# pipe lagging in steam engines



## max corrigan

What do you normally use to lag copper pipes i seem to get a lot of water spitting from the exhaust i think maybe it is cooling in the feed tube, so lagging may help, or is there another reason? this was happening before i fitted a displacement oiler so i don't think it is that!
Regards Max....................


----------



## steamboatmodel

I have used cotton string painted after wrapped with white heat resistance paint.
Regards,
Gerald.


----------



## max corrigan

Gerald thanks for your reply, next question, what is cotton string, where would would i find it, DIY? and i presume you super glue the ends after carfully wrapping the string around the pipe! does that sound about right?
Many thanks for your reply
Regards Max.............


----------



## tel

You should be able to get it at just about any supermarket - it's the white stuff that you use for trussing chooks etc ready for the oven.


----------



## DickDastardly40

Max,

Poking my nose into where I have no specific expertise!  

Super glue releases at a particular temperature so might not be suitable for securing the ends of your wound string.

I would try a simple whipping similar to what can be done to ends of rope to prevent fraying:

http://www.geocities.com/allan_frbs/pioneeringscout.html
http://www.animatedknots.com/sailors/index.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

If done carefully you could hide the end behind the pipe so it cannot be seen and it also serves to keep the string tight.

If you want to get the string really tight and have room to rotate a lever you could knock yourself up a serving mallet to get extra tension:

http://www.swanseaheritage.net/article/gat.asp?ARTICLE_ID=372&PRIMARY_THEME_ID=2

Of use perhaps not, of interest perhaps maybe.

Al

PS I have had my pioneering badge and also pioneering instructor since 1981. ;D


----------



## HS93

I some times use PTFE tape over the top then it can be wiped clean, it also holds it on a bit better as when you glue the ends it can break down with extream heat. I have heard of people using tip ex over the top of the string as well .

Peter


----------



## max corrigan

Thanks everyone who replied there's a useable tip in each posting
Tel
 i guessed it was that sort of string suggested by Gerald i was thinkinking more in the terms of steak& kidney pudding type string (what you would use for the steaming) same thing as you are suggesting i think
DD 
i like the sailors whip (no nothing kinky) type of start and ending
HS93
I remember reading about PTFE tape somewhere but can't see how it would stay stuck at the end, but the tippex idea sound good, but unlike the PTFE could not be wiped clean
Thanks Again! shall start lagging as soon as get me chook (chicken)string
Regards Max...........


----------



## Dhow Nunda wallah

Have a word with your local butcher (not supermarket)
They use it for rolled roasts etc.

My local butcher sold me a roll at cost which I've used for decorative knotwork etc.
Cost me about $10
That was 20 years ago and I still have half a roll


----------



## Mainer

Interesting ideas. I've been thinking about lagging as a way to disguise copper tubing and turn it into something that looks more like an iron pipe steam line. For that I probably need some pseudo-asbestos.   The string wrap might do though. I've got some white heat-shrink tubing that would be a nice cover for it, but I'm not sure how authentic an appearance that would be. 

Anybody have ideas for "scale appearance" lagging, vs. practical effective lagging?


----------



## joe d

Hi

You might try raiding somebody's sewing box... get your hands on some some cotton "seam binding tape" (available in various widths in multiples of 1/4" here). I have installed some by first soaking it in white glue cut with water. Disclaimer: never used it on anything that has actually had steam running, so I have no idea how it would stand up to the heat. Can't show you a pic as the project that was on is no longer in my possession.

Cheers, Joe


----------



## steamboatmodel

I can still find cotton sting in some hardware stores, failing that at the price of steak the Butcher should throw in a part roll. I bought a pint of white Heat resistant paint at a Auto Engine custom shop some years back. I wrap the copper pipes with the string finishing it off with cotton thread. I then give it a couple of coats of the paint (which is fairly thick), it then resembles pipe wrapped with the asbestos covering (which has cotton wrap painted on it)
Regards,
Gerald


----------



## GWRdriver

I've used cotton or linen cord-wrapped piping for quite a few years. To secure the bitter ends I simply pull them tight into the last coil and dab the two with a bit of clear polyurethane varnish, wait for it to dry, and nip off the ends flush with a razor blade. That has held just fine and after it dries it's virtually invisible.


----------



## Cedge

Max
Not to burst any bubbles, but the water thing is pretty much part of the steam experience. The darned stuff keeps cooling and condensing despite all efforts to make it stay steam...(grin). The best lagging look I've found is twisted cotton twine.... it looks like tiny rope and simulates the old nautical style of insulation that was often used. It's also much more attractive than some of the simulations of asbestos that I've encountered. I usually stain mine with tea to give it the look of hemp rope.

Steve


----------



## steamer

I use the 1/16" diameter cotton chaulk line twine on my boat ( 160 psig) covered with a thinned layer of gypsum joint compound ( for fixing holes in your plaster walls...get a tub at the home center) put on with a disposable chip brush.  I then paint the pipe to make it somewhat water proof....looks good.

White for working steam or feed lines...though I painted the engine exhaust lagging green as it goes with the brass better.

My Lines run from 5/16" copper up to 1" copper.

For smaller lines, try smaller twine. I found that the line needs to be a good bit smaller than the pipe.

Dave


----------



## Mainer

The joint compound doesn't crack from the heat?


----------



## steamer

NOPE

Make sure it's good and dry before you paint it/

Rain can raise a little hell with it sometimes....as well as leaks....but it's easy to repair.






Dave


----------



## sunworksco

You can use Kevlar string, too.
It can even be found with a stainless-steel inner core.
Comes in custom colors, as well.
Comes in a boot shoestring or a pipe sleeve.
You can then use shrink tube over the Kevlar wrap.
http://www.cansewspecialops.com/kevlar_thread.aspx
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...page=1&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=99&ty=58

Regards,
Giovanni


----------



## steamer

Yes very possible to use...but not really necessary...

All the steam pipes on my boat at 160