Question about Accucraft 4-4-0

I appologize, but I just have to laugh. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/laugh.gif I have one of the 4-4-0's also. Mine seemed to run fine the first time out. However, ever since I have had a hard time keeping up steam without turning up the burner. It flutters and goes out. Then running one day in my garden ry the stack just fell off. There had been a long accromious discussion about these engines and Accucraft in general early on so when mine fell off I just broke out laughing about it. It parted where the baloon joins the straight piece. I fixed this and then running it a few days later the stack fell off again, this time at the base. I just pressed it back on and continued to try and get the thing to produce enough steam by messing with the burner, installing a Hottman type sleeve, wrapping the burner in mesh, etc. It always overheated. Then the other day the number plate on the smoke box fell off. Cliff is on vacation they tell me at Accucraft so I am going to call him next week and see what can be done. A friend of mine here in Houston has one of these also. His runs and burns great, but his stack fell off too. We think the problem with mine is the burner nozzle. It either was drilled the wrong size or has a burr or some irregularity in it preventing it from burning properly. We tried substituting nozzles and that seemed to indicate the problem. Like the post above says, contact Cliff at Accucraft and he will send you a new stack. They know about the problem and are making replacement parts right now. They are also making replacement crosshead guide pins and rods if you have a problem with those, which I don't so far. I don't know about the number plate or burner nozzle. Because of the rash of stacks failing, I tend to think the problem is really the burner jet or nozzle. The hole in it is just too large or the burner itself is designed wrong even though it looks just like any other Accucraft burner. In order to generate enough steam you end up with a blow torch effect going up the stack. I have never experience this problem with any other Accucraft engine so I am at a loss to explain it or fix it.

Photo evidence of Larry's missing number plate.

Posted By Ron67 on 09/05/2008 5:05 AM
Wish Aster made the 4-4-0, then I would buy one. Every time I event think that I might one day buy an Accucraft, I read posts like the ones above and snap back to my senses. I love my Aster S2!




Actually Aster made a 4-4-0, the Reno. It has two speeds, 0 and 150mph. In other words the throttle is really an on/off switch. These Accucraft engines actually run well. I have no idea why the Chinese chose to use low temp solder on the front end pieces. It is just one of the querks of dealing with China. I am sure Accucraft people are just as frustrated as we are. Aster makes some subperb locomotives but if they made a 4-4-0 today the price would be double or triple the Accucraft price and there is no guarantee it would not come with some kind of problem. Aster has had their disasters also. So we just deal with what we got. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/satisfied.gif