# Lee's Mills Steamboat meet



## steamer (Oct 3, 2010)

I took my boat for the first time. Had a great 4 days steaming.

48 boats turned up but I must admit I was somewhat preoccupied running my own to look much.

Took her out on one long cruise of 8-10 miles or so to Green's basin and the surrounding area.

Dave


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## steamer (Oct 3, 2010)

OK


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## dsquire (Oct 4, 2010)

Dave

Looks great that boat of yours. Glad that you got to take it for a good run. That scenery looks beautiful this time of year. :bow: :bow:

Cheers 

Don


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## steamer (Oct 4, 2010)

Don and Pat,

Thank you for your kind comments and support....just time and money Pat.... ;D

Dave


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## Paolo (Oct 5, 2010)

Hi Dave
Thanks a lot for shearing your...sensation by those photos.
What a nice masterpiece are those steamboats.
Best regards 
Paolo


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## krv3000 (Oct 5, 2010)

HI well dun


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## steamer (Oct 5, 2010)

Thanks guys I appreciate that....

I am taking a dear friend out boating this coming Saturday....He's got some health issues....but he's the "gutsyest" guy I know... so that ain't gonna stop him. He'll be stoking I'm sure...... ;D

Dave


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## Deanofid (Oct 6, 2010)

Pat J  said:
			
		

> Is there some kind of limit on how many questions you can ask on an HMEM page?
> Have I broken the limit?



 :

Thanks for the pics, Dave. Your steamer is a beauty, (the others, too!).
Looks like great fun, and you sure had a nice day for it. I'd stoke for you, anytime!

Dean


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## steamer (Oct 6, 2010)

Hi Pat,

 ;D

Give me until tonight.....all will be answered and I'm sure you'll have a few others.....

By the way, her name is "Rushforth", and her name is on the boiler pressure gauge dial, right above the receiver, condenser and lunch gauges.......... ;D

Dave


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## steamer (Oct 6, 2010)

Dave-

Can you give us the poop on that steam setup.
What kind of flexible pipe are you using. It that a stainless braided jacket on a rubber hose?
Its a braided stainless steel covered teflon rated to 450 f @ 1400 psig. I got that at MSC. Most, if not all steamboaters use these, and they work great

Looks like a twin compound. Make, model, bore x bore x stroke?
Its a 1.5 x 3.0 x 2.5 compound that I designed and built.
What's the poop on that drip type oiler on the left?
It has one large drip oiler feeding 3 smaller ones to lubricate the crank mains. I have a pressurized ratchet style lubricator pump for the rod big ends.

It looks maybe like a condenser pump?  
The oiler sits on top of a exhaust feed-water heater.

I assume the metal rod at the back is reverse. Yes

That is the longest whistle I have ever seen for that diameter. What sort of tone does it make?
2" X 14" .....A deep one, but not too loud....diameter is an indicator of loudness while length is proportional to note....its a deep note. Sounds good!


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## steamer (Oct 6, 2010)

Do you have a superheater in that stack?  NO  I would be forced to use internal lubrication if I did, and I don't want to deal with taking it back out of the feewater.
I assume the manifold to the right is to pick off points for the steam gauge, etc.
Left to right, injector, stack blower and pressure gauge.

Do you have an injector in there somewhere?
I use a superscale locomotive works "economy" injector and it works well from 40-160 psig.

Thrust bearing?
I post a link to the thrust bearing.


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## steamer (Oct 6, 2010)

Water tube or fire tube? Vertical or horizontal tubes.
Olfedlt water tube , often called a "Blackstaffe" The generating tubes look like intertwined coil springs

Looks like fired with coal. Where is the fire door?
( I see it in the larger photo, on the back of the boiler).
I have double doors, one on each end.  I burn wood and sometimes charcoal.

What is the valve on the right through the hull?
Over board discharge for the dual blow down valves on the mud drums

Big gray lever on the right, is that a manual water pump?
Yes...11/2 x 4" stroke....it pumps a lot of water! but if your working that hard, its because you NEED it....there is nothing better than an oversize boiler feed handpump


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## steamer (Oct 6, 2010)

I see you have cut off valves on the siteglass. That is good in case you bump the glass.
Otherwise known as trycocks. Yes I have three..high water, low water and in the middle....thankfully I have not needed to use them, but they work.What is the white U-shaped loop on the back of the boiler?
That's the exit from the economizer bundle going to the center steam drum. I left the inlet and outlet exposed so that I can bypass completely if required with out opening the casing.
You must be reusing the water in the bucket. Do you separate the oil, so that your boiler does not foam? 
I find an oil sorb pad in the hot well works well getting the incidental oil out of the "hotwell"

What is the single red valve on the left and the two red valves
The left one is the main feed stop valve from the engine driven pump, the other two are the feed stops for the injector and the hand pump.


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## steamer (Oct 6, 2010)

Looks like you have red, blue and green.
The two blue valves are the main steam and auxiliary steam stop valves
The other green valve down by the hand pump lever feeds water to the condenser which gets put into the hot well by the wet air pump

Where is you r main lubricator?
Right on top.....

