Simplex hand feed pump.

[sanddancer]

Hi everyone,

can anyone tell me where the hand feed pump should be mounted, as I am going to potter with the water tanks whilst I get the boiler ready for a hydraulic test,

regards,

George

[Steve M. W]

Hi George

The drawings show the hand pump inside the right hand side tank.

Steve

[02jcole]

Hello,

When I built my simplex I made a handpump to my own design and mounted between the frames behind the boiler with a cut-out in the cab floor. This allows you to easily operate the pump when going around the track. I have also seen a design on a sweet pea where the handpump is mounted on the side of the frames under the cab at a right angle to the frames. This design was particulaly suited to running on elevated tracks.

Hope this helps a bit!

Regards James.

[sanddancer]

Hi James & Steve,

thanks for the info, and I think I may look at installing the handpump in the cab. Although I have not yet driven a model steam loco that sounds like a practical idea,

regards,

George

[Tony K]

I find it works OK for me in the RH tank as I need to use it only occasionally, having a working injector and over-active axle pump. If you mount it in the tank, be careful how you position it - there is a very good chance it will have to be removed for maintenance. Some people mount it crossways in the bunker, sometimes with a cover. Will it get in the way of the well-tank if it is under footplate level?

This raises the subject of what type of hand-pump. Currently I have the standard single-acting pump normally stocked by suppliers.

I see in the Simplex drawings that Martin Evans shows a double-acting design. Has anyone built it? It has the advantage of giving you twice the urge when you really need it.

Secondly, the pump body could be machined out of solid (after taking out a mortgage for a big enough chunk of gun metal, if you can find it) but a casting is suggested from a now extinct supplier (I think). Any ideas?

[baggo]

Hi Tony,

The hand pump casting is still advertsied by Reeves (£60 ) and BlackGates (£25).

Personally I'm not very keen on hand pumps in the side tanks and on my Simplex I will be looking to mount it elsewhere, possibly in the rear bunker which I intend to alter and make bigger anyway. There's still the problem of accessibility though if (when) it packs up.

So far, I've fabricated all my axle pumps and hand pumps using bronze bar for the barrels and the rest in ordinary brass. You could probably get away with brass for a hand pump barrel as it is not used continuously (hopefully!). It's much easier to fabricate than machine awkward shaped castings and a hell of a lot cheaper

The main problem I think with most single acting hand pumps is that the ones called for on the drawings are simply too small in the bore and take an eternity to pump in a decent amount of water, especially if you use them to initially fill the boiler.

John