Steaming Season

For the non-technical side of living with Steamboats, videos and general pictures.
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Lopez Mike
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Re: Steaming Season

Post by Lopez Mike » Sat Sep 07, 2019 3:01 pm

Known him off and on for 30-40 years. See him every few weeks.

I have a 2.5" to the foot 7.5" gauge Mogul about ready for stay bolts. I fired for my father on the 90 ton Shay at the Tacoma logging museum for a few years. Do you need a mostly machined 2-8-8-2 7.5" gauge locomotive.

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If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.
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PeteThePen1
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Re: Steaming Season

Post by PeteThePen1 » Sat Sep 07, 2019 7:16 pm

Hi Folks

I cannot let all the chat come from just one continent so felt I ought to contribute.

Here in my part of the UK we are still in late summer but not quite autumn and the leaves are still green and on the trees. Our weather has cooled somewhat so typically this week 14-16 C, but warmer if the sun comes out. I am not sure what folks here do for winterising their boats. We can and do get it cold enough to suffer frost damage, with Scotland probably much more at risk than I am here in North West England. FA's winters have been spent with the plumbing in pieces.

Frances Ann is very nearly ready for steam trials following the extensive refit over the last three years. The question that I have been mulling over is whether it is worth filling everything up with water just as winter closes in. However, it would be nice to know that all the changes actually work as planned and to get the boiler certificate ready for next season. I will probably chew this over with Mike Rometer my local steam Guru, currently missing due to a 7.25in Society Bun Fight.

Sod's Law is still alive and well here as I recently discovered. I needed to connect a new pipe to the gauge that will show the pressure of the steam at the manifold, i.e. after the regulator. The engine came with a suitably placed tee on the main steam line into which was screwed a bolt. Having unscrewed it and measured it I discovered that it was M8 which is not really suitable for any fitting that I have. I considered counter boring the tee to 1/4 BSP, but decided that would leave rather thin walls. So Plan B was to counter bore the hole to M10 and make up a nipple with M10 at one end and 1/4 BSP the other.

Having dismantled the steam line as access in the boat was zero, I found that the tee piece was a made up item with a very thin main line walls and a soldered on solid chunk of round brass bar (drilled M8) for the tee. I was also surprised that one end of the main line was threaded 1/2 BSP and the other looked like 5/8 BSP. Holding the tee in my hand I got this feeling that I had seen something of this size before, so went to rummage in the pipe bits box. My memory was correct in that I did have just the thing. A nice brass cross that Gregg had made for the auxiliaries feeds but now spare due to changed plumbing. Even better it was threaded 1/2 BSP one end and 5/8 BSP the other and was exactly the same length, not to mention the two 1/4 BSP outlets. Clearly my luck was in.

Two Tees (600 x 450).jpg
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Since the through bore of the X piece was about 6mm, I had a quick check of the regulator valve and was surprised to find that it was 9mm diameter. The X piece was plenty strong enough to be re-bored to 9mm so that was done next. As a Happy Bunny I then set about re-assembling the main steam line with the X piece rather than the original tee. The 5/8 end screwed in so far and then stuck which seemed odd. I was sure that the threading was parallel not taper so undid it again.

At this point the new state of the X piece thread about half was down raised the spectre of a different thread standard in the subsequent piece of the steam line (another tee). Much dismayed I went off to search out what might be going on. The likely answer was soon available. It seems that 3/8 BSP is 19 TPI while 3/8 NPT is 18 TPI.

Why, I wonder did the engine builder use a pipe fitting with a non standard (in Britain) pipe thread? After all galvanised tees are not hugely expensive... Happily, plan B was still on the table so that is what I had to do next. Wouldn't it be nice if the UK were to adopt a nice simple and standardised set of pipe standards? In chasing 1/4" BSP fittings I have discovered that the model making fraternity don't use 1/4" pipe with 1/4" BSP fittings...

Hope that the rest of you are rather more organised and know what pipe goes with what fitting.

Regards

Pete
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Re: Steaming Season

Post by Mike Rometer » Sun Sep 08, 2019 4:38 pm

Pete, we can always make a whole new fitting to your desired threads and bores, 'tain't a biggy!

Oh yes, I am returned from said 'Bun-Fight', and very good it was too! :lol:
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Re: Steaming Season

Post by PeteThePen1 » Sun Sep 08, 2019 7:36 pm

Thanks for the offer Mike. However, when cross I sometimes bash on with things that I might duck when feeling laid back. Thus a nipple was quickly sketched out on a post it and dimensioned from some 1/4" BSP bits. You can tell how cross I was as I never even fired up the computer, never mind loading the CAD program! (Mike pulls my leg that I won't make it if I cannot draw it in CAD first). Of course it was a simple bit of turning and threading but I did add a new angle. I have never before added spanner flats to a bit of round bar. I thought that was going to be a simple milling job, but for a tyro like me it was not. The result is a unique nipple with 8 sides rather than six as that was easiest to hold in the vice.

The whole shebang is all back in place with the nipple installed and the steam pipe bent using your pipe benders and a wire coat hanger for a template. Unfortunately I ran out of time so the steam pipe has not been finally trimmed and the nipples soldered on yet. We had an appointment for a bun fight in Aberystwyth that could not be ignored - sister in law Ceri's 70th birthday.

Perhaps photos when its done.

Regards

Pete
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Re: Steaming Season

Post by Mike Rometer » Sun Sep 08, 2019 9:17 pm

PeteThePen1 wrote:
Sun Sep 08, 2019 7:36 pm
Thanks for the offer Mike. However, when cross I sometimes bash on with things that I might duck when feeling laid back. Thus a nipple was quickly sketched out on a post it and dimensioned from some 1/4" BSP bits. You can tell how cross I was as I never even fired up the computer, never mind loading the CAD program! (Mike pulls my leg that I won't make it if I cannot draw it in CAD first). Of course it was a simple bit of turning and threading but I did add a new angle. I have never before added spanner flats to a bit of round bar. I thought that was going to be a simple milling job, but for a tyro like me it was not. The result is a unique nipple with 8 sides rather than six as that was easiest to hold in the vice.

The whole shebang is all back in place with the nipple installed and the steam pipe bent using your pipe benders and a wire coat hanger for a template. Unfortunately I ran out of time so the steam pipe has not been finally trimmed and the nipples soldered on yet. We had an appointment for a bun fight in Aberystwyth that could not be ignored - sister in law Ceri's 70th birthday.

Perhaps photos when its done.

Regards

Pete
Nothing wrong with eight sides . . . . as long as the spanner fits ALL of them! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Remind me to show you the easy way to do six. ;)
Retirement is about doing what floats your boat!

A BODGE : - A Bit Of Damn Good Engineering.
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Re: Steaming Season

Post by RGSP » Tue Sep 10, 2019 9:19 am

I suppose one of us close to the zero degree meridian ought to say that the steaming season here is optional. Quite a lot of people do steam their boats for the summer months only, but some of us carry on all winter, and very pleasant it is too. The rivers and lakes are relatively quiet, and if it gets cold, well there are kWs of heat going spare from the boiler etc. A cabin, or at least an effective shelter, does enhance the boat's good looks greatly in January though.
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Re: Steaming Season

Post by TahoeSteam » Sat Sep 14, 2019 8:26 pm

Another day out on "Persistance"
Spotted some of Lionel Connel's neighbors on the water, ships heading out to sea, and pirates!
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