Just William (3.5 gauge 2-6-2)

[JonL]

So another full day of running, but after about 3 or 4 hours I had trouble raising steam again. The tubes were clear of blockages, but may have been a bit clogged with soot. It would appear the ashpan was full.

As an experiment I may make a deeper ashpan; there is certainly the space. I will get a slightly undersized bronze flue brush too, that should help knock out any major lumps. Interestingly I would say there was only around a tablespoon, maybe two, of ash in the smokebox.

[smallbrother]

How much clinker was in the ashpan when you dropped it?

I think getting it to run for 3-4 hours is pretty remarkable. To have so little in the smokebox is a good sign too. You couldn't have been using a lot of blower I guess.

I've never encountered lumps of anything in any tubes I have cleaned. The soft soot will prevent draft so that needs to go for sure.

Pete.

[JonL]

I made an effort to use less blower this time; one of the advantages of having more people at the club is I was able to ask the more experienced members to critique my technique. When the boiler inspector drove it I noticed he ran far less blower than me, so I knocked my blower use right back (to barely open unless coasting).

In the ashpan were around three pieces of clinker around the size of an Opal Fruit each (or Starburst!)

[smallbrother]

Those 3 "opal fruits" would take up a large chunk of the grate area I would imagine.

Pete.

[stevep]

After running for a while, the ashpan of my Rob Roy can fill up, and the fire dies spectacularly.

I modified my ashpan to have a hinged door on the bottom, retained by a spring clip. When the ashpan fills up, I can just pull the clip back, when the door opens, and the contents of the ashpan falls out. Our track running rules prohibit dropping a grate, except in an emergency, but I think the ash is OK.

[JonL]

That's a good idea Steve, I can always drop it into a tray.

[JonL]

May 23, 2021 15:10:47 GMT smallbrother said:

Those 3 "opal fruits" would take up a large chunk of the grate area I would imagine.

Pete.

I wonder if I could extract them through the firebox door?

[smallbrother]

May 23, 2021 18:13:41 GMT JonL said:

May 23, 2021 15:10:47 GMT smallbrother said:

Those 3 "opal fruits" would take up a large chunk of the grate area I would imagine.

Pete.

I wonder if I could extract them through the firebox door?

If you could see them probably yes. Spotting them is the hard part even in 7.25.

[ejparrott]

May 23, 2021 18:13:41 GMT JonL said:

May 23, 2021 15:10:47 GMT smallbrother said:

Those 3 "opal fruits" would take up a large chunk of the grate area I would imagine.

Pete.

I wonder if I could extract them through the firebox door?

Yes, if you can see them clearly and manipulate the shovel without pulling the rest of the fire out too, we don't drop the fire on the full size to pull the clinker out! Helps to run the fire quite low, you'll often see blue or green flames coming up around the patches of clinker. Careful insertion of poker underneath will lift the whole piece of clinker, you'll see everything on top moving if the piece is large enough. Easier to do the bigger the loco.

[JonL]

It's a bit more like microsurgery at this scale. I was more thinking a three pronged grabbing tool, as used for fishing for dropped tools in an engine bay!

[smallbrother]

May 27, 2021 8:08:30 GMT JonL said:

It's a bit more like microsurgery at this scale. I was more thinking a three pronged grabbing tool, as used for fishing for dropped tools in an engine bay!

I tried that with my Bridget. You can get some out from the front/middle section but the back end is tricky. Needs very low fire and lots of poker, and you probably will not get it all.

Honestly, I reckon it's less trouble to drop the fire, prototypical or not. If you fill the boiler and get pressure up beforehand it is pretty quick to light up again and get out for several hours more trouble-free steaming. While it's on the steaming bay you can do a decent job of oiling too, especially for 7.25 gauge which is difficult for me on the ground.

Pete.

[JonL]

link

link

For some reason my usual technique of linking to my images has stopped working, I'll investigate further later. These are my old and new ashpans. Both from the same material, I've been using bent tabs on the side of the ashpan to adjust the grate height. It was only an experiment with the first ashpan but it worked so well I've carried it over. You can see the horrible mess of MIG welding on the original one; I think that old welder is fit for scrap (which it probably was back when I bought it from a car boot). I'm not usually too bad; I welded up my Triumph ok.

The new silver soldered one is deeper and has a gap to allow me to rake out the ash as required. I plan to run it tomorrow so I will let you know how we get on.

