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kusuchi
Hero Steamer
Joined: 23 Jan 2008
Posts: 1731
Location: St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
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 Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 7:51 pm Post subject: |
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Handrail Photos
Rather more than usual, but rather more engines too. Punched the whistle lever on the Major. Big improvement but still has a small leak. Spent the morning polishing them up.
Group Portrait (Minor, Junior, Standard, Major)
1520 Minor
1540 Standard, the only one with original gold paint.
1530 Junior
1550 Major. Twin lubricator detail.
1550 Major
1520 Minor
1530 Juinor
1540Standard
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Richard
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johnreid
Steam Supreme Being
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
Posts: 11064
Location: Friendship Indiana, USA
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| Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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What a line up! The group shot is one that not many can do
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CCairns
Hero Steamer
Joined: 24 Apr 2007
Posts: 1614
Location: Scotland
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| Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:02 pm Post subject: |
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A great line-up and some beautiful background scenery.
That's an interesting mod on the Junior's burner. I assume it is to allow filling up without removing the wick holder. But is it an SEL fitted Mod, or fitted later by a previous owner? |
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Mamodman123
Steam God!
Joined: 19 Jul 2006
Posts: 31712
Location: Midlands, UK
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| Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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Great engines you have there!
Simple engines but still all good 
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kusuchi
Hero Steamer
Joined: 23 Jan 2008
Posts: 1731
Location: St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 2:18 am Post subject: |
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Having finally located Denatured Alcohol today we ran the Minor, Junior and Standard tonight.
The standard ran like a express train, I was actually wondering how I might throttle it down. The double burner puts out a lot of flame and more paint flaked off the firebox.
The Minor gave us some problems, it went like a rocket, but the piston blew off twice. Nothing a little loctite can't fix.
The Junior was something of a disaster. On the other side of the fire box is a threaded driveband wheel. No matter how much you lubricate it as the engine runs it tightens the thread until it eventually jams the flywheel against the firebox . The third time it jammed, the safety valve threading blew out of the boiler. 
Now it will need solder repairs. Is there some kind of lock nut missing?
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Richard
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johnreid
Steam Supreme Being
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
Posts: 11064
Location: Friendship Indiana, USA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 2:23 am Post subject: |
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I wonder if a Teflon washer between the driveband pulley and the firebox would make it slick enough to spin
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Les
Steam Supreme Being
Joined: 03 Nov 2007
Posts: 8432
Location: Bournemouth, Dorset.
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:23 am Post subject: |
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On the Junior there is not anything missing as there is no room for a locknut. Try loctite on that as well.
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Nick
Steam Legend!!
Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 7234
Location: Minnesota, USA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:53 am Post subject: |
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| Does the gold paint burn off, or just wear off over time? |
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Les
Steam Supreme Being
Joined: 03 Nov 2007
Posts: 8432
Location: Bournemouth, Dorset.
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:01 am Post subject: |
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| ncseverson wrote: | | Does the gold paint burn off, or just wear off over time? |
A bit of both.
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Les - Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternatives.
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flywheel61
Steam Legend!!
Joined: 12 Nov 2006
Posts: 2604
Location: australia
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:10 am Post subject: |
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kusuchi wrote
| Quote: | | The standard ran like a express train, I was actually wondering how I might throttle it down. The double burner puts out a lot of flame and more paint flaked off the firebox. |
Another welcome to the SEL owners club, you have three choices with trying to throttle the engine down,
1. The best way I have found, to control the speed of the SEL engines is by the hight of the wick, 1-2 mm above the wick holder seems to give the best control. I find if the wick is too high the boiler generates too much steam, which condenses and tend to slow the engine down, this is particularly the case with my 1550 twin.
2. Water the denatured alchohol down with 10% rainwater , but make sure all the mixture is removed from the engine when you've finished with it, otherwise the alcohol evapourates leaving the water in the wick.
3. Use a cut down rifle cartridge over one of the wicks, the reverse of this,
http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/about9835.html.
As Chris Cairns has give you most of the searches for SEL items the only thing I can add is to also look at another similar model AHI, but the last lot were dearer than the SEL originals. I picked up a near mint SEL lineshaft in a box, from the UK, for under GPB30. An AHI one went for US$80, the week before
Enjoy.
Cheers 
Chris
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Steve_S
Steam Legend!!
Joined: 26 Aug 2006
Posts: 3286
Location: Leeds UK
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 11:47 am Post subject: |
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| Excellent photos! |
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Mamodman123
Steam God!
Joined: 19 Jul 2006
Posts: 31712
Location: Midlands, UK
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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how did the safety valve thread blow out of the boiler?
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kusuchi
Hero Steamer
Joined: 23 Jan 2008
Posts: 1731
Location: St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 2:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Mamodman123 wrote: | | how did the safety valve thread blow out of the boiler? |
Hi MM,
I don't know, but I was leaning over it at the time and only just escaped getting scalded.
As I said every one of these engines run really, really fast, so there is obviously a lot of steam pressure. The safety valve threading is a separate tube soldered into the top of the boiler. I can only guess that the valve was sticky and the solder joint weak.
Regards,
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CCairns
Hero Steamer
Joined: 24 Apr 2007
Posts: 1614
Location: Scotland
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry to read about your Junior's safety valve failure - it is not one of the none working safety valves that apparently were fitted to the 1520, were the theory goes that the cylinder would move off its backing plate to release the excess pressure? The one I have has the top body just very cleverly soldered to the boiler mounting, with no signs of the spring, threaded rod and retaining nuts on the inside (sorry no photo as I've actually got it apart and just await the right size spring to make it fully functioning).
On my Junior the shaft through the firebox has suffered due to being in the path of the meths burner, with meths residue and corrosion on this shaft. To try and make it run a bit smoother (as it has a groove worn into the firebox side where the pulley is fitted), I had to reposition the flywheel and piston crank on the other side so that it was not binding with the pulley fully screwed home on the shaft.
The flywheel and piston crank are both fitted with grubscrews.
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kusuchi
Hero Steamer
Joined: 23 Jan 2008
Posts: 1731
Location: St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
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| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:48 am Post subject: |
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| CCairns wrote: | Sorry to read about your Junior's safety valve failure - it is not one of the none working safety valves that apparently were fitted to the 1520, were the theory goes that the cylinder would move off its backing plate to release the excess pressure? The one I have has the top body just very cleverly soldered to the boiler mounting, with no signs of the spring, threaded rod and retaining nuts on the inside (sorry no photo as I've actually got it apart and just await the right size spring to make it fully functioning).
On my Junior the shaft through the firebox has suffered due to being in the path of the meths burner, with meths residue and corrosion on this shaft. To try and make it run a bit smoother (as it has a groove worn into the firebox side where the pulley is fitted), I had to reposition the flywheel and piston crank on the other side so that it was not binding with the pulley fully screwed home on the shaft.
The flywheel and piston crank are both fitted with grubscrews.
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Useful, thanks Chris,
I am awaiting the arrival of Manx's Wilhelm Krauss Toy Carousel, then I will deliver both to a Jewelry manufacturer's workshop for repair. These people are real craftsmen. I build all thier stores. They have done excellent solder repairs on other engines for me and are generally excited by the hitherto unknown phenomena of toy steam.
They particularly liked the London Bus.
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Richard
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