Hand pump for boiler feedwater

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Lopez Mike
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Re: Hand pump for boiler feedwater

Post by Lopez Mike » Wed Jan 07, 2015 12:55 am

My 1" bore pump has about an 18" handle. Maybe a little longer. I think that about half of the work needed to use it is friction due to the generally crude design and workmanship. It has a steel plunger with an O-ring in an aluminum cylinder with no real way to lubricate either the O-ring or the piston.

When I build my next pump using a stern shaft packing gland, I will have about twice the piston area, a longer and removable handle and much reduced friction. Also it might look like something decent.
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Re: Hand pump for boiler feedwater

Post by cyberbadger » Wed Jan 07, 2015 1:42 am

Lopez Mike wrote:I think that about half of the work needed to use it is friction due to the generally crude design and workmanship.
That's my problem with the Rappahannock Boat works HP-3 I got with my first boiler, but it was more like 75-90% of the work was friction.

As I said before I dug it up after a comment on this thread and cleaned it and took it apart.

I could hone or polish the inside of the bronze cylinder body but I think the stainless steel plunger would again start digging in and scrapping the bronze again from imperfections in the linkages, there is no support (no packing gland) of any kind near where the plunger connects to the linkage.

I could add another make a groove for another o-ring in that area, but I think the problem would happen again.
hp3.png
HP-3 Hand Pump
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-CB
Jack Innes
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Re: Hand pump for boiler feedwater

Post by Jack Innes » Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:02 am

I have posted these pictures before but they may be of help here as well. I made this pump from a ruined casting for a Locomobile steam car pump. The guide at the rear of the piston helps keep the stainless piston from digging into the brass cylinder. The guide now has an oiler on it. The packing gland has Teflon rope type packing. The folding handle goes out of the way but cannot be lost - important when you need it in a hurry. The pump works smoothly when wet.


[img][IMG]http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad35 ... 8f9f69.jpg[/img][/img]
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Lopez Mike
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Re: Hand pump for boiler feedwater

Post by Lopez Mike » Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:11 am

I have given this some thought. Probably not enough. My brain storm is to have the piston be a simple cylinder. No O-rings or cups. The piston will be made of Acetal resin. In the U.S. it's sold as Delrin.

The body will be a modified stern bearing/packing gland. Just weld a plate over the end opposite of the shaft packing and drill and tap the body for two pipe fittings.

The piston will be a sliding fit in the bore. The sealing will be taken care of by the ordinary flax and goop (lanolin?) packing used for prop shafts. Highly field repairable.

I can buy the Delrin in bar stock with a good finish. With a small bit of low cunning I might be able to connect the pump handle to the piston and not have the loads taken by the pin/bolt. Delrin is fairly soft compared to metal. Either a radius on the pump handle where it bears on the Delrin or, maybe better yet, a S.S. shaft threaded in to the Delrin that has whatever sort of hole or clevis at the other end.

Friction is usually your enemy. I can, however, imagine the handle coming up and whacking me in the chops due to not enough friction. Win a few. Loose a few.
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Re: Hand pump for boiler feedwater

Post by Lopez Mike » Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:13 am

How is that brass grip attached to the handle? Threaded?
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Re: Hand pump for boiler feedwater

Post by cyberbadger » Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:45 am

Jack,

I really like that pump you put together. :D Definitely takes care of misalignment issues. Even though some of it is from machined barstock and not all castings, some care was taken to make it look vintage and appropriate.

-CB
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Re: Hand pump for boiler feedwater

Post by Jack Innes » Wed Jan 07, 2015 3:59 am

Lopez Mike wrote:How is that brass grip attached to the handle? Threaded?

Mike, Yes the brass grip is threaded on to the steel about 1 1/2". The steel was cut to the diameter of the thread leaving a "shoulder" for the brass to contact when fully installed. I put Loctite on the thread to secure it.

CB, Yes the only casting is the pump body itself. (Other than those in the standard check valves & fittings)
In the final installation I used spring lift check valves.

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Re: Hand pump for boiler feedwater

Post by Kiwi Noel » Mon Jan 12, 2015 8:56 am

Elliot Bay Steam Launch Co have casting kits for a hand pump looks a good design also has volume per stroke listed, $190.00 http://www.steamlaunch.com/index.html click on new products and scroll down to the pumps.
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Re: Hand pump for boiler feedwater

Post by Steamboat Mike » Thu Jan 15, 2015 5:09 pm

I use a modified Neptune Pump. I took out the two bolt packing piece and bored the recess enough to clean it up to be concentric with the main bore which I increased to 1 3/4" slightly shakey fit for the plunger. I also cut the ears off the cylinder casting and turned it round and threaded it for a fairly fine thread. Then I made a bushing that fits the cleaned up packing gland. This has a static o-ring seal on the outside and a dynamic o-ring seal on the inside against the plunger. I made a nice slotted round Worthington style nut to hold the bushing in the packing gland. I made a plunger of ordinary 360 brass with as nice a finish as I could get. The pump comes with a carbon steel plunger from the OEM. I also blanked off the existing 1/2"IPT bosses and made a 1/2" connection to the bottom of the pump. This connects to a tee with an upstream and downstream check valve under the floor boards. Because of the increased bore and the 200PSI boiler pressure I made a substantial socket adapter of aluminum bronze so I could use a removable 30" nickel silver handle to keep the fireroom gangway clear of a tripping hazard. It all makes for a very traditional looking marine style pump that has hidden modern features.
The pump adds 1" of water to the glass for about 75 strokes if I can recall correctly on a 22" diameter boiler.
Having done all this I must add that I have never fired this pump in anger, only use it for hydro and to add water to a cold boiler for fire up if I forgot to top the glass at the last steaming.
It was a lot of work for something that rarely gets used, but it sure works smoothly and is there if/when I need it, anyway the work is supposed to be part of the fun.
This is my story, your results may vary.
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Re: Hand pump for boiler feedwater

Post by artemis » Thu Jan 15, 2015 6:44 pm

Kiwi Noel wrote:Elliot Bay Steam Launch Co have casting kits for a hand pump looks a good design also has volume per stroke listed, $190.00 http://www.steamlaunch.com/index.html click on new products and scroll down to the pumps.
Noel
This is nearly identical to a pump I built from a design by George Marshall and published in Steamboats and Modern Steam Launches, Sep/Oct 1963, pg. 15. I found it to be easy to use, and it provided my feedwater for about 1/2 hour a few years back when both the engine driven system and the injector stopped working. The important thing for a HAND OPERATED pump is to use a RAM or DISPLACEMENT plunger, not a piston with rings - rings increase friction greatly, and a long enough handle for greater work advantage. The casting kit price is very reasonable for what you're buying. I built mine from a 1" rudder stock thru-hull fitting, 1-1/4" brass pipe nipple threaded both ends, a 1-1/4" x 1/2" brass bell reducer fitting to serve as the suction/discharge fitting, a length of 1" dia scrap prop shafting and misc. bar and rod stock. I mounted mine so that the handle was vertical, giving me better mechanical advantage and allowing me to stand upright (or sit down) when pumpiong for any period of time. :idea: Oh, yes, using a "plunger" (displacement) type reduces/eliminates water hammer in engine driven pumps also.
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