Gra2472 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 11, 2021 8:49 am
I’m not doubting your suggestion Marty, you clearly have more knowledge than I do on this subject but what’s the problem with roll pins? They seem to hold everything tight and in place. What is the advantage of taper pins? I used roll pins because I happened to have a few on hand from another project and they seemed at the time to be a good choice.
The big advantage of the taper pins is that they are solid. Properly fit they stay tight for a long time, yet are easy to remove.
Roll pins have a hole through the middle. They may be tight now, but they will start to work loose, especially with the load on the valve gear.
with MK on this -> taper pins in favor of roll pins.
multiple reasons:
1> you can tap a taper pin in and know how tight it is - is solid along length not hollow
2> when you ream it, you know exactly where it is going to be and stay
3> full contact over entire pin (assuming reamed correctly).
4> can be disassembled and reassembled and you know that it is going to go back in place exactly the same.
Spiral pins are another option with your existing straight drilled holes. They're not as strong as a taper pin but are stronger than roll pins and are much less likely to shear or tear up the holes under loads. Heavy duty versions with tighter wraps are available.
Denny
Just another argument against roll pins. I have an Allen ten wheeler where the outside rocker arms were originally pinned with roll pins. After a couple of years they started to get loose and developed slop for and aft. They have since been removed reamed and taper pins installed. This was over a dozen years ago.
Recently I had a mechanical lubricator where the cam lobes were pinned to the shaft. One of the roll pins worked its way out jammed against the lid and snapped the shaft. Very impressed with the ratchet system
John
Hello guys. I will definitely change the roll pins out in the future. Today I ran around my home railroad for two solid hours without a hitch (to be clear.. I didn’t run a step). Ok OK barring the tender derailing when I shoved back a little too fast and leaned my heavenly svelte body a little to far around the pear tree. Yep, I’m a beer loving American, not the 4-4-0…type..any-who. So far no wear and tear that I can detect, and my little 425’ railroad will challenge any of you so called Casey Jones hoggers I kid you not. The grade from my front yard to the yard switch is about 5% by my reckoning! I worked the locomotive hard the whole time with a solid 5 car train. I need to do some work on the timing, as I can’t seem to hook up more than one notch. Since I am not (yet) a valve gear wizard I have some work to do. All in all I am impressed with the new rocker assembly…..did anyone else just hear (insert favorite outdated 80’s hair band)..? Ok moving forward.
I’m was once a pro steam guy. I ran shays and hieslers mostly for several railroads. However I find a few habits that are hard to shake. I really take my time firing up. I generally let my locomotive have 45 minutes to an hour at least to make steam. From there, another 45 to an hour to get under way. I am probably being excessive. What do you think?
7.5" Allen Mogul
3 x 7.5" West Valley Baldwin Westinghouse Electrics
The railroad is almost done.
G. Augustus
Monte Rio, Ca.
Gra2472 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 12, 2021 1:17 am
I’m was once a pro steam guy. I ran shays and hieslers mostly for several railroads. However I find a few habits that are hard to shake. I really take my time firing up. I generally let my locomotive have 45 minutes to an hour at least to make steam. From there, another 45 to an hour to get under way. I am probably being excessive. What do you think?
I've been firing 12" and 15" gauge steam for almost 20 years.
I have fired up a few friends' locomotives over that timeframe (1" scale) and all those times, I followed the same practice. 30-45 minutes as I couldn't slow down the firing any further. Minimal blower (enough so there wasn't any smoke coming out of the firebox door) and off we go. I also followed standard practice of warming up the cylinders instead of just yanking the cylinders open and blasting all the water, soot and steam out of the stack/cylinder cocks.
I plan to follow same practice when I get my own steam engine running.
You seem to be taking a long time to fire up if it's taking 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours to get it ready to go. Typical times that I see for Allen Models Coal fired locomotives is about 40-45 minutes. Fill with water, light the fire, turn on the blower, then wipe down, adjust, oil all around, etc... Should be popping off in about 45 minutes. Most of the propane fired ones will be ready to roll in about 30 minutes, sometimes less. I always go slowly, like you are doing, when I fire up a boiler for the very first time. After the first fire-up, I go to a normal fire-up process.
What Mike Walsh said.
I tend to take maybe 1 hour to prep and steam the locomotive, burning propane.
That includes filling the boiler and tender, oiling around, testing all systems, and preheating the cylinders. All in an efficient order.
Our smaller boilers have only small dimensional changes during fireup, compared to full-sized boilers.
The full sized locomotive I fired on oil did take perhaps 3 hours to fire up. I have read stories about some logging operations firing up a locomotive in 45 minutes!
I can just hear the sound of breaking stay bolls! Not for me.
Bottom line: We do this hobby for enjoyment, so take as much time as you enjoy with your locomotives.
RussN
Yeah, I like taking my time since I am not on a schedule. I have seen some locomotives at various clubs fired up in 40 minutes or so. I just wanted to get some idea of how long other guys are taking with their locomotives. I have fired up a heisler in less than an hour. Yes you just about hear the staybolts complaining.
Here’s another question for you guys. Any suggestions for good pH testers for testing the boiler water? I am using simple spa test strips that I have to test my spa. They probably aren’t ideal but they seem to work.
7.5" Allen Mogul
3 x 7.5" West Valley Baldwin Westinghouse Electrics
The railroad is almost done.
G. Augustus
Monte Rio, Ca.