| Archive for The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum The Original Unofficial Toy Steam Forum Established 2006 The biggest, most popular steam forum around! Accept NO imitations! We have a growing community of regular posting members who chat about all aspects of toy and model steam. |
| IndianaRog |
If I was going to go shopping for a Jensen, what makes senseJames,You asked me earlier what a fellow might consider if he wanted to buy a Jensen but was not familiar with the line. My first thought is to sort out what you are comfortable with from a style/capabilities/cost standpoint: 1) Pressed steel engine/base or cast iron engine/wood base? 2) Esbit fired or Electrically heated? 3) If electric heating interests you...which: 110 V AC (U.S. line voltage) or 220 V DC (UK line voltage) Jensen makes two distinct lines of toy steam engines... - The Hobby/Educational Line (pressed steel engines/bases) available in Esbit fired versions and electrically heated versions - Collector/Commercial Line (cast iron engines/wood bases), all electrically heated As you might guess...these two lines are priced quite differently. Both use identical quality boilers, cylinders, pistons, fireboxes etc., but the Hobby/Educational Line keeps the cost down with use of nickel plated pressed steel for the rest. They work exceptionally well in either "flavor" and I swear you could almost stand on their brass/nickel boilers without collapsing them...very, very stout stuff. If one opts for an electrically heated version...they make them in both US voltage and UK voltages...BUT, like our friend Odilon, IF a person ever plans to have more than ONE electrically heated Jensen, it is money well spent to buy a proper transformer and then buy engines in the lower cost US voltage versions vs. pay more for each separate engine to get it in UK voltage. My recommended Jensen for starters is the Jensen #60 Hobby engine/Esbit fired oscillating engine. You can see one in operation on Odilon's website...they are quite capable of handling several driving models simultaneously. NEW these engines typically run $140 USD, but can be found for half that on eBay.com (US) in very good used condition. A nice step up in boiler size and driving ability would be the Esbit fired Jensen #75 Hobby Line, with proper reversing mechanism and slide valve operation...typically $190 USD new and proportionately less in used condition. If you go with either the #60 or #75 you won't be disappointed. If you want more info on the cast iron collector line, I'd refer you to some of the items on my website, Odilon's or Jensen's own home website. The collector types are my favorites and every person I have convinced to buy one finds them to be marvelous engines, they do however require electrical operation, something you may or may not want to get into. Hope this gives you and others something to think about. I understand in the UK you have Forest Classics and they sell many of the Jensen offerings. cheers, Roger |
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| SPOKESMAN |
Interesting.
Step down transformers are available in the UK - lat one I looked at for a 110v Yamaha COmputer I have was £70. (about$135) |
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| MooseMan |
That's what I paid Mike - handles 800W with peaks of 1200. That Yamaha wouldn't be a CX5M would it? |
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| SPOKESMAN |
It is Moose, I have a complete one with all the voicing programmes/cartridges, I still have not sparked it up yet, need to get a monitor cable and a cheap monitor, I want to use it for programming my DX7 as well as a storages area and opf course get to know the old MSX language to create some new compositions. |
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| MooseMan |
Oh wow, brilliant! For its time the CX5M was a beast.....I used it in my academy's ethnomusicology lab to do Gamelan simulations....polyrhythms are easy with that sequencer, and FM synthesis is a bit of a hobby horse of mine.....we were actually involved in writing the presets for a few of the Yamaha synths in the late '80s (the V50 - sort of a DX11 with attitude, and the WT11, which was the module for the WX11 midi sax). Anyway.....veering wildly off topic here!  
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| Griffin |
Some useful information there Rog, a very interesting read. | ||||
| Mamodman123 |
Very uselfull guide! It would have to be esbit for me though! I just need a flame when steaming an engine! Terrible smells and exploding tablets are optional extras 
I'll keep an eye out for a Jensen
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| JensenSteamMan |
Roger,
Very nice little guide you have made up there. Very informative and lays it all out. It would been a while before I would have thought of doing this myself. Just for folks interested, there is an electrically heated #25 on ebay but it now $150. All it needs is a nice polish and some gaskets for uptop of the boiler because somebody obviously let them leak  Its only a few years old and even has the three-step pulley with the groove machined in the flywheel for a belt to hookup to as well.
