My first steam engine

[Edward]

Quinten ,

Judging by the prices that some other 5As have reached on eBay I think you have a bargain .

I'm sure you have already looked at all the boats which are similar to your needs , but just in case you may have missed these ones have a look at Hot Pot and Minnow in the Register of steamboats on the Steamboat Association of Great Britain web site .
Both are about the size you're interested in , one has a 5A and a Blackstaffe watertube boiler , the other a similar sized engine and a vertical firetube boiler.
They both work very well within the obvious limitations of their size and give their owners a lot of pleasure .

Regards Edward.

[quinten1231]

Edward

Thank you for the names, the "Hot Pot" is the kind of setup I was thinking of.
I am happy to know that this setup works, and it is much more spacious than I initially believed it would be.

Regards Quinten

[Lopez Mike]

Hmm. There are several boats with 5A engines. I'd look them over and, if possible, talk to the owners. My comments about length v.s. width have to do with seeing row boats with too much stuff in them and the people looking all scrunched up. You are going to have a boat with inherent limitations as to load carrying capacity and range so you might as well please yourself.

You can build a round boiler of either type. Right here on this forum there have been great postings about building Oldfeldt (sic) boilers that are round. Merryweather designs are round.

I'm a VFT fan myself so I suppose it's perverse recommending a water tube unit when I don't really know much about them. It just has looked to me as though many of them are seriously over built; the wall thicknesses of the steam and mud drums wildly thicker than need be. Not a problem on a larger boat but extra weight for a small boat.

My personal prejudices are obvious. I like long, narrow, lightweight launches that trailer easily and don't burn very much fuel. Panatella sorts of things. With modern materials the hulls are stronger than the crews and anyway who's going out in half a gale with seas to suit?

Within a mile of where I launch my boat, there is a straight shot to the Philippines and right now there isn't a wave out there that a pancake with a hair lip couldn't spit over. Tomorrow who knows?

Mike

[Lopez Mike]

And heed Edward's words about looking at the Blackstaff boiler. He had a good eye for design.

Mike

[quinten1231]

Thank you all for the replies

I am still not sure what type of hull to buy or build, same goes for the boiler but luckily i still have alot of time to choose.

I took apart the engine today and cleaned it from the dirty black oil that was used for testing, I took it apart to look for any damage or mistakes but havent found anything major.

Now that it is almost fully apart I was planing on changing some things, mainly the looks.
I have some questions about the things I am planning on doing and whther they make sense:

First off: I was looking at the reverse linkage, and thought about maybe changing the small block which slides inside the guide for the linkage ( do not know the name, basically the tiny curved block which is bolted to the bottom of the valve stem) I was thinking about replacing that block with a Teflon replica, since I want to use it in a boat I though it might be a good solution for wear. Since teflon is hard and does not require alot of lubrication I guess it will barely wear and there wont be any play created in the linkage. I looked at the block now and I saw some wear at the ends already.

Second: I read several threads regarding internal lubrication, and some say it is not necessary and that once in a while a small shot through the cylinder cover with the use of a double valved oiler with a small chamber is more than enough.
Whereas others seems to swear by using a displacement lubricator or a mechanical one which contantly feeds oil. I would like to know what you guys recomend, personally I want to keep my hotwell and boiler as clean as possible, with the least effort, but on the otherside it goes against my instinct to lubricate anything that moves if I dont have constant lubrication.
I wont use the boat alot for sure, maybe 10-20 days per year MAX. And if then only 3-6 hours per time.

Last question (for now): I also want to chrome some parts, such as the outside of the steam chest, steamchest cover, cilindercover, and some other parts such as the con-rod, and maybe the crankweights. What do you guys think of this? I barely see chromed parts around the forums, is it because most of you dont like it, or does it cause problems due to moisture or other reasons?

One more thing: I checked the valve, and I can wiggle it around with my fingers, is there supposed to be that much play on it? The hole where the valve stem goes through seems to have about 0.5-1 mm play. Or will the pressure keep it seated

Thank you once again for your help

Regards Quinten

[Lopez Mike]

Lots of other people on the forum with far more expertise than me on most of these questions.

You would be well advised to insulate and lag the cylinder to keep the heat in. Burns less fuel. Why chrome places you will never see? Varnished wood is pleasing to look at.

The valve must be free to float away and towards the cylinder surface during operation. Thus it cannot be solidly attached to the valve rod. You can reduce the end float on the rod as much as you feel comfortable as long as the valve is free to seat properly.

I'd wait until your link block develops some slack before replacing it with Teflon. Get some hours on the engine. You'll have more important things to fuss over.

As for lubrication, I'd wait and see if you get any piston ring squeak before dealing with lubrication. I think you'll have more need for lubrication when you are playing with it on air than when running on wet saturated steam. That said, I have an engine that should run fine without internal lubrication and it is squeaking so Don't listen too closely to me! (grin)

Mike

[quinten1231]

Mike

Thanks again for your fast reply

I think there might be a misunderstanding, because the things I want to chrome are all in sight, especially the covers of the cylinder and steam-chest. I guess I used some wrong terms, I just checked the name and what I actually meant was the "cylinder head" and "steam chest cover".

Regarding the lagging, on the 5A I prefer a brass cover instead of wood, I think wood lagging does not look good on this engine, one other engines it would be my first choice.
Under the brass plate I was thinking of using similar insulation used on hot water piping in houses, not sure about the name, anyhow, it insulates very well.

About the lubrication, I decided I will start of with a small chambered oiler on top of the cylinder head and give it a shot of oil once in a while. I will not run it on air much anyway, only to test once assembled again, and maybe guests if they are interested.

After I have fully assembled the engine I will try to start on the boiler.

Regards Quinten

[Lopez Mike]

On smaller engines I sometimes lagged the cylinder with blued sheet metal. Looked like stove pipe. Coles in the U.S. once sold it but, frankly, I don't think it would be a good choice for outside use as in a boat.

Yes, chrome would work if you like the look of it. Chrome has always been hard to match with other colors and looks. Nickle plating often looks more traditional.

I'm on a war against weight on my boat and am thinking of making new cylinder heads and some other parts and having them powder coated so as not to look too tacky.

It's amazing how many hours of air running you will accumulate showing off your engine to friends. I build smaller Stuart engines for customers who have no intention of ever running them on steam. In those cases, I build them with Teflon piston rings and packings so that little lubrication is needed.

Mike

[VANYA]

Mike.

I like the traditional look too, even on the boilers with copper smoke goods. My little Stuart #1 has wooden cylinder lagging and I think I will leave it.

I will add some new brass bands too.

Hayden

[VANYA]

A Stuart 1 with sheet blued sheet covering.