What is the brass fitting in the steam line at the engine? A check valve?
(Oh, I see it now in the other photo, throttle.)

Where is your blowdown valve?
One on each mud drum ( three drum "A" configuration with two downcomers on each drum.  not real visible in the photo's

Are you using a drip oiling system for bearings and crosshead?
Drip for the crank mains...manual ( for now) for the cross heads.

What is the small pipe from the safety valve to the bottom of the boiler?
That's a drain from the safety valve. When it reseats it can leave water in the "scape" pipe.  This water drains to the bilge. Standard stuff


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## steamer (Oct 6, 2010)

Do you have to have a certification and safety tag of some sort?
No 
Approximate engine hp? approximately 2HP brake @ 600 rpmWheel size and number of blades? 16x 18" 3 bladeWhat is the pipe up the front of the stack? "scape" pipe
Running at 90 psi. What is your max. psi?  150psig
What is your pop-off pressure? 160 psig

Is that a "Bushforth" boiler, or just the gauge?  see previous note


What are the two gauges above the clock, vacuum? and ? see previous note


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## steamer (Oct 6, 2010)

Do you use a bypass valve on the low pressure cylinder when starting, or does it start ok by just applying steam to the high pressure cylinder?
No I find I don't need it if I leave the throttle full open and maneuver with the link as it keeps the receiver pressure up and she starts pretty regularly.

Hope this is not too many questions. NO
Is there some kind of limit on how many questions you can ask on an HMEM page?
Have I broken the limit? NO!  
I like launches and launch engines/boilers.  GOOD!
A friend of my Dad's had an old Navy launch with a Stanley 20 hp engine in the back. We use to ride up the river in it. Cool! ;D


Dave


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## steamer (Oct 6, 2010)

Inside on the HP, outside on the LP.
This minimizes the pressure on the valve rod packing and keeps the vacuum away from the valve rod packing. The only packing subject to vacuum is the LP piston rod.

RPM is high for steam, I use counter weights ( 600 rpm) All the rotating mass and 1/4 the reciprocating....due to 90 degree crank.

A water tube is REALLY sensitive to firing level....ONLY regret
2 gallons of water, 100 pounds /hour.......touchy!

Propane is heavier than air....wood doesn't collect in my bilge, explode and burn my children.....sorry for the graphic but...I hate propane for that reason.
Wood is pretty easy to deal with....and generally won't kill you if you make a mistake with it....can't run far in a 25 foot boat.

My reciever is a tubular construction...with a volume of 3X the HP cylinder volume, or equal to the LP at the point of cut-off.






Yes I did calculations as laid out by Peabody.

I use box links ( Navy style) They hold on to the oil better at high RPM.

I spent some time getting the reach rods flat on ahead and making them long, but not a lot of time. There is about .070" slip.

No real gravity or rod angularity comps other than make the rods as long as you can....always a good thing.

Suspended at center

Link suspension is dead center of radius of link rods.

.008" lead on HP and .016" on the LP.  No exhaust lap, not needed with small engines, like under5 hp.  3/4 cut off on both ends.

I tried for equal lead. its easier to measure that.

Design is 2D and only on paper....so not without great difficultly.


Dave


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## Maryak (Oct 6, 2010)

steamer  said:
			
		

> A water tube is REALLY sensitive to firing level....ONLY regret
> 2 gallons of water, 100 pounds /hour.......touchy!



IMHO all water tube boilers are the same, 30secs is about average before loss of water in the gauge glass results in the boiler following the flames up the funnel. A blown tube is also very spectacular and khaki overalls are a distinct advantage when one lets go.



> Propane is heavier than air....wood doesn't collect in my bilge, explode and burn my children.....sorry for the graphic but...I hate propane for that reason.
> Wood is pretty easy to deal with....and generally won't kill you if you make a mistake with it....can't run far in a 25 foot boat.
> 
> Dave



If you use gas in a boat even for cooking PLEASE fit gas detectors in your bilge or you may receive a hot free impromptu flying lesson.

Best Regards
Bob


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## steamer (Oct 6, 2010)

IMHO all water tube boilers are the same, 30secs is about average before loss of water in the gauge glass results in the boiler following the flames up the funnel. A blown tube is also very spectacular and khaki overalls are a distinct advantage when one lets go.


Sabino has 64 sq feet of grate and 960 sq feet of surface..burning coal..also touchy...56 gallons of water

When I say touchy...they are very sensitive to level of fuel bed, holes in the fuel bed, ect.  One section of open grate and you got no steam....cover it well, and you can't keep the safety on the seat....and it's rather "digital".... :


When your changing the boiler volume over 5 times an hour.....things move fast and furious.


I can see if I can scan the drawings...but they're D size and difficult.  At best it would take a while


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## steamer (Oct 6, 2010)

Pat,

Thanks for the interest and kind comments
Yes you trust your ears and cat like reflexes to the drain valves..... 8) having lots of dry steam is a definite plus! ;D

The blocks and the columns are castings from my patterns...everything else is bar stock.....The rods are billet 7075-T6 aluminum....keeps the weight down.

The base plate is also a 6061-T6 billet part....lots of "hogments".

Dave


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