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Clear water glass in my K28

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main131

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
The sight glass showed no reading other than a permanent level mark caused by water sediment which had laid dormant for some time previous.
Access to inside the glass with small 'bristle brush was managed by removal of top fitting assembly.
Discovered the top feed pipe to be blocked with years of scale build up preventing effective use of 'blow down'
This is now cleared together with the blow down glass allowing the water level to flow and therefore 'safer driving'

Now we all know how difficult it can be struggling to read water levels in a small sight glass when outside in different weather conditions. Even more frustrating when you discover there is no water getting through anyway
These small water gauge glasses need free passageways to the boiler at both the top and bottom to equalize water levels and pressures on both the water in the glass and the boiler. If one end is restricted the glass could easily contain a plug of air that would be increasingly compressed as the boiler pressure increased giving a false reading

It is nice that my K28 has a blow down especially when some expensive models do not. I have the new Aster Challenger on order. I will be disappointed (for the money) if it does not..
Cab view picture shows the various 'controls' in my K28
Linked chain on regulator for Radio control; Twin gas burners; Bypass valve for axle pump; Sight glass with lined back ground (note 1/4 glass of water) with blow down valve below

Video shows loco on half throttle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX1qtzQ_2FU

Image
 
#2 ·
Treavor

According to spec on the Aster web site
Specifications for Aster / Union Pacific Challenger 3985 and 3977
Wheel arrangement 4-6-6-4 Total weight with tender / dry 35.5 lbs. Boiler type C-type / 11 flues , super heater Burner type Vertical ceramic wick tubes Fuel Methylated alcohol Cylinder bore / stroke 13 x 24 mm Valve type Piston valves Valve gear mechanism Waelscharts, controlled by Johnson bar Cylinder / valve lubrication Roscoe displacement type Drive wheel suspension Equalized Trailing truck suspension Equalized Cylinder drain cocks Functional via control levers from locomotive cab Boiler water feed Twin eccentric axle pumps Additional appliances: water gauge glass, pressure gauge, gauge glass blow down, by-pass valve, blower valve, regulator valve, LED headlight, opening fire door, whistle Tender: Centipede type, Removable fuel tank, Fuel capacity 800 ccm, Fuel line shut off valve, Quick release tender / locomotive coupler, Water drain plug, RC battery and receiver storage compartment, Hand pump.
 
#3 ·
I can't remember from my time watching Hans run the prototypes, but if you check the AsterHobbyUSA website, you will see that the specs on the Challenger do specify a gauge glass blowdown, so you shouldn't be disappointed.

Ross Schlabach
 
#5 ·
Water sediment? R U not boiling distilled water?

Or is it lubricator oil that gets sucked into the boiler as it cools down?
 
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Discussion starter · #7 ·
I have always used filtered rain water.
No problem with the availability in the UK this summer!
The engine must be eight or so years old now so no excuses for an overdue service makeover
I will probably ask the wife to do it?
If the Queen can jump out of a Helicopter with James Bond into the Olympic Stadium then I am sure a little cleaning job is not too much to ask for?
 
#9 ·
Posted By main131 on 29 Jul 2012 03:23 PM

If the Queen can jump out of a Helicopter with James Bond into the Olympic Stadium then I am sure a little cleaning job is not too much to ask for?


That was the absolute best part of the opening ceremony (IMHO)!

P.S. My C-21 sight glass is ALWAYS full.
 
#10 ·
filtered rain water =/= to distilled water.

Distilled water is literally pure H2O since the process is to boil the water and collect only the steam and re-condenses the steam. Sometimes multiple times to make sure there are no other substances in the water.

Filtered rain water is going to still have a lot of particles in it that are going to cause issues. Just member - if there is scale in those fittings, there is scale in your other fittings too.
 
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#12 ·
Simplest way to keep scale deposits at bay is to just flush it more often. Using distilled water, you may be good for 20-30 runs before flushing. Rainwater may need flushing after 3-5 runs.

For all boilers, remember that if you start with 150 ml water and have 15 ml left at end - then you have concentrated the crud by a factor of 10. Distilled water should be about 5ppm solids max, ending at 50 ppm solids. Depending on the composition, you will need about 200 -400 ppm solids to start getting scale. So, keep those boilers topped off, and flushed, and scale will never get a start.
 
