Member postings for Brian John

I use etch primer on all metals. I have also used it on steel and cast iron even if it wasn't necessary.

I have built a new burner using what was left of the original burner after my ''soldering accident''. I have adjusted the ball valve with the M3 screw much lower than I thought necessary and I have got this engine to run for 10 minutes which is not too bad for a tropical summer.

1. If I were to put a heat resistant gasket between the cylinder head and the cylinder, would this increase the run time of the engine ?

2. How do you cut a heat resistant gasket ? It seems to have a metal plate sandwiched on either side by some sort of rubber compound. I did try using hole punches and a hammer but I made no impression on it at all.

Edited By Brian John on 08/10/2017 03:39:49

Pierre ; it sounds like you have made the engine very well however, if you seal everything that well then this can cause water to be trapped in the cylinder both behind and in front of the piston. The engine can lock up after a few minutes of running. I have had this problem with some engines I have built from pre-machined kits. Tapcocks are one solution but there is not much room to install them on this small engine. I have found that running on air can be very different to running on steam.

Of course, a boiler of a different design to mine may give better results ; you will not know until you run it on steam.

Aha..now I understand. I think the Danni might be powerful enough to run a small dynamo and a light. It depends on how much steam pressure you get from your boiler. What sort of boiler are you using ?

Cottage cheese perhaps but definitely not Parmesan !

I really don't think the small Danni steam engine will be up to cutting anything but hopefully Pierre will prove me wrong. His boiler may have more power than mine and his steam engine was probably better made.

That looks good Pierre. How did you machine the flat on the cylinder ? Did you use a milling vice on your lathe ? Did you have trouble making the control valve ? My taps kept breaking trying to cut an M2 thread in the stainless steel. In the end I made the control valve out of bronze and silver steel. I may have another go at a stainless steel control valve now that I know the engine works.

NOTE : your flywheel looks to be different in that the spokes are curved.

Edited By Brian John on 23/09/2017 02:09:54

Jason : thank you for sorting out the video link.

Lawrie : I had to move the engine back to line up with the steam outlet on the horizontal boiler. I don't have as much room to mount a dynamo. I will see what I can find on the internet.

I just remembered that my camera has a video/movie option so I tried that today. The youtube result is much better but I still cannot get links to work on my new computer. What am I doing wrong ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JMg8r7-Hnw

Edited By JasonB on 19/09/2017 07:31:51

I have been trying to build a steam plant using Danni #1 and my standard vertical boiler but this engine is not a good match with this boiler. Like the Liegende engine, it keeps running out of steam after a few minutes. I tried all the usual tricks such as inserting a piece of 1/8'' pipe inside the 3/16'' steam outlet but even that did not work. Plugging the chimney caused the flame to go out. So I had to redesign the steam plant using my larger horizontal boiler. I had to re-drill every hole in the base board  but it does run well now.

I am not sure of the quality of the videos I get with  my very cheap smart phone. I will try to get a better video tomorrow in the daylight if I can.

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&feature=vm&video_id=HiuP38gzlp4

As usual, the links are not working and this time I used Google Chrome !  Any suggestions ?

Edited By Brian John on 18/09/2017 15:01:24

I recently bought some pipe fittings from PM Research in the US. I have my first order with them on the way now. I used to use Executive Model Design but their postage rates are getting quite high. PM Research have their own thread : UST (Universal Straight and Taper). You can read about it on their website. It should match all my existing threads which are 3/16-40 and 1/4-40 ME.

I don't know of anybody producing a similar range of pipe fittings in the UK or Australia....or anywhere !

Edited By Brian John on 17/09/2017 01:45:10

Lawrie : How will you connect the two engines ie. from where to where on the steam chests will you make the connection with a steam pipe ?

Danni #1 does not run all that well with the vertical boiler. I am surprised as it runs quite readily on air. The engine runs much better with the horizontal boiler which produces more steam. I am modifying the steam plant to take the larger horizontal boiler.

I have put the timber lagging on Danni #2 and it should be ready for steam testing tomorrow.

Edited By Brian John on 16/09/2017 17:46:45

I am building a steam plant for both these engines. Danni #1 is done but I am losing quite a bit of steam through the pipe work so it keeps running out of puff after a few minutes. I will solder some of those connections and see if that improves things. I am hoping to fit a dynamo and light also but only if I can get the engine running fast enough.