http://cgi.ebay.com/STEAM-ENGINE-...PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Cheers, Casey |
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| James |
Cheers Rog, I want one with the Stephenson's linkage, proper stuff! And I don't want to pay heaven and earth either, and awant one tablet fired
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| IndianaRog |
Just ONE arm or leg is all that's required...James,If you want a Jensen with reversing linkage AND Esbit fired...then you are looking for a Jensen model #75. New, they run around $200 USD (at least over here)...used off eBay $100-150 depending on condition. They come up on U.S. eBay often and as so much of what sells on eBay, when 2-4 of them pop up same time or back to back, the patient buyer will get the best deal as the others in the market at that moment have been satisfied. I hope you do pursue one eventually, they are fine engines. cheers, Roger |
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| James |
Aye, but I can't buy from the states, can't do shipping and duty etc 
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| Mamodman123 |
Course you can, I have done twice, Ive even bought from China 
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| James |
Have you? Rog, if one comes up second hand on ebay US and it only ships to USA or whatever, would you bid for me and then me pay you?
Cheers, James |
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| IndianaRog |
Receiving/Shipping from US eBay to UKJames,Since you and yours sort of talked me out of giving you a nice SE3 base, I'd be happy to handle a US to UK transaction for you. I've done same for a few of your mates and here's how it seems to work best: 1) YOU make the deal/do the bidding and pay the US seller via PayPal to ship the engine to my US address if they won't ship internationally...better if they WILL as you save the extra US to US shipping piece 2) Upon receipt, I'll check to make sure you got what you bid on vs. a pile of junk...then ensure it's packed securely for transhipment to the UK by either air (5-10 days door to door) or sea (4-6 weeks door to door). 3) YOU PayPal me for either air or sea shipping cost to you...I recommend sea ship as it is about 1/3 less. My guess is the US to UK sea ship on a Jensen 75 might be $25 USD (12-13 pounds Stirling) 4) IF any duty is owed upon receipt, local UK customs people contact you for their piece of flesh..."usually" this is not prohibitive, but you would need to anticipate it. Mooseman can fill you in on what typical duties have been for him on a couple of pieces I shipped him. All things considered you need to weigh what I describe above vs. buying within the UK. I see Pendragon occasionally sell some Jensens on eBay, so you might actually do better with the savings on shipping and duty by buying locally. You also have Forest Classics who will gladly sell you a brandy new one!!! Hope this helps and I WILL give you a hand on this if you want to try a US > UK connection. It is NOT that difficult. cheers, Roger |
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| James |
Cheers Rog! | ||||
| Mamodman123 |
Can any of us do that then? 
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| SPOKESMAN |
Marking an item as a gift usually excempts it from duty. I have purhased many items (engines) form the US, never paid duty. I have paid duty on new items - £129 on my most expensive Manodlin from New York. | ||||
| IndianaRog |
Clarification...OK guys, I will give the IndianaRog transfer service a go for James just because he's the FFF (Forum Founding Father) and seems a good candidate to become Jensenized. ...maybe if that goes well I'd offer to "occasionally" do the same for others. Just don't want to open the floodgates to 90+ people as the UK to UK connection...that would become what we Yanks refer to as a goat ropin'.
cheers, Rog |
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| SPOKESMAN |
Rest of us must be Bowmanised or Mamodised. | ||||
| James |
Cheers mate, same with you, if you want owt from the UK |
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| Mamodman123 |
Re: Clarification...
Well I doubt i'll ever ask, only if its a really rare item
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| JensenSteamMan |
Roger,
I think anybody who doesnt have a Jensen is a perfect canidate to be Jensenized! I dont think I've ever heard of a person disapointed in a Jensen once they purchased it and have operated it. Only thing I have ever heard is about the discoloring fireboxes. A solution is currently being formulated for this, but for now the fireboxes can always just be painted in a nice fire-resistant coat of black paint as many Jensen owners have done.
If anybody wants me to assist them with getting an engine to Europe I will be happy to do so in the same manner Roger has offered to do it by. Just private message me if you find something you want me to assist you in shipping to UK, and I will see what I can do for you! The more Jensen's, the merrier!
Cheers, Casey |
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| SPOKESMAN |
Are Jensen paying you?
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| yosa |
I know I've mentioned it before fellas, but I fully endorse Roger's recomendation of the No 75. Loads of fun to be had.