#14 ·
Just fill it about 3/4 full with distilled water, slosh a few times, and dump it out. Engines with small openings may need a little help with a syringe. I try to do it with each engine at least once a year, more often if it gets heavy use. You don't need to worry about descaling additives unless it is in really bad shape. Over-enthusiastic use of descaling compounds can cause more harm than good.
 
#15 ·
I firmly believe that you can't use too clean a water supply, but in the end, no matter if you use medical grade triple distilled or gutter water, you will generate mineral deposits on your boilers steam generating surfaces and sight glass; factoid of life, period.
The simple cure is to periodically fill the boiler with distilled white vinegar [I use Mother Safeway's; Heinz is politically inferior] and go run the heck out of it till the back garden stops smelling like salad dressing; that simple.
As to the sight glass, simply visit the nearest purveyor of gas welding equipment and purchase a set of tip cleaning brushes [think miniature bottle brushes]. Most locomotives have a plug arrangement at the top of the sight glass, that once removed, allows the proper diameter brush to be inserted and giggled to throughly clean the inside of the glass.
While cleaning the glass, be alert to the possible presence of "oily-scum". If you observe it, your boiler is also fouled with steam oil. There is little, easily done, to correct this condition, but further fouling can prevented by making sure that the steam throttle is tightly shut as soon as the burner is extinguished. This will prevent steam oil from being sucked into the boiler as the boiler cools and creates a vacuum.
 
#16 ·
OK, you use the vinegar instead of water. Does running its steam through the cylinders cause any problem? Would just filling the boiler with vinegar, lighting the fire, and letting it blow through the safety valve for a minute or two do the job? Just asking.
 
#17 ·
Hi Reg.
Long-time-no-see. We need to do something about that. 'You still in Babylon-by-the-sea?
Food grade distilled white vinegar is 5% acetic acid, has a specific gravity of 1.01 and a PH of 2.2 and hot or cold will not harm the stainless steel, coper, brass [even the poor quality-high zinc boiler fittings in Accucraft's stuff], in our models. Some of the English cottage industry locos that employ mild steels and cast iron will, in theory, stand a chance of showing the patina of rust if left to stand immobile once exposed; a very minor consideration in my experience.
Reg, there is absolutely nothing wrong with your approach as it will certainly clean the boiler's steam generating surfaces and safety valve working parts, but after going through all that work to steam the lad up, why not participate in the visceral joy of watching your pride and joy trundle about the track?
Warning::: Make a substantial sandwich prior to steaming up in either case. You will become ravenously hungry once you lift your safety due to the salad dressing odor. Just one more reason to run the white vinegar through your loco, sit in the shade, and watch "Better Living Through Chemistry" unfold before your eyes..
 
#19 ·
Hi Steve,
I just shot an hour trying to learn how to cut-n-paste some internet information into my reply to you with no-joy being the result. So I'm asking you to please go to wikipedia.com and dial in "brass". While you're there, you might want to look at "bronze" too. Since you have the beast lit up already, look at the elemental Periodic Table and note where tin and zinc lie on the chemical activity scale. If you do these things, then you and I will be playing from the same page.
The brass wiki topic has a long paragraph outlining, in tabular form, several common brasses. The bottom one is "white brass". This will be the one that our conversation will be about.
I reread my last and I did not see the word "problem". Why did you use that word, as if I said it, in your question? A better question might have been "Why do you [Two Blocked] think that Accucraft's brass boiler fittings are poor quality because they are made of a high zinc brass alloy?
 
#20 ·
Two Blocked,
In your post which I quoted, you stated "even the poor quality-high zinc boiler fittings in Accucraft's stuff", that was the point of my question. Since you stated the words "poor quality" it would easy to conclude from your wording that problems could develop.

In actuality you do not know exactly what brass Accucraft uses, since it has not published, so to say it is "poor quality" is an inaccurate statement.

I have never heard of any issues with Accucrafts boilers and fittings, they are High Quality.

The Aster snobbery has been really pathetic on the forum lately.

Thanks
Steve
 
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steveciambrone
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