I dragged this flame eater out of the cupboard to see if I can get it to work. It ran when I first built it but then refused to go ever since. The timing is okay : move the eccentric 1mm either way and the engine will not run so we can eliminate that as the problem. Piston/cylinder fit is very good : strong suction when I place my hand or finger over the end port. That leaves the ball valve arrangement. I enlarged the counter sink hole where the ball valve fits. This time I did it by hand as using the counter sink in a drill press or power drill results in small ridges which may affect the seal.

Some success ; I can get it to run for 5 minutes but then it fades and stops. It should run for about 10 minutes. Any suggestions as to how I can improve the running time ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yqkYYkZ6eI&feature=youtu.be

NOTE : sorry, I have a new computer and I cannot get the usual links to work.

Edited By Brian John on 07/09/2017 08:31:48

Edited By Brian John on 07/09/2017 08:35:24

I bought a new Ozito compressor from Bunnings today. The old compressor was most of the problem. Danni 2 runs very well now but there is still a small amount of air escaping from the front cover to the control valve. I will make a new one and see if that helps. I am still not sure about the pinholes in the solder so I might apply some 180 degree solder to them to plug them up.

The new compressor only runs for about 15 minutes before it gets very hot. Would purchasing a compressor with a tank increase the length of time the compressor can be run continuously (the duty cycle) ?

https://ozito.com.au/products/150w-mini-air-compressor-and-airbrushkit/

Edited By Brian John on 02/09/2017 07:53:29

The only holes I plugged were those holes from the steam chest to the cylinder as I did not want them to fill with solder. I used cut off toothpicks to do that. It was not a problem with the other engine but perhaps they were a tighter fit in this one.

UPDATE : I have watched closely to see if any air is coming from those holes and I do not think there is. I placed a few drops of water with a bit of detergent and I could not see any disturbance or bubbles. I think my air compressor has died this afternoon so I am not sure if I have an engine problem or not !

I will make the Al plate to go under the engine frame while I wait for a new compresssor to arrive from ebay.

Next project is a beam engine from Sussex Steam which I purchased from ebay. It is their old model beam engine and there is a lot more work in it than I expected. I suspect that is why the original owner sold it. Their newer version is much simpler to build but unavailable now due to illness according to their website.

Edited By Brian John on 01/09/2017 12:08:48

Edited By Brian John on 01/09/2017 12:26:51

That is one engine finished. It looks quite elegant with the timber lagging on the cylinder. I don't have any more of the thin strips of timber to do the second engine the same way so I will have to think of something else. I also have to add displacement lubricators to the engines before running them on steam.

 The second engine is giving me problems : the solder joint between the cylinder and the steam chest keeps ending up with two or three pin holes along the seam. It looks like air is blowing out of there while the solder is setting. I pulled it apart and re-soldered it a second time but I am still having the same problem. I am not sure what is going on there as this did not happen to the first engine. I would take a photo but I do not think it would show up very well with my camera.

Edited By Brian John on 01/09/2017 02:49:37

Edited By Brian John on 01/09/2017 02:50:07

Edited By Brian John on 01/09/2017 02:52:25

I will lookinto making my own and see what I can find in the way of plans.

Reagrds the Chinese lubricator : why is one side threaded and the other side is not ?

The PMR lubricators have one inlet/outlet pipe which is to be connected to a T junction. I have been using these for a few years but the postage costs from the US are getting prohibitive. I found these displacement lubricators from China but they have have two pipes. How are they connected ie. which is the inlet and which is the outlet ?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DISPLACEMENT-LUBRICATOR-LIVE-STEAM-ENGINE-EXCELLENT-CONDITION-5-sets/161192535185?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Edited By Brian John on 27/08/2017 14:25:52

Lawrie : your chuck probably weighs as much as my lathe

I spent the afternoon mucking around drilling and tapping holes and finally ended up with something I am happy with. I have drilled and tapped the 6mm thick aluminium plate to take two M2 X 14mm cap head screws which pass through the engine frame and the plate. These are further secured on the under side of the plate with two M2 nuts ( not necessary but I did it anyway). The plate was then screwed to the wooden block using five 5/8'' #2 wood screws ( five was overkill). I fitted the large flywheel and it all runs well.

Tomorrow I will glue the wooden lagging to the cylinder. That large bare space on the cylinders always looks a bit odd to my eye. I was going to file a flat on the crankshaft for the eccentric grub screw but then I realised that I would not be able to make any fine adjustments to the timing if I did that. Any thoughts on this ?

NOTE : I did think about painting the Al plate brunswick green but decided against it. And the same with the engine frame... it's really not worth it. The wooden lagging will give it a lift.

Edited By Brian John on 26/08/2017 11:41:56

Edited By Brian John on 26/08/2017 11:43:14

Edited By Brian John on 26/08/2017 11:48:23