what are these!?

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

and where do they go!

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

i was given this extremely lovely [ for a person with no knowledge of such things] steam plant by a dear friend of mine and a retired staff coxs'n of Fleetwoods RNLI Lifeboat, with the condition that i was to put it into a model boat and get it sailing.

Because of covid and other things, the boiler/engine has sat on my window sill as an ornament for the last 18 months, but i have finally worked out that i am going to build a very special lifeboat for it to go into.

However, i have a problem.

1] i haven't a clue as to how it all goes together or what certain parts are.

i know what this bit is, and where it goes,

and i know what these two bits are..

and i know what the tank is as i just opened the valve and got a sniff of some nice butane,

but what is this bit that slots into the burner hole at the end of the boiler

and what is this bit that stands vertical on its own base with the pipes'

2] what is the lever with the servo type holes drilled in to it for on the side of the engine at present in a horizontal position, and at present turns a full 360….what does it do?

3] how does it all go together?

4] is it a Cheddar boiler and engine?

5] and how does which bit go where?

6] and finally, what length of narrow beamed "axe" type bow boat would it be able to push along, if linked to a gear box propelling 2 x 4 blade propellers.

 

thank you all you steam buffs for any info you can give.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited By neil howard-pritchard on 26/12/2020 17:53:13

[Roger ClarkParticipant @rogerclark]

Posted by neil howard-pritchard on 26/12/2020 17:48:39:

i was given this extremely lovely [ for a person with no knowledge of such things] steam plant by a dear friend of mine and a retired staff coxs'n of Fleetwoods RNLI Lifeboat, with the condition that i was to put it into a model boat and get it sailing.

Because of covid and other things, the boiler/engine has sat on my window sill as an ornament for the last 18 months, but i have finally worked out that i am going to build a very special lifeboat for it to go into.

However, i have a problem.

1] i haven't a clue as to how it all goes together or what certain parts are.

i know what this bit is, and where it goes,

and i know what these two bits are..

and i know what the tank is as i just opened the valve and got a sniff of some nice butane,

but what is this bit that slots into the burner hole at the end of the boiler the gas burner, connects to the gas tank

and what is this bit that stands vertical on its own base with the pipes' Condenser, connects the the engine exhaust and probably to the pipe in the chimney and takes the oil out of the used steam.

2] what is the lever with the servo type holes drilled in to it for on the side of the engine at present in a horizontal position, and at present turns a full 360….what does it do? Throttle – go faster in forward and reverse.

3] how does it all go together? Gas tank to burner, boiler connected to engine, exhaust to condensor, condensor to pipe going up chimney.

4] is it a Cheddar boiler and engine? Probably but Richard Simpson could confirm.

5] and how does which bit go where? Gas tank forward with easy access preferably easy removeable for filling (not best idea to fill in boat), Boiler in centre of boat with condenser close by.

6] and finally, what length of narrow beamed "axe" type bow boat would it be able to push along, if linked to a gear box propelling 2 x 4 blade propellers.

thank you all you steam buffs for any info you can give.

Edited By neil howard-pritchard on 26/12/2020 17:53:13

A bit like mine, the gas tank is in the bows.

Hope this helps, the condensor is on the other side of the boat, I'll get some more photos tomorrow.

Roger

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Neil, That's a Cheddar Gemini plant, I'll dig out some numbers for it tomorrow when I can get to the workshop without getting wet and blown off my feet!

Beautiful plant, fairly rare now and quite valuable. The baby brother of the Cheddar Proteus, which really was a beautiful engine.

Main downside is that you need two servos to control it, one for operating the steam valve to control speed and one to reverse the direction with the lever on the reversing mechanism.

I'll put something together tomorrow.

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

thanks guys………so the tube with the rubber pipes is the condenser, and the lever on the side is the speed steam controller. got that now..

i'll await your further info……..theres no rush though as i have numerous projects to take me through the year but i would like to connect it all and steam it in the garden on its brass bed in the summer just to get used to it and the technique of steaming,,

the engine is so free and turns beautifully by hand, with the reverse link working well to…..easy to turn in my fingers.

i eventually want to put the plant into this lifeboat………and yes it was a lifeboat, given an ON Number when built and classed as a lifeboat, it was the only tug boat ever to carry the designation as a lifeboat, and was based at Padstow in Cornwall, and from 1907 used to tow the pulling and sailing lifeboat out to casualties.

she was called RNLB Hellen Peele.

