Car Boot Find! Part Missing?

Hi all,

Found this nice little item at a car boot sale, looks like all it needs some tlc.

I have zero knowledge of these engines from a get it running point of view so thought I would just clean it up carefully first and evaluate it later with some help from here hopefully.

I started with the component shown and when I took it apart for cleaning there was this stray nut inside the cylinder part just rattling around. There is also the hole at the bottom so I wonder if a part is missing?

Any thoughts welcome please?

Regards, Martin

Here are the pics I left out last time!

It looks like it might be an oil trap for the steam on the way to the chimney, It would need an in, an out and a tap at the bottom to drain off the condensate and oil trapped. Are you sure it is part of the engine?

Hi, it is definitely part of the engine as shown in the pics, the right angled pipe from the cylinder goes to the top union. You can see wher it sits on the base plate.

martin

it looks odd to me...I cant see an oiler so why an oil trap?

It's definitely not part of the Stuart engine I can not see why you would have it connected to the exhaust steam pipe also if you look at the rest of the plant it's not age related. But what do I know

My guess is that it's an add on condenser, probably just someone's experiment to see if they can stop the engine spitting hot water everywhere, rather than a quest for efficiency..

Neil

Fizzy, it looks like there is a displacement lubricator fitted to the steam chest so it could easily be an oil/condensate trap. If you look carefully at the baseplate in the last photo, you can see where the component has been mounted directly under the union on the end of the exhaust pipe.

Martin, if it is indeed an oil & condensate trap there should be some form of plug or tap at the bottom to drain down the accumulated oil & water. A few more details of the component would be helpful, is the lid removable, how is it fixed, is the central hole in the bottom of the pedestal blind or is it drilled through into the cylinder?

Regards (another!) Martin.

Hi all, you have already left me behind with talk of displacement lubricators etc!

I have cleaned up the boiler and housing and burner so will take some more detailed pics and post tomorrow.

The guy at the car boot did not know what it was, just said some sort of kids toy!

It has obviously been working at some time as the bottom of the boiler was 1/8" deep in soot and about a dozen dead spiders!

Regards, Martin

Martin, you have the makings of a nice little steam plant there, too good for a kids toy but it definitely has the makings of a big boys toy!! I trust the sellers' ignorance allowed you to purchase it at "broken toy" rates?!

Regards Martin.

Yes oil trap or condenser witha tap or drain off valve missing from the bottom. I take it that bit has been cleaned up by you and obviously part of teh steam plant as you can see the three old mounting holes in the base.

The displacement lubricator is the small cylinder on teh side of teh engine with teh Tee handle plug in teh top, as a small amount of steam condensates in it the water will sink to teh bottom and the oil in it will float to th etop where it is slowly carried into the engine and lubricates the moving parts. This oil can also be carried out of teh exhaust so the steam/oil mix goes into a seperator to take the oil out.

J

Hi Martin K, It is a Stuart S50 mill engine. The machined set of parts for the engine currently costs GBP384.50, not including VAT. Hopefully you did not pay anything like that. The boiler may be Stuart as well, but is not in their current catalogue. The Brass bit is an add on that someone has come up with, most likely an oil separator. **LINK**

The displacement lubricator is the bit on the side of the steam chest with a couple of T handled screw pieces showing, there should be another one underneath. The way it works....you fill it up with oil via the top plug. When the engine is running it is cooler than the steam, so a little steam comes in and condenses. This displaces some oil, which flows into the steam chest. (Steam and oil go through the one connection in opposite directions.) The screw on the side adjusts the flow. When the run is finished you can drain out the water and any remaining oil via the screw on the bottom. They work quite well for an engine running at a steady speed. They are not so good for an engine where the speed varies a lot, as the lubricator will cool down when running or lightly loaded, then condense a lot of steam and over oil the engine when the pressure is suddenly increased. But they are perfectly good for this sort of engine, which does not need a lot of oil anyway.

John

The boiler i'm sure is a stuart 501 its missing its chimney though

Ian

Hi all, Yes I have cleaned up the brass item with the loose nut and have so far done the boiler as well, will post some more pics later today. The whole lot was a tenner so quite happy there! I have had the engine running off my air line and it seems to go very well indeed. Where might I get a drain tap for the missing part or can I make one?

Correct , the boiler is a STUART 501 has the number in the casting and there is a chmney with it but interestingly it has NESTHILL on it so I think it was made from an old grease gun body, but looks very nice with the brass rings etc.

Martin

Here are some more pics showing the connections to the newly cleaned brass part with the loose nut:

Some of the connections seem to have alloy washers in very poor condition, almost like the copper sort that used to crush when tightened and were replace when undone. Are thes still avilable. It also looks like this might have had a steam pressure gauge at some time but the pipe is soldered closed.

I will start cleaning the engine in the next day or two but I think that I have to be a bit careful not to disturb the timing rod and eccentric.

All I can say is that's a very nice find for a tenner!

Neil

Martin

"These are 3 fold copper washers for steam fittings to help seal the joint":-**LINK**

Ian

No one has mentioned it, but I think the engine is a S50(I suppose everyone knows that).

Ian S C

Hi Ian, I think John did.

Regards Nick.