and rebuilt a few BvB pumps over the years, I absolutely agree with you that pumps are wayyyyy more complicated than some folks realize, which makes what Brian Keim and other pump guys in the hobby (such as yourself) have done even more impressive in my book.
Sincerely,
Adam
Re: Elesco pump drawings
Looks to me like two single cylinder pumps acting independently from each other would work packed side by side in a casting that has the look of an Elesco?
Re: Elesco pump drawings
isn't that basically what Keim's duplex pump is ?
- Bill Shields
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Re: Elesco pump drawings
Kevin's duplex is a twin pump...left side drives right...right drives left.
Did not realize elesco was just two independent pumps sharing a common casting...ah well that makes it doubly annoying to build.. since each pump can stall independent of the other
Did not realize elesco was just two independent pumps sharing a common casting...ah well that makes it doubly annoying to build.. since each pump can stall independent of the other
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
Re: Elesco pump drawings
I think his is loosely based on it. But I meant the internals with two independent pumps sharing a common body. But perhaps I'm wrong.
- Bill Shields
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- Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:57 am
- Location: 39.367, -75.765
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Re: Elesco pump drawings
Most of his pumps appear to be derivatives of BvB designs...some of which are devived from British designs
Too many things going on to bother listing them.