Author Topic: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel  (Read 573970 times)

Offline derekwarner

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 833
  • Wollongong ...... Australia
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4110 on: June 17, 2019, 11:54:13 PM »
I understand the following may be a simple statements, but are  :old: and so true

1. a pocket of air the size of a grain of rice [in a fluid system] will cause pressure decay
2. this decay continues until that pocket of air is adsorbed back into the volume of fluid as entrained gas [pressure then stabilizes]
3. pressure decay or bypass is more difficult to resolve at 1 Bar, than 100 Bar

Derek [after work ..... :killcomputer: in gun mounts, missile launchers, submarines, iron & steel mills and a little steam]
« Last Edit: June 18, 2019, 11:05:59 AM by derekwarner »
Derek L Warner - Honorary Secretary [Retired]
Illawarra Live Steamers Co-op - Australia
www.ils.org.au

Online crueby

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18557
  • Rochester NY
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4111 on: June 18, 2019, 12:24:37 AM »
I understand the following may be a simple statements, but are  :old: and so true

1. a pocket of air the size of a grain of rice [in a fluid system] will cause pressure decay
2. this decay continues until that pocket of air is adsorbed back into the volume of fluid as entrained gas [pressure then stabilizes]
3. pressure decay or bypass is more difficult to resolve at 1 Bar, than 100 Bar

Derek [after work ..... :killcomputer: in gun mounts, missile launchers, submarines, iron & steel mills and a little steam]
 
The little things in a system that can drive you crazy!   :insane:
Back when I was working in R&D on inkjet printers, we had a project where we were building a large-format color inkjet printer (printed up to 5' wide paper on rolls, 2" wide swaths in 6 colors at once). The moving print heads were fed with very long plastic tubes from the ink supplies. Drove the team nuts with air bubbles in the lines (which would get moved into the heads and cause vapor lock in the ejector chambers), they could not find the source of the leak, were degassing inks, all sort of things, till they found out that the type of plastic used in the tubes was porous to air but not liquids...   :facepalm:

Online crueby

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18557
  • Rochester NY
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4112 on: June 18, 2019, 05:13:32 PM »
Boiler assembly time! Got the first components silver soldered together, the steam dome/stack base flanges and the end caps with their ribs and bushings:

These were done with the higher-temperature version of the silver solder, to help resist softening these joints in the coming operations, which will use the lower temperature 'easy' version of the solder.

Next the steam dome goes into the boiler shell, and will solder in the bushings on it at the same time...

Offline Ye-Ole Steam Dude

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1571
  • Deep East Texas on Sam Rayburn Lake
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4113 on: June 18, 2019, 05:26:43 PM »
Hello Chris,

Boiler is looking real good and I like your use of two different temperature silver solders. :ThumbsUp:

Have a great day,
Thomas
Thomas

Online crueby

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18557
  • Rochester NY
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4114 on: June 18, 2019, 06:16:27 PM »
Thanks Thomas! As I like to say, practize makes prefect.... or something like that!   :Lol:

After lunch, got the steam dome parts inserted into place and held tight with a small prick punch in the copper next to the fittings so they would not shift during heating. Added flux, heat, and solder:

The solder flowed nicely through the joints, could see it on the inside of the boiler. Thats one thing it took me a several boilers to learn: don't be stingy with the solder wire. I used to put a section of wire on the outside of the joint, and let it flow in as it heated up. Held parts together well, but did not make for a pressure tight joint in all cases - where there is a inside flange, the solder will wick into the joint as far as it can, which can starve the joint. Finally learned to have a length of the wire ready as it flowed, and add more to fill the joint better and let it flow farther around the joint. That seems to be working much better. Also checked my supply of the 'easy' grade, saw it was getting low, and just order more of each grade from Rio Grande jewelers supply - they had a decent price at the moment, works out to about $20 for a 20 foot coil.

Letting that all cool, then into the pickle for a swim and brushing down. If it looks good all round the seams then next will be the front end cap. If anyplace looks like a dry spot, then will resolder that place first and clean it again.

Online crueby

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18557
  • Rochester NY
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4115 on: June 18, 2019, 08:17:54 PM »
After cleanup the steam dome joints all looked good, silver solder coming through the joint on the inside of the tube all the way round, which is an excellent sign.  Then put in the front end cap and the firetube - used a couple nicks with a prick punch to limit the distance they would slide in, and put the back end cap in position to hold the firetube aligned properly.

