Author Topic: My First and Already Need Help  (Read 14917 times)

Offline Tennessee Whiskey

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My First and Already Need Help
« on: January 15, 2013, 07:38:48 PM »
Decided yesterday that I just needed to stop getting ready to build something and just take a deep breath and start :cartwheel:. I had bought a couple kits when I first started this journey and I dug out the "Thimble". After a few scraped parts, a few aw sh%#**ts, and some extra stock from the rack, I had it turning over nicely by hand. Went to the "air fired boiler" and applied power. Turned bout a half round, stopped, and started hissing. Fiddled and fumed, fumed and fiddled and nada. The only way I've had it running is to blow air across the flywheel and as I've heard said here before " She ran like the clappers" sounded like a a model aero IC. What's the best place to start looking( read remaking)? Piston clearance may be a little loose and when I went to put the supplied air fitting in I found that the thru hole dia. on  the print ( and I drilled)was way larger than the supplied fittings. Any help y'all could lend I sure would be a thanking ya fer now ya hear. :smokin2: :ROFL:
Eric

Offline steamer

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2013, 07:41:28 PM »
I'm not necessarily familiar with the thimble....is it a wobbler?

Put some fairly heavy oil in there...like 30 or 40 weight...and put the air to it and see if the performance changes...at least for a few seconds....that may be instructive.

Dave
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Damned ijjit!

Offline Tennessee Whiskey

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2013, 07:51:36 PM »
No Dave it's not a wobbler and more oldshammers has let the correct name slip teh brain ,but it's one with the .020 thick piston that exhausts as the piston moves. Is a rocker maybe. Went blank just blank.
Eric

Offline steamer

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2013, 07:59:15 PM »
Give it a shot of oil anyway......
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline Tennessee Whiskey

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2013, 08:19:17 PM »
that wot she said. I'll give her a shot. Thanks
Eric

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2013, 08:22:05 PM »
Eric, position the flywheel such that the piston is vertical in the cylinder and see if it is leaking much air then. That is the point at which the piston should seal to give you the backwards power stroke. Also try it at various pressures and see if that makes any difference, Ther is a constant flow of air through the cylinder and either the volume or pressure could be overcoming the inertia provided by the flywheel.

Bill

Offline Tennessee Whiskey

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2013, 08:50:41 PM »
Thanks Bill. I'll try that when I get back in shop. We have ice warnings here and I gotta go get the horse feed. The air volume does concern me even if I should have hoped to get everything else right. Best I can remember the thru hole was drilled .188. I'm not versed well enough at this yet, but, I was thinking this might me like putting two fours on a six cylinder, regardless of PSI.
Eric

Offline arnoldb

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2013, 09:58:41 PM »
Eric, if it's the "Liney Machines" Thimble  - also called a "Rocking engine" - then what Bill said  :ThumbsUp:

Clean it completely and start with just a light coating of very thin oil.  And low pressure.  Then, gradually turn up the pressure and flick the flywheel and see what she does.
If it's a rocking engine, it might help turning it on it's side; the flywheel adds quite a bit of weight to the bearing and turning it on it's side makes it run much more easily  :ThumbsUp:

Kind regards, Arnold
Building an engine takes Patience, Planning, Preparation and Machining.
Procrastination is nearly the same, but it precludes machining.
Thus, an engine will only be built once the procrastination stops and the machining begins!

Offline Tennessee Whiskey

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #8 on: January 15, 2013, 11:25:33 PM »
thanks Arnold. I'll have a go at that when I get back in the shop. How's thing's "down south"? The TEMA just issued an ice warning for the next 36 hours and we were told to expect power outages. Ah what I'd give to be bit<>'n bout the heat.
Eric

Offline steamer

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #9 on: January 15, 2013, 11:36:29 PM »
I hear ya Eric....we got nailed about 4 years ago December with about 2+ inches of freezing rain.....what a mess!   No power for a week here ..but 20 miles north it was 2 weeks....tough when you only have well water..and no heat...

You manage....but yuck!
Hope you have a generator....
Dave
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Damned ijjit!

Offline rleete

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #10 on: January 15, 2013, 11:58:54 PM »
The rocker will run with a very loose piston.  Mine runs better the more I use it.

It will not start if the air pressure is cranked up too much.  5 PSI is more than enough to get it going, and then you can turn it up.  Mine stops and will not run on anything over about 25PSI.  The incoming air is more than the flywheel will overcome.

If the piston slips off the eccentric pin, it can bind.  Mine did that until I flared the end of the pin a little.

Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #11 on: January 16, 2013, 12:31:21 AM »
 :pics:

You can't expect me to know what any of you are talking about.
You gots to 'show me!'.

There's a clue to my roots.
Carl (aka Zee) Will sometimes respond to 'hey' but never 'hey you'.
"To work. To work."
Zee-Another Thread Trasher.

Offline Tennessee Whiskey

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #12 on: January 16, 2013, 12:40:02 AM »
Ok Zee hang on to your tutu. Thought I had a little time to today to ask some questions, but the weather has gone way south and I now gotta keep the business end going to be able to buy more tools and stuff.
Dave thanks I have about 8-10,000 gallons in the ground and years ago I made a pump from a Holley 12v pump and a long 3/8 hose. May take awhile, but, the "dynamo" won't run dry for awhile .
Eric

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #13 on: January 18, 2013, 01:11:21 PM »
Any update on this yet Eric?

Bill

Offline Tennessee Whiskey

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Re: My First and Already Need Help
« Reply #14 on: January 20, 2013, 05:46:09 PM »
Thanks for asking Bill. I'm back in the shop a little today and I'll be off tomorrow so I hope to make some more progress. I think I did find part of my problem. The piston clearance was loose and when I remade the piston it dawned on me that when I was breaking the edges that I was way over doing it. I was reducing the contact surface way to much. Well, that's what I'm hoping. So, a couple of more pieces for the " little pieces" box. Now time for some lunch, ice tea, and I'll try it again.
Eric

 

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