Tubes...leaking

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Emfinger
Posts: 229
Joined: Tue Oct 01, 2019 3:30 pm
Location: Yucca Valley, CA

Re: Tubes...leaking

Post by Emfinger »

Thanks Russ, I am a member of the local club. The club is only 10 miles from my house but most of the members live several hundred miles from here.
Tom
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NP317
Posts: 4557
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: Tubes...leaking

Post by NP317 »

Emfinger wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 10:52 am Thanks Russ, I am a member of the local club. The club is only 10 miles from my house but most of the members live several hundred miles from here.
Tom
Sounds ironic!
Keep smiling.
RussN
Santafescotty60
Posts: 51
Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2017 11:00 pm

Re: Tubes...leaking

Post by Santafescotty60 »

Hello fellas,
Has this tractor as I understand been in storage for a while or running when the leak was discovered how old is the boiler? Was stored in a wet climate empty, or opened to the environment ( drain plugs out) , stored outside under a tarp ? Possibly the tubes rotted from the inside? So depending on the condition of the boiler Is it possible that a stone or piece of shale got jammed in a tube the pounding on it could have punctured the tube ? if so use a long stainless rod 2 tapered plugs draw bar the plugs in the tube to seal it up. pressure test till its tight enough . if it passes hydro :D yeah !
I live about a mile from the pacific ocean I have a buddy who has a loco stored next to the ocean. His storage method is to fill the boiler with distilled H2O & cap it or top the boiler off with 3 to 5 psi argon or nitrogen steel tubes and boiler 30 years old still holds water that's an old navy practice I was told . I fill my boiler to store it . I run every month till Covid ... we use a lot of zincs ,The loco is 29 years old about 2 years ago I had to reroll a few of my Copper /Nickle tubes the lowest ones in the fire box . I use a 16 gauge shot gun brush brass or stainless 5/8 id I think. The Leaks started when I tried to teach a guy by letting him run my 10 wheeler locomotive . He decided to crank up the oil burner and run the tender dry, it sounded like a B-52 taking off . I pulled his ejection seat lever! He got an education that day . he is running electrics now days Thanks for listening
Emfinger
Posts: 229
Joined: Tue Oct 01, 2019 3:30 pm
Location: Yucca Valley, CA

Re: Tubes...leaking

Post by Emfinger »

Santafescotty60 wrote: Sun Jan 24, 2021 11:47 am Hello fellas,
Has this tractor as I understand been in storage for a while or running when the leak was discovered how old is the boiler? Was stored in a wet climate empty, or opened to the environment ( drain plugs out) , stored outside under a tarp ? Possibly the tubes rotted from the inside? So depending on the condition of the boiler Is it possible that a stone or piece of shale got jammed in a tube the pounding on it could have punctured the tube ? if so use a long stainless rod 2 tapered plugs draw bar the plugs in the tube to seal it up. pressure test till its tight enough . if it passes hydro :D yeah !
I live about a mile from the pacific ocean I have a buddy who has a loco stored next to the ocean. His storage method is to fill the boiler with distilled H2O & cap it or top the boiler off with 3 to 5 psi argon or nitrogen steel tubes and boiler 30 years old still holds water that's an old navy practice I was told . I fill my boiler to store it . I run every month till Covid ... we use a lot of zincs ,The loco is 29 years old about 2 years ago I had to reroll a few of my Copper /Nickle tubes the lowest ones in the fire box . I use a 16 gauge shot gun brush brass or stainless 5/8 id I think. The Leaks started when I tried to teach a guy by letting him run my 10 wheeler locomotive . He decided to crank up the oil burner and run the tender dry, it sounded like a B-52 taking off . I pulled his ejection seat lever! He got an education that day . he is running electrics now days Thanks for listening
I run distilled water with a boiler treatment added. When not at the RR it lives in a temperature controlled shop here in the desert. The problem may be "age" I don't know. Only one tube leaks. At this point I trying to pick a procedure to repair it.
Thank you
Tom
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Bill Shields
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Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:57 am
Location: 39.367, -75.765
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Re: Tubes...leaking

Post by Bill Shields »

your care is probably the only reason it has made it this long without a retubing.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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