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| sparky |
i really want to get one aswell reading this thread youve convinced me thanks roger
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| IndianaRog |
Is Jensen Paying Me??Ahhh gents, I'm a disciple of Jensen for sure, but instead of them paying me, I have paid THEM gladly.I have bought engines direct from Jensen and dealt with a delightful lady named Dorita who takes my orders professionally, but with a feeling I was talking to my next door neighbor. Dorita, Tom, Andy, Steve and yes, Mr. Tom Jensen Jr. (son of the founder) ARE Jensen...there is no one else. This dedicated team of individuals hand makes virtually every part of every engine on machinery that dates back 70 years. Then they hand assemble them them in a small "factory", which if cleared out might hold 4-6 automobiles snugly!! This "family" aspect of Jensen is one of those things that endears me to them...that and the stout construction of their products as well as parts availability for some engine components that are near 70 years old. NOT aftermarket parts, identical parts made by the original maker on original machinery. Take a tour of the factory and meet the family at: www.jensensteamengines.com So...does Jensen pay me...absolutely...but the currency isn't cash, it's pure satisfaction and I expect to be on the payroll for years to come!! Cheers, Roger |
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| yosa |
Love is a many spleandoured thing Rog.
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| Sandman |
Jensen.
Didn't they make a car that bombed a while ago called the interceptor.??
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| SPOKESMAN |
Interceptor and FF. Superb cars . . . . |
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| JensenSteamMan |
Re: Is Jensen Paying Me??
Roger, This is what I've been trying to say, but you said it for me all in one post ! You are much better with words than I!
Cheers, Casey |
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| IndianaRog |
Sometimes age hones one's articulationHey Casey,Glad I spoke the Jensen mantra the way a true branded Jensenite should!! Heck I'm about 3.5 times the age of your good self, ought to be able to string together a few words by now! I imagine in time a few more Mamodites and Wilescoites will give Jensen a try if nothing else to see what all the fuss is about. Keep the faith, Roger |
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| tmuir |
Re: Is Jensen Paying Me??
I had visited the website before but not looked at the factory tour. Very interesting I do like silver soldered boilers instead of soft soldered. Didnt realise it was such a small company |
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| TE1A_man |
Hello roger!!
yes, as many people have heard me before , i am satisfied with my jensen, it is the 85, but still packs a punch. It is a cheaper version of the 60, a overhead w/ no throtle. And, if some of you don't mind not buying direcly from jensen, you can get jensens at a lower prive on www.yesteryeartoys.com or www.ministeam.com
I got my 85 from ministeam for 92 bucks. |
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| SPOKESMAN |
Yesterday - very expensive, cut out the middle man and deal direct! | ||||
| SPOKESMAN |
Pictures of the factory and staff I found very interesting . . .
(From a confirmed Mamodite and Bowmanite)
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| Cedge |
Spokesman
I hope by "interesting", you mean that you enjoyed the visit. We're a pretty plain looking lot, but we do love what we do. Jensen is almost maintained as a "heritage industry" in that we still do things in a very old world way. We don''t make tens of thousands of Jensen engines each year, but those that we do make still get a little bit of ourselves built into each one. You can't get that special human touch from sterile CNC processes or assembly line mass production. The little company is really quite unique and somewhat provincial, but it's a formula that has worked well for 75 years. Now you know why I enjoy doing my job everyday....LOL Best Steve |
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| SPOKESMAN |
Genuinely enjoyed it, its always great to see just how the various components and manufacturing techniques are achieved. |
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| sparky |
it certainly is i love going with my dad when we go to look at my boiler or fire box and the boiler works and you get to see every thing it just brilliant, i may be going with a mate to see his garrett steam wagon boiler soon, now thats a rare piece of kit
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| Griffin |
What Steve has just said, is what I found to be very appealing about the Jensen products. So much so, that I placed an order for one yesterday
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| yosa |
Nice one Griff. 
Which model have you gone for? |
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| sparky |
im getting more attracted to these jensons! | ||||
| Griffin |
55G |
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| yosa |
Top class Griff. Pics when you get it?
