Help needed to identify vert steam engine

[vtsteam]

Thanks greatly Jason!

I guess I could go the JBW route. But I was also thinking about possibly soldering a bush to the fitting rather than the boiler, then threading that OD of the bush a little larger than the existing boiler hole with a more standard fine thread?

I could then re-drill and tap the boiler holes to suit.

That's a nice pump, and a really nice boiler!

I kinda wonder if my own pump was meant to be functional, or if it was just for looks, like the flyball governor? Curious if there are check valves in something so tiny.

I do have a lot of wood I could use for the steam valve handles -- tons of cherry, which could be stained black.... or left bright. But I'm thinking those valves are certainly seized internally. Probably why the handles were broken off.

I guess a very long soak in kerosene (paraffin) once they are off, might salvage them?

 

[Jasonb]

It would certainly be worth trying to soak them as they would be nice to reuse.

You can see the water level going down in the cup in this video so at least that pump works. If the boiler pressure is not too high then a pump should not have to work very hard to top up the boiler. Even if it does not work it adds to the look and interest of the engine

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmMDAOGGc84" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmMDAOGGc84</a>

Even as a stand-alone engine I quite like it's looks

[crueby]

I've had luck soaking old Mamod engine parts in white vinegar, got rid of a lot of old hard water deposits and corrosion.

Neat old engine!!

[Michael S.]

I once restored a similar engine and can remember that the steam whistle was bent. The socket was slightly dented in the boiler sheet metal. I think there was a 6mm diameter thread there. A thread cutter of M 6x0.75 only changed the original thread slightly.
Then a rod with M 6x0.75 screwed into the socket at one end and then carefully bent the brass sheet straight again.
Maybe you can also change the thread on the pipe to 6x0.75.

Michael

[Michael S.]

Jason,
There was once a report in a model building magazine about this steam engine with boiler and columns.
A Mr. Matrian had sold the building plans and castings. But that was a few years ago.
A nice engine!

Michael

[Jasonb]

I may have that issue, will go and have a look

[vtsteam]

Wow, beautiful engine Michael!
That's a good idea about straightening the sheet metal.

Jason it would be super cool if the pump worked! I'm now thinking it was intended to.

Thanks Chris! I might try that for brass parts.

This afternoon:

I've now removed the blanking off plugs, the steam valve, and the safety valve. They are all soaking in kerosene.

The safety valve had a nice long threaded barrel, so I was able to count 13 threads over its length for a more accurate pitch. estimation of 0.62.  I also measured the major diameter which was just under 5mm.

While the metric measurements don't resemble anything commonly available, for SAE it's 13 threads over .33" , which works out to almost exactly 40 tpi. That is a common pitch size.

A 1/4" x 40 TPI tap and die are readily available here. I'd just have to pad out the valve base to 1/4" dia. and then drill and tap the hole.

(edit... actually #10 and #12 x 40tpi are also available.)

[vtsteam]

With most attachments removed from the boiler, I decided to fill it with water to see if there were any leaks at atmospheric pressure.

There was one, at the lower entry of the sight glass. Probably a grommet. The sight glass itself was intact, and works fine to show the water level. But the leak is a problem for getting this thing to run.

The sight glass and guard are held to the boiler with 4 small slotted screws. The area around the screws and bracket flange were crusted with hardened  black gunk -- either corrosion, or escaped steam lime deposits, or possibly the remnants of some attempt at sealing after the fact.

I was able to scrape that all off, and oil what was there but doubt it will penetrate to the threads inside the boiler. I'd like to remove the whole sight glass assembly but I'm afraid to apply too much pressure to the screws. So I've stopped work for this evening.

I'm worried this might be a real show stopper. Snapping those screws would definitely not be good.

[Michael S.]

When my neighbor bought the neighboring property some time ago and demolished the barn, this little steam engine appeared. It has to be a model from Falk. He gave it to me to restore. The smoke chamber was heavily oxidized and had many holes. I built a new smokebox and redesigned some parts. I think every hopeless case can be saved. Even if it looks bad at first.

Greetings Michael

[Jasonb]

I like the pieces of wood someone used to plug the sight glass holes

[Roger B]

An excellent restoration Michael 

I remember reading about the bent glass tube water gauges in one of Henry Greenly's books

[vtsteam]

When my neighbor bought the neighboring property some time ago and demolished the barn, this little steam engine appeared. It has to be a model from Falk. He gave it to me to restore. The smoke chamber was heavily oxidized and had many holes. I built a new smokebox and redesigned some parts. I think every hopeless case can be saved. Even if it looks bad at first.

Greetings Michael

That looks really fine, Michael.!

How did you get the sight glass guard's screws out?

They look about as bad as mine did, before I scraped the old crud off.

Here is the boiler with top fittings all removed, and the main engine bracket and assemblies removed. I cleaned the boiler externally and oiled it lightly to halt any surface rusting. This is the back of the boiler, where it had flamed up in and above the firebox vent area. Now with discoloration cleaned off and the sheet metal oiled it really doesn't look bad at all.

The upper boiler section looks great for something this age (110 yrs+ ?). The bluing is intact. I do know it had been neglected  in a damp location for years. I think it's lucky it looks as good as it does.

[vtsteam]

I decided to take the screws out, no matter what.

I hit them with WD40 inside the boiler and out. I had done this yesterday, too. Then I applied a hot soldering iron to each screw head in turn, just to heat them temporarily without using a flame on the boiler surface.

Then I tried taking them out. Results: 1 top screw came out properly, 1 bottom screw split the slotted head, 1 bottom screw had too poor a slot to turn with a screwdriver, and one top screw head broke off.

Because both top screws were gone, I was able to bend the top of the guard down, and remove the sight glass intact. I still have to remove the bottom damaged screws. The screws measure 2.36mm in diameter(?)

[vtsteam]

A running Carette engine on YouTube. This one has a round base, separate engine and water pump. But the water pump itself is identical, as are most of the engine components.

One really interesting feature shared between these engines is the cylinder's slide valve. There is no usual steam chest. Instead there is a slide valve with a single ball bearing against the back, held in place by an adjustable sheet metal clamp. Two thumbscrews apply pressure to the clamp, ball and valve.

I'm wondering if this valve design was unique to Carette engines

.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwN_O7bJlME" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwN_O7bJlME</a>

[Michael S.]

I think the screws could be replaced with M 2.5 screws.
This variant of the slider is often seen on these models.



Michael