Using a Meths burner in a Wilesco Old Smokey roller

IndianaRog · Using a Meths burner in a Wilesco Old Smokey roller

I'm contemplating using a meths burner in my Old Smokey, but I recall some videos awhile back indicating that the meths was too hot for them and either caused temporary or permanent warping of some of the running gear

I can't find the videos, so asking.

Can anyone confirm this and what if anything can be done to prevent it??? I wondered about putting the axle in a larger brass tube/sleeve as a way of better protecting it...but that might not be the problem.

Thoughts???

Rog

Cranko

Hi Rog, A friend of mine had problems with the heat actually distorting the large driven gear on the axle, he was experimenting with a shield on the side of the firebox but I dont think this was entirely successful either

Mister Occlusion

I've got a video of it somewhere. I don';t know where the binding took place, but once I removed the burner the engine ran within a few seconds, as normal, until the steam ran out.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=w1zgDjLQn6w

found it. Note: this video is with the smaller burner meant for my D6, NOT the larger one for the roller and D455. The effecxt is much more dramatic with that one.

No permanent damage though.

H2o vapour · Hi Rog - WILESCO BOILERS

Hi Rog

WILESCO BOILERS

I have had given me in the past an old Smokey, because the owner could no longer run it , The boiler sight glass had melted off!!

I don't know if they are all soft soldered this certainly was- I don't know any more than this but worth considering, the model was in a poor state so I sold it on rather than play about with it.

Regards

H20

mc_mc

Why not make one of those adjustable evaporating burners (where part of the surface can be masked off to reduce the heat)?

You could then start very low and then slowly reveal more and more of the flame to a point where you get good performance without damaging the engine and then stop there.

Heat is just heat, the source shouldn't matter I would have thought.

Just an idea.

steamyman

Rog,

when I had a Wilesco Steam Roller, I used a meths burner from Forest Classics. I didn't have any probs running it with it.

the burner was a g9- now used in my Jensen75.

James

Rog, I run my Wilesco Roller on tablets, BUT I DID try to run it on meths once. I didn't have a burner small enough for it, so I used my 75/d22 burner, and it poked out the back of the firebox about 1/2", so I put a 1 penny coin on it, and it worked well, UNTIL I ran the engine so fast, without me knowing, the penny dropped off, the flames went up the back of the roller, and burnt all the paint and melted the whislte.

My own stupid fault really

IndianaRog

Thanks all for the pointers...I will proceed cautiously with my roller, I am quite fond of it and if I fried it the grandson would NOT be too happy. "Buster" as we renamed him was the grandson's favorite engine in my collection. I'm going to try and RC it as well so we can take it out on the street for some decently long runs.

cheers,
Rog

Mister Occlusion

I wonder if we can correlate the occurance of the problems to the age of the engine. My own one is quite old, judging by the box. Probably 1960's, and unfired when I got it. Fired no more than a dozen times by me, I would guess, which would mean it has under 20 hours on it.

I picked up one of those steering cables. Not as good as sitting in a lawn chair with a radio remote, I imagine, but amusing in its own way since you've got to crank the wheel like mad to get it to change direction...4 to 6 turns for mine if I remember. Got to plan your turns well ahead if you're running flat out.

Someone should convince Jensen to make a mobile. #65 or #70 engine ought to work nice for that.

Imagine a roller of the Cast Iron Line ... probably need a model 20 engine in that one if you wanted to run anywhere other than downhill

rangerssteamtoys

I run My roller with a meths burner all the time. Works alot better than esbit.You might want to try a bowman burner with the wick and long tube setup. I said this because you used it in your wilesco D455 and you said it ran great. Though you might need to make it smaller and also add a wire or something to keep it on.

Using a Meths burner in a Wilesco Old Smokey roller

Hi Rog - WILESCO BOILERS