[JonL]

May 27, 2021 9:54:47 GMT smallbrother said:

Pete.

Just out of interest Pete how often do you oil round? I've been doing it twice a session but maybe I should be doing it a little more.

[stevep]

May 28, 2021 10:53:59 GMT JonL said:

SNIP
For some reason my usual technique of linking to my images has stopped working, I'll investigate further later.
SNIP

I noticed that pictures had disappeared from your thread this morning. Figured it might just be a hiccup with your picture hosting site.

I notice that you host them from Instagram - maybe that's the issue.

[smallbrother]

May 28, 2021 10:58:12 GMT JonL said:

May 27, 2021 9:54:47 GMT smallbrother said:

Pete.

Just out of interest Pete how often do you oil round? I've been doing it twice a session but maybe I should be doing it a little more.

I can't physically drive for much more than 90 minutes at a time so that would be my maximum in between oiling.

Be interested to see how often others do it.

Pete.

[andyhigham]

May 28, 2021 10:53:59 GMT JonL said:

link

link

For some reason my usual technique of linking to my images has stopped working, I'll investigate further later. These are my old and new ashpans. Both from the same material, I've been using bent tabs on the side of the ashpan to adjust the grate height. It was only an experiment with the first ashpan but it worked so well I've carried it over. You can see the horrible mess of MIG welding on the original one; I think that old welder is fit for scrap (which it probably was back when I bought it from a car boot). I'm not usually too bad; I welded up my Triumph ok.

The new silver soldered one is deeper and has a gap to allow me to rake out the ash as required. I plan to run it tomorrow so I will let you know how we get on.

MIG welding is almost impossible to be neat. My weapon of choice for a mild steel ash pan would be oxy acetylene, if it was stainless steel I would use TIG. I did make a "Sweet Pea" stainless ashpan using oxy acetylene, not pretty

[JonL]

Today I steamed with the larger ashpan, lower fire level and less blower. It certainly lasted longer but I still ended up doing a drop of the ashpan in the middle of the day. Luckily the boiler was up to pressure and we had rehearsed it so it was quite a smooth out stop. Again the issue was large lumps of clinker.

I've been using a mix of anthracite beans and grains, the grains with the intention of requiring less blower. However I think the beans being bigger had less tendency to block the tubes so I will probably stick with them for now. when we did eventually come to a halt it was due to a combination of clinker and the lower tubes being blocked (my fault for letting the fire bed get too high).

It's been a really good day for experimentation. This is probably the most fun I've had steaming to date, refining techniques and polishing skills. I did a lot of driving on the reverser, notching up where required, and I'm sure it isn't my imagination that we were maintaining higher boiler pressure for longer. Of course, that could be in my head. Maybe at this scale notching up doesn't do much. But I'll keep trying just to improve my skills. There was definitely a sweet spot.

[stevep]

Notching up in our scales DEINITELY works. I run my Rob Roy one notch off mid-gear (once I'm rolling) and it makes a huge difference in the amount of steam that is used, and hence the amount of water. Far less stops for water are necessary if running notched up.

I just push the reverser forward a notch or two when I get to the steeper part of our track, and also open the bypass to reduce the on-board load.

[nonort]

Does the anthracite brake up in the firebox is the char in the tubes burnt or not. Wet coal will explode on entry to the firebox and get carried straight up the tubes. Moral dry your coal out. I would tend to use the largest size coal that I can comfortably get through the fire hole door on the move. Linking up will reduce the amount of steam being used therefore you don't have to generate it in the first place. Get used to firing at the same points on the track. The old adage of 'little and often' defiantly works. When you get the chance load the engine up with a few passengers and see the difference. In my experience the engine will perform better especially if you can get a non-stop run of at least half a mile you will find that the super heaters will work better using less steam again. Don't despair IMLEC is only half an hour long! Keep going.

[JonL]

I'd love to try it better loaded but there are so many members with 5" I don't think l ever be given a chance on a running day. Maybe I need some rolling stock!

The grit I'm getting in the tubes looks like tiny black gravel, it could well be unburnt coal. It's certainly not grey. I'll move back to the larger coal and make sure it's dry. It's kept in a dehumidified garage but in a closed box; I'll take the lid off and let it air. Now you mention it it does run better if kept going.

I may make a small extension for the bypass valve. It will allow me a bit more finesse when trying to find the perfect setting.

It's all more fun! Thanks for your tips