Letting that cool down, then will give it a bath in the pickle and wire brush it all to see how those joints penetrated. Once I get to the rear end cap will not be able to see inside anymore, but doing that while its possible.  Oh, and for pickle I am using Sparex 2 jewelers solution - comes as a powder, you mix it with water to make the pickle. Works great on brass and copper, not so much on steels. I have it in a 2 gallon bucket with a screw on lid with a rubber seal to keep it from evaporating. The bucket is deep enough to get 3/4 of the boiler submerged, so to do both ends means turning it around for a second soaking.


Online crueby

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18557
  • Rochester NY
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4116 on: June 18, 2019, 09:03:02 PM »
After waiting for the boiler to cool down, while sitting on the porch with a book (tough job but someone's gotta do it) took it in to rinse off the loose scale prior to putting it in the pickle, and a good sign that the first end cap holds water  not a pressure check, but a good first sign of no big holes. In for a soak now...

Online crueby

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18557
  • Rochester NY
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4117 on: June 18, 2019, 10:03:51 PM »
After cleaning up the end cap area, looks like it covered okay but one side was iffy, so just redid that side, back to cooling down waiting with a book and napping on the porch...

Offline cnr6400

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2729
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4118 on: June 18, 2019, 11:23:19 PM »
Hi Chris , Great progress on the boiler!  :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

I see lots of vaporized dihydrogen monoxide in your future!
"I've cut that stock three times, and it's still too short!"

Online crueby

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18557
  • Rochester NY
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4119 on: June 18, 2019, 11:56:14 PM »
Hi Chris , Great progress on the boiler!  :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

I see lots of vaporized dihydrogen monoxide in your future!
Hope so! For now just a lot of CO2 and vaporized dihydrogen monoxide from the propane torch...
 :cheers:

Don't forget, still need to build the firebox shell, a dummy, the front boiler stand, ashpit chute, water tanks, and the steering engine. A ways to go yet, but close!
« Last Edit: June 19, 2019, 12:10:15 AM by crueby »

Offline Don1966

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6817
  • Columbia, MS
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4120 on: June 19, 2019, 01:07:06 AM »
I just love a good solder job with penetration....... :cheers: looking great Dog hopefully no leaks...... :ThumbsUp:


 :popcorn:
Don

Online crueby

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18557
  • Rochester NY
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4121 on: June 19, 2019, 01:10:36 AM »
I just love a good solder job with penetration....... :cheers: looking great Dog hopefully no leaks...... :ThumbsUp:


 :popcorn:
Don
Thanks Don, so far so good, but there always has to be a leak or four...  Got it all cleaned up for doing the rear end cap but daylight is fading so maybe in the morning.

Offline Brian Rupnow

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7574
  • Barrie, Ontario Canada
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4122 on: June 19, 2019, 12:47:56 PM »
Chris--Other boilers I have seen have clusters of small diameter tubes clustered together with soldered end plates. Does your boiler not have that?--Brian

Online crueby

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18557
  • Rochester NY
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4123 on: June 19, 2019, 12:59:33 PM »
Chris--Other boilers I have seen have clusters of small diameter tubes clustered together with soldered end plates. Does your boiler not have that?--Brian
Not on this style, which will have a butane fired burner in the one firetube. On a coal or wick burner there is usually a chamber with the multiple tubes going through the water jacket. There are quite a few different arrangements possible in boilers, this one is very simple to make. It is very common in factory made guage 1 loco models. The original machine had a coal firebox at the back with a dozen or so rows of small tubes through the main shell.
Here is a view inside the smokebox on the real machine, showing the rows of tubes coming through the water shell from the firebox:


« Last Edit: June 19, 2019, 01:54:11 PM by crueby »

Online crueby

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18557
  • Rochester NY
Re: Chris's Marion 91 Steam Shovel
« Reply #4124 on: June 19, 2019, 01:50:23 PM »
And the second endcap is on, cooling off before going in the pickle bath. Used up the last of my Easy-grade silver solder, but more should be here tomorrow if it is needed for leak fixing...



 

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal