A Robinson from rejects.

[Jasonb]

looks and sounds good, your soldering torch should also work a lot better with the HP regulator

I did not do much to mine at the weekend, just made the M8 x 0.75 to ME adapter, cut the keyways and made the key.

[Chipmaster]

Sounds great Ian, congratulations. Can we have a longer video of the engine please.

Andy

[Alyn Foundry]

Well done Ian.

So now, with a few lessons learned, will April see number 198 running?   

I also concur with Andy, more footage!   

Cheers Graham.

[Ian j]

What makes you think it runs for more than 50 secs ? 

It does but for some reason my camera stopped recording/saving . Will make a longer video after a few finishing touches, studs for the bearing caps etc.

As for No. 198 which April ?

[RayW]

Brilliant Ian. Runs really well. Must get my plumbing sorted out so that number 197 can join the ranks of running Robinsons.
Look forward to more video soon.

Ray

[Jasonb]

A needle valve dropped onto the doormat yesterday so last night I played with the plumbing.



Though it is an 1/8" BSP valve it comes up a bit larger than I would really have likes and the plastic knob will more than likely get changed but it will do for now. I have opted for a single valve the same as Grahams setup, any adjustment to the burner can be done on the cylinder regulator and the engine will still get more than enough gas.

I did think about going for the solder plug and pricking a pin hole in it and could still revert to that but for now have drilled a 0.3mm ( 0.012") hole into the union from tee to valve.



I use one of the sliding chuck holders from ARC which gives more feel than using the tailstock handwheel even then I had to take it easy to prevent the drill from bowing.



Just need to solder it up now.

[Alyn Foundry]

Good morning Jason.

So close, I can almost feel the excitement building!

On a precautionary note, before trying a run, remove the gas burner and " purge " the pipe work using the gas from the bottle. This, hopefully will remove any tiny particles from the lines that could potentially block the gas jet.

I agree the control knob leaves a lot to be desired but I'm pretty sure you will make something more in keeping once the engine has been run.

We discovered way back that the best way to control these " small power " gas engines was with a valve as close to the engine as possible. This ensures the changes that are made happen almost immediately rather than a line full of gas which could take several seconds to alter and by that time stop the engine. Yes, yet another " Teeshirt " !!

Good luck Jason, looking forward to the video.

Cheers Graham.

[Ian j]

Very neat set up Jason. What size copper pipe have you used for the coil? I used 1/4" but I think smaller would be more flexible.
Graham I note what you say about the valve been close  to the inlet port makes the gas adjustment more sensitive.I can feel some rework happening on mine.

[Jasonb]

I went for 5/32" pipe. Annealed it and it would round a bit of 1" bar very easily.

Am I right in thinking that the easily blocked jet in the burner is so small you can't easily see it by eye as I can't get gas out of mine.

[Alyn Foundry]

Hi Jason.

Yes, it's really tiny.... don't try to " prick " it.

I've unblocked a few successfully by using a high reverse pressure applied to what would be the exit. If you've got CO2 welding kit the direct bottle pressure is more than powerful enough to blow any debris back the way it came.

A little known fact about Propane bottles is that over time and refilling a powder called " heavy ends " builds up inside. This whitish dust can easily block small gas burners, we killed several burners by moving the bottles around while the engines were running.

Keep us posted....

Cheers Graham.

[Jasonb]

Well it was a bit more than a spec of white powder. I put a 00000 size artists paintbrush in the end very lightly and just gave it a twist and look what came out on the end. Must have got in there in the last week or two as I blue the gas out of the line and my plumbing before connecting to the burner. have a feeling I did put it in my back pocket one time so I did not drop it while carrying the engine down to the workshop, so now we know what Bum Fluff looks like and what it can do to your burners.

Hopefully have another go tomorrow.

Hole shows up better in the photo than it does under a magnifying glass, for those that don't have one of these burners the flat end of the male thread is about 7mm across.

Also shows that you don't need very large pipe going to the burner as gas only has to fit through this hole

[Ian j]

I unblocked mine by unscrewing the jet from the  burner tube and screwing it onto an adapter  (M8 x .75) and connecting it to my compressor at max, worked for me, might have been  just lucky.

[Jasonb]

I was going to try the airline in the morning if that had not worked, was hoping the tire inflator might have fitted straight onto the thread.

[RayW]

Are you sure that's not my needle valve Jason? I ordered one that was supposed to arrive either Friday or Saturday  but hasn't arrived yet!

Ray

[RayW]

Looks like Jason and I shop at the same place as my needle valve looks identical to his apart from the fact that mine has male BSP connections, not female.
I have got rid of the black plastic handwheel and made a brass one which, I think, looks much better. Just waiting for an M8 x 0.75 die now to make a connector for the burner, the I should be able to get the pipework finished.

Ray