Author Topic: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.  (Read 194010 times)

Offline Don1966

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #735 on: April 26, 2017, 07:03:34 PM »
Just awesome Willy and the motion is great to watch...... :praise2:

Don

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #736 on: April 26, 2017, 08:35:33 PM »
Brilliant stuff Willy!

Simon.
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Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #737 on: April 26, 2017, 11:17:55 PM »
Awesome Willy!  :pinkelephant:

It has been and continues to be a very interesting journey.
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Offline steam guy willy

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #738 on: April 27, 2017, 01:53:08 PM »
Thanks for more comments ,!!!! yes it has been quite a journey and the ETA is not yet in sight!! here is a video of the engine being turned over by hand using the flywheel

Beeleigh mill flywheel rotation
Not a valid vimeo URL

Offline steam guy willy

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #739 on: April 27, 2017, 02:22:24 PM »
Here is a video of the engine demonstration at Beeleigh Mill, This was outside the mill and you can see the Elephant boiler in the background. also the film group and members of the restoration group looking at the engine !! also the beam in its raised position.......

Beeleigh Mill engine filming
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Offline crueby

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #740 on: April 27, 2017, 03:18:14 PM »
Wonderful!


Do they have an estimate on when the original engine restoration will be done? Fantastic that it is being saved.

Offline steam guy willy

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #741 on: April 29, 2017, 01:57:22 PM »
Movement of the beam at Beeleigh mill

Beeleigh mill beam movement up
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Hi Chris ,This is going to take a long time still yet i'm afraid but something to look forward to !!
Beeleigh mill beam movement.
Not a valid vimeo URL

Offline crueby

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #742 on: April 29, 2017, 02:12:04 PM »
Slow but sure progress, getting that beam movement had to be an exciting step, it is cleaning up nicely.


 :popcorn:

Offline steam guy willy

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #743 on: May 18, 2017, 03:30:58 PM »
Just got back to work and another letter arrived from the council housing bloke and i have another inspection to check up on the progress with the "clearing the property"  >:( anyway here is the start on the boiler feed pump... The water goes in the tank and then gets pumped into the boiler ,however i don't know how the water enters the down pipe where the brass pump rod is ?? there must be some small holes where the water goes to get to the other side (bottom) of the pump rod ?? so this may be a dummy representation of the pump. Also there is no parallel motion arraignment to keep the rod vertical so there may be quite a bit of 'flexing' going on...Any ideas on this....I have made a drawing of what i can see.......

ChuckKey

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #744 on: May 18, 2017, 09:43:07 PM »
I think you are showing angled through holes from the tank to the pump bore. If so, this won't work without some kind of valve to close the holes off on the down stroke.

I suggest the plunger might have some kind of cut-away at the bottom end, perhaps diagonal, so that during the up stroke a partial vacuum is created in the pump chamber and towards the top of the stroke the 'missing side' of the plunger allows water to rush into the pump. A short way back down the down stroke the plunger would again fully occupy the gland and commence pumping. If this is how it works, I would expect the gland to have been troublesome. A hole up the end of the plunger communicating with a cross hole to let the water in might not be quite as bad. 

Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #745 on: May 18, 2017, 11:09:48 PM »
Fascinating.
I always think about the people, who many years ago, built the walls, made, installed, and ran the engine. Not knowing anything about the times and people who, many years later get to enjoy it all.

Nice stuff Willy.
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Offline steam guy willy

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #746 on: May 19, 2017, 02:28:49 AM »
Hi, ChuckKey, Thanks for the reply,  i did think about the same sort of arrangement but with a slot rather than an angled cut as this would have a better flat ,horizontal  :edge: to have a better seal . unfortunately the brass plunger is disconnected from the beam so one cannot see the rod at its full up position. As you say ,this could be troublesome as it would interfere with the packing !The reason i thought there might be those Drillings is that the two lugs that hold the gland in place have to go through the bottom of the box and this would give a space for the water to enter below the bottom of the brass plunger ??
« Last Edit: May 19, 2017, 02:37:08 AM by steam guy willy »

Offline Steamer5

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #747 on: May 19, 2017, 09:12:06 AM »
Hi Willy,
 Still following & still enjoying!
Fascinating how the old boys did the builds given that they were inventing this stuff as they went along!

As an idea on the pump, maybe the bottom of the ram has a seal a bit like a bike pump, pulls a vacuum on the upstroke & sucks in the water then seals on the down, just a thought.


Cheers Kerrin
Get excited and make something!

Offline steam guy willy

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #748 on: May 30, 2017, 01:48:08 AM »
Ok more work on the boiler feed pump.....the tank is connected to the base i the correct position and the pump pipe bolted on . .......This is the last part to make before i finish all the other parts properly before painting. Also went to Strumpshaw Steam Rally and got this Ball vice that will be really useful and this bound collection of magazines that has an engraving of a corliss beam engine from 1882 !!...and got to change the tyre on  my push bike......

Offline crueby

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Re: The Beeleigh Mill, Woolf compound engine.Maldon, Essex.
« Reply #749 on: May 30, 2017, 02:32:51 AM »
Very nice! Gotta go make more popcorn...   :popcorn:


That Corliss valve beam engine is interesting. It looks like there are only one valve at each end of the cylinder, rather than a separate intake and exhaust valve at each end. Was that a typical Corliss setup? Or an early version?

 

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