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| Griffin |
Sure will, will try and do a video too
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| JensenSteamMan |
Steve, Comparing my visit to the Jensen factory with Cabin Fever (model engineering expostion) I would say Jensen won hands down. I really loved going there. Really at the top in experiences that I wish I could live through again. The tooling that Mr.Jensen made was amazing to watch as Dorita would fold a firebox, or Tom would bend a steamline. The layout of everything was perfect. For Christmas this year I got the DVD tour of Wilesco's factory. I remember right at the beginning of the tour they showed an automated verticle press that stamps the brick pattern and as the press goes back up a fresh peice of metal is jerked into place. I gave a laugh thinking about the brick rollars that Mr.Jensen built to put the pattern in. Just turn it on, put the peice in and it feeds itself right through and puts a perfect brick pattern on it in half a second. I would be willing to be somebody operating Mr.Jensen's brick roller press by hand could turn out more pressed material than that automated press at Wilesco's factory could. When I visited the factory it was very mind boggling in a good way ! Kind of like a slice of mechanical heaven on earth. I just wish I could have met Mr.Jensen Sr. , and maybe someday I could be lucky enough to meet Mr.Jensen Jr.
Happy steaming, Casey |
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| Mamodman123 |
Good to see you dabbling into other area's Griff!
Obviously we'll need pics, what does it look like? |
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| Griffin |
Hopefully will do a video too, may need help sorting that out though
This is what it looks like http://www.jensensteamengines.com/commercial/c55g.htm |
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| Mamodman123 |
I see 
Hopefully it will tempt you to venture into Se3's too
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| James |
NICE!
D22 next?
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| TE1A_man |
I like your d22, nice engine, especially with the twin cylinder. I am planning on getting a D24, i know steve has one. |
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| SPOKESMAN |
Will be nice to see Griff - I just cant get past these immersion heater boilers - its just not British!!!
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| tmuir |
I dont think they are imersion heaters. I think they sit below the boiler and heat the water via radiation through the boiler. So not like a modern electric kettle more like the old types you sat ontop of your electric stove top. |
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| SPOKESMAN |
Whatever . . .
Still not my cup of tea though!!
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| tmuir |
No I like fire too but if I could get one of the Jensens that use solid fuel at the right price I would be interested. |
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| JensenSteamMan |
Hobby engines have the under the boiler 450Watt blanket style heaters while the Collector boilers have the 660watt stainless steel immersion rod heaters
The D22 has the combined displacement between both cylinders of one #75 or #25 Jensen .
Cheers, Casey |
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| IndianaRog |
US vs. British steam generation thoghtsHi guys...It has been an eye opener for me to see/read the feelings of a number of you regards HOW one raises a head of steam on our toy/model engines. It got me thinking there are probably some fundamental and perhaps cultural differences in how we Yanks do it vs. the British: - Esbit vs. electricity I see comments about steaming up one's engines indoors vs. outdoors. As I look at my thermometer this morning, it is 11 deg. F outside. I don't believe at such temps I could even get to a boil let alone run an engine...and who would want to at such cold temps. Given that, at least those of us in the colder regions of the US simply never run their engines outdoors as it seems is more common in the UK. Esbit outdoors would NOT be an issue for me, but inside a tightly sealed, insulated, triple pane windowed house, the stuff will gag a maggot. Electricity is always on tap, odor free, complaint free (the management) and maintains a very strong boil which can be finger tip controlled with a lighting dimmer device if desired. Delightful to throttle down the wattage until you can count the rpms if desired. - electricity and water Not sure how you all heat your bath/shower water in the UK...but here many of us have electric hot water heaters "fired" by immersion rods set in 30-40 gallons of water kept hot for that shower. If we were concerned with mixing water and electricity...we'd be a mighty smelly lot! - electricity and fire While we DO have Esbit AND electrically fired engines available, schools have outlawed open flames in classrooms except for chemistry labs. We've been conditioned for years to use great caution with flames...perhaps more so than electricity. Flame fired engines used in schools are frankly considered more of a risk for spread of fire than is electricity and explains why NO engine I'm aware of, sold in the US as new, is Meths fired...meths being considered an even greater fire risk for school or home. The litigous nature of our society these days is surely a factor in that regard as well. - electric immersion rods vs. electric blanket heaters Many of the older electrically heated engines