Edited By neil howard-pritchard on 26/12/2020 23:47:17

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

OK Neil, first that is a superb model to put the Gemini in, although you will be denied the pleasure of watching the engine operate. It is a powerful slide valve engine though and deserving of an unusual and attractive model.

Unfortunately my spec sheet does not include the Gemini so I assume it was published prior to the Gemini being released however we might be able to pick the bones of it if you can measure the diameter across the end plate. I expect it to be either three and a half inch or four and one eighth inch. If you could also measure the length of the boiler that should help us to identify it and therefore the designed working pressure.

As for assembly, on the end of the pipe that comes from your gas tank you will see the nozzle. This fits into the fitting on the side of the burner and is held in place by the grub screw. The position of the nozzle determines the air/gas mix so you light the burner outside the boiler and slide the nozzle in and out to give you the best flame. When it is the best nip up the grub screw. I would start with the tip of the nozzle half way across the air hole. You might have problems with a dirty and blocked nozzle orifice if it has not been used for a long time, in which case blow back with compressed air. Do not use anything physical or you may bruise the orifice and the nozzle is ruined.

If the boiler has been sat for a long time I would recommend pickling it. This is just an acid clean of the internal surfaces. I use coffee machine cleaning tablets. Ideally you should remove the boiler, strip everything off, including the lagging and put it in a bucket of boiling water, add the tablets and then pump the hot liquid through the boiler with some sort of small pump. If you don't fancy that, mix up a couple of tablets in hot water and pour it into the boiler. Leave to cool then flush through with a small pump and fresh water. When done remove the cap on top of the sight glass and force some fresh water through under pressure to ensure that the sight glass connections are clean and free of sludge.

So clean boiler, fill with water to three quarters of a sight glass, close the outlet valve, fit the burner, turn on the gas and ignite from the top of the funnel. All you want to do at this stage is ensure the boiler raises steam, there are no leaks, the pressure gauge works and the safety valve lifts at no higher than the working pressure then keeps the pressure below working pressure plus 10% with the burner on full. I will let you know what the working pressure should be when you give me the dimensions.

Now we can turn to the engine. If it has never been run it should be run in, if it has been run it should be OK. Again ideally I would recommend a strip down, clean and reoil everything but if everything looks well oiled and it turns smoothly you probably just want to have a crack at it. I would recommend however that you at least run it on compressed air first, just briefly, to check that it runs OK. This will help you to determine the correct positions of the reversing lever and the throttle before you start playing with hot steam. Empty the displacement lubricator of anything there may be in it, then fill with fresh steam oil. Liberally oil all external surfaces with normal engine oil.

Now we need to check that the separator is empty. Connect a large syringe to the stub pipe on the top surface towards the edge. Use a couple of inches of the silicone pipe that you already have connecting the two stubs. Draw on the syringe. If you get any mucky oily water out keep sucking until it is empty. Then stick a small brass screw into the end of the pipe and leave it connected to the separator. If you do not seal this pipe you will get exhaust steam coming out of it when you run the engine. Then connect the separator inlet to the engine outlet, the hose goes in the side of the separator, then connect the separator outlet, which I believe is the centre connection, to the pipe that sticks out from the base of the funnel.

So time to give it a go. Fill the gas tank, you will need a Ronson type filling valve to screw into your disposable bottle of 70-30 Butane/Propane camping gas to fill your gas tank. Turn the gas on, ignite at the top of the funnel, close the steam outlet valve and wait for pressure. Ten minutes should be more than enough. Set the throttle to zero and the direction lever to one way or another and open the steam outlet. Check no leaks. Very slowly open the throttle valve. There will be a slug of water first that will spit all over the place but your engine should then settle down to a nice quiet ticking over. Stop again and reverse before trying again. Play around until the water gets to the bottom of the sight glass then call it a day.

You will need to check that you have used most of your steam oil for one fill of the boiler. The oil in the lubricator should have been replaced by water so you will need to syringe the water out and put fresh oil in for the next run. I don't think your lubricator is adjustable nor does it have a drain fitted.

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

thanks for replying Richard…….i have put it away on the window sill at the mo, as i am doing some casting of figures indoors…….so will measure up in the nxt day ot so, depending on how the casting goes, but very comprehensive read, and i am going to have to read each part numerous times to get my head around it all in sequence…….but thank you very much….appreciate it.

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