Little and large - building 2 vertical steam engines.

[Jo]

just looks a lot nicer than most.

That is your opinion.

Jo

[Gas_mantle]

Don't waste your time Peter if you want a nice practical pump for your boiler build one of Bob Potter's Southworth pumps: http://www.southworthengines.com/steam-feed-pumps/vertical-steam-pumps/

Jo

I'm looking at getting a new boiler later in the year so I guess I was just thinking aloud in asking about pumps, I will at some point be interested in a feed pump but that's quite a way forward yet :-)

[Jasonb]

You may be better off with a small feed pump on the No4, don't think Stuarts do one but the one for the No9 could probably be adapted or easy enough to make one with a few bits of brass and some silver solder, could even just make the body from a solid block if you don't feel upto soldering.

Worth thinking about when making the sole plate as you can leave some flat area to fix the pump to.

[Gas_mantle]

Hmmm, adding a pump to the no4 is worth thinking about 

A lot will depend on the boiler I get, at the moment my eyes keep looking toward the Castle instrments V6

http://www.castleinstruments.co.uk/Products.html

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the boiler can actually drive a twin 5a albeit probably not under any great load.

[Jo]

Peter if you intend on only using a boiler for one specific engine then it is worth running a boiler pump with that engine. If not then a stand alone small duplex which includes the steam cylinder might be worth thinking about. Of course there is also the option of a steam injector.

A 6" diameter boiler is a big beast as big as a standard gauge 5" Locomotive boiler goes - it would easily turn over a Stuart Swan.

Jo

[Jasonb]

Yes inclined to agree with Jo that it may be better to make a complete steam plant with hand and steam pumps, water tank etc then you only need to hook up the inlet and exhaust for whatever engine you intend to run. If so then practicality would over ride appearance.

Also thinking about the No4 boxbed, if you are going to run a generator/dynamo then it may be an idea to have an extended bed and mount the unit to that and to save issues with belts put it inline with the crankshaft which is how a lot of gensets are done.

[Gas_mantle]

A 6" diameter boiler is a big beast as big as a standard gauge 5" Locomotive boiler goes - it would easily turn over a Stuart Swan.

Jo

Is a Stuart swan a twin 5a? I get confused as there isn't one in the current range. Was it actually an engine in its own right or a nickname for 2 separate 5a's permanently coupled ?

Thinking about the boiler like I say I'm very much still at the stage of mulling over the options, I definitely need a replacement for the one I have and it makes sense to upgrade at the same time. I might treat myself and the V6, it's a monster boiler but my thinking is I'll never need to upgrade and it will power anything I'm likely to build.

I want a self contained plant to power a variety of engines with it's own in built feedwater supply. A lot will depend on which boiler I buy and how much water it needs after assessing it in use. Using a bit of guesswork I'd expect one of the 10v's to be too small for a V6 boiler but a no4 looks like it might have the guts.

The self contained pumps from Southworth etc are nicely looking items and something in the back of my mind. I'm let to believe they are difficult to build yet they are hideously expensive to buy ready built. (I guess it goes without saying something that isn't easy to make will be costly  )

[Jasonb]

The Swan is two Cygnets on a common sole plate, both are basically the same mechanically as a 5A but the Cygnet and Swan were available in condensing form which included vacuum pump, feed pump and mechanical lubricator and were ideal to use to power a boat.

The Non condensing Cygnet is more or less a 5A set of castings with the reversing gear included in the one package, the reversing gear for the 5A is an extra.

The Stuart feed pump may be another one to think about, I think that looks nicer than the Southworth ones

[Gas_mantle]

I guess like all other sellers Stuart keep altering the range of engines available.

Co-incidentally while I type I've just had an email from them showing a new addition to the range - a V twin no7 

http://www.stuartmodels.com/products/set-of-castings

[Jasonb]

Think they might sell more if they showed a photo of it

[Jasonb]

Think I will pass on that one, does not float my boat

[Jo]

The Stuart feed pump may be another one to think about, I think that looks nicer than the Southworth ones

and there are lots of non working stuart feed pumps kicking around as they are not a beginners build and they also cost more that the small Southworth pump.

Jo

P.S. Peter, our casting supplier has about 20 sets of castings for the Stuart steam pumps kicking around 

[Gas_mantle]

Cheers Jo, I'll bear that in mind once I have a new boiler and able to properly assess what I need.

I'm not keen on the look of the Stuart 14? either    I think the D10 is a nice looking twin so I'd of preferred the new engine be a scaled up version of that.

[Jasonb]

Bit hard to tell from the photo but it does not look like the base is a casting, so all they have done is come up with a different arrangement of what they already have. The contents looks to have been cut and pasted from the 7A details

[Gas_mantle]

The photo itself is just the one the included in the email to me, I just added it when I realised the website doesn't yet show it.

It looks to me like it would be easy for the trunk guide to be snapped from the base - its hard to see in the small photo but it looks like only 2 studs hold the each assembly to the base ? I'd have thought if you cut a leg off the trunk guide you'd need some extra bracing etc ?

I guess they must know what they are doing and we'll soon see better photos.