like Jensens, Empires, Weedens etc. used what we call blanket style heaters. These lay in a semi-circle UNDER the boiler, hidden by the firebox. They work a bit like putting a teapot on a "hot plate"...fine but with time and drippage down boiler sides, they can become corroded and/or get "fried". That is when they stop working and in the worst case they can short to the metal creating a dangerous risk of electrocution. For this reason I attach a grounding cord with an alligator clip to EVERY electrically heated engine I run...further plugging these engines into a type of outlet known as a ground fault circuit interupter commonly used here in damp prone areas like bathrooms and kitchens. Hundreds of steamups later using some ancient blanket heaters, and I'm still here!! Personally I am coming to like the "newer" immersion rod technology where a water heater like "rod" threads into a bushing soldered into the rear of the boiler...these are immune to the drippage problem of the older style blanket heaters and work quite well. I have a 40 year old engine that came with 3 such immersion rods and they all were still in working condition. I have no problem with a new engine with new blanket heater as I am careful about NOT letting water drip down the sides and into the heater proper...but on old ones bought with unknown pasts...one needs to be careful about proper grounding. I see Griffen of this forum has just ordered a new Jensen 55. This model comes with a 660 watt immersion heater that will do a yeoman's job of heating and maintaining steam volume from a 3 inch diameter boiler feeding twin cylinders. I look forward to hearing how he likes it. So, I've blithered on again, but wanted to frame this Esbit vs. Electricity thing a bit driven in part by climatic differences and possibly differences in how comfortable folks are with electrically heated water...BOTH are factors that probably drive our preferences in how we raise a head of steam. Cheers, Roger |
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| tmuir |
Interesting IndianaRog.
I'm not personally worried about the electricity and water mix as you said if I was I would not have an electric kettle. I haven't lit a solid fuel block for about 20 years now but I do remember they smelt bad. Meths in Australia isn't coloured purple like the UK and I'm not even sure they add the stuff to make it taste bad. It does smell a bit but not too bad. Its funny you mention you would never fire an engine outside as I'm toying with the idea of getting fresnel magnifier and setting my engine up outside and running it from the sun as last weekend it reached 45 degrees C (113 degrees F) outside my house.
For 6 months of the year my water is heated from the sun and I need to be careful with the shower as it reaches 75 degrees C! I do agree electric is the way to go with schools and you can not buy a toy steam engine that uses meths in Australia either anymore. I dont use solid fuel as it is too expensive to buy in Australia and meths is considerably cheaper but given the choice of meths or electric for me I would go meths as I guess I'm a bit of a fire bug, I love seeing that flame lick up the side of the boiler, maybe its the element of danger.
But if I was to buy a new engine for my son when he gets a bit older I would seriously consider electric. One place where electric powered is no good is for mobiles or locos and I think my collection is heading more towards locos so will probably have to stick to meths and butane. |
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| IndianaRog |
electrics vs. fireTmuir,Good points all. Despite my apparent love of electrics...I too am a bit of a fire bug and must admit there is the fascination factor of flames licking up the sides of boilers...of course that fascination gets tempered a bit when I have to clean them or answer to the wife why I "stunk up the house again". When I do get a hankering for firing up my Fleischmann, Bowmans or several others...I now do so inside a special hood I built last year with a fan to extract the fumes. I built it primarily as a paint spray booth, but found it works a treat to run Esbit or meths fired engines. Where there is a will there is a way! I like your idea of trying to heat your boiler with magnified sun...you obviously have things a "bit" warmer in Western Aust. this time of year than we do in central Indiana, USA. This is one of those days we refer to as "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey". Dumb expression, but makes me laugh just to read it!! Stay cool, I'll try to stay warm. Cheers, Roger |
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| sparky |
i use both, but mainly meths i dont mind solid fuel sometimes, because me and my mates run the engines down the road, and its a bit safer being next to cars and things
once we made it round the whole road, it took us about 3 hours but we were well chuffed we did it in the end that was with my two wilescos and steam car and te1a
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| tmuir |
I think solar powered could be fun but I've got to be careful not to be too efficient at it.
I have a book on stirling engins that shows a parabolic reflector used to heat the engine. It uses an 18 inch reflector and at the 'sweet spot' the air temperature reaches 700 Degrees C!!!! dont want to be reaching anywhere near those temperatures or goodbye soft soldering!
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| Mamodman123 |
Not over here Tony
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