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Watering a loco

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Eric Cox29/10/2010 10:43:01
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557 forum posts
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When you fire a loco for the first time, how do you fill the boiler with water.
Also, if you wish to store the loco, how do you drain the boiler
wheeltapper29/10/2010 17:23:19
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424 forum posts
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seeing as no one else has answered yet I'll give it a go.
 
from what I've read you fill up by unscrewing the safety valve as a unit and you are supposed to have a blow down valve near the bottom of the boiler so you can 'blow down ' at the end of the day  once the pressure has dropped  a safe level. (don't ask me to define a safe level tho)
 
 
some people put a hose on the valve so they can use the hot water to clean the engine.
 
hope this is some help and I'm sure now I've said this someone will shoot me down in flames.
 
Roy
Axel29/10/2010 17:24:20
126 forum posts
1 photos
I´m no expert, but I saw a film clip on buiding a steam launch, and it seems you have to hand pump it!? Experts will soon come to our rescue!
Chris Kelland29/10/2010 18:11:15
10 forum posts
Hi,
 
As a beginner I was told not to keep removing the safety valve to fill the boiler as it possible to cause wear to the threads, not sure about that but I don't as a rule fill the boiler that way, just in case. What I do is to use an adapter hose and fill through the blow down valve, either from a water mains tap or use a 12 v caravan pump. The hose is just a bit of pipe with a washer tap and a bit of plastic tube to fit over the blow down valve.
 
After I have dropped the fire I blow down straight away with a fair pressure all the rubbish in the boiler will  tend to be blown out with the steam / water. I also use both blow down valves, I read somewhere that it stops a buildup of deposits on the opposite side of the foundation ring. I also drain the boiler completely after each use and leave all the valves and regulator just cracked open - it stops them from locking up dead tight as the engine cools.
 
I am assuming here that you are talking about a copper boiler?
 
 
Regards,
 
Chris.
John Olsen29/10/2010 21:12:58
1294 forum posts
108 photos
1 articles
Yes, part of the point of the blow down valves is to remove any accumulation of insoluble material from the boiler. If you are using boiler treatment, this will precipitate any dissolved salts in the boiler as fine particles, and these will tend to accumulate in the bottom of the  boiler. By blowing down every so often, these are carried out of the boiler. This is better than having scale build up on the tubes. If you are not using treatment, as is reasonable in a small copper boiler, then the concentration of dissolved salts in the water builds up as you steam.  Blowing down at the end gets rid of the more concentrated material, so if you are leaving the boiler full then you will start with a low concentration next time.
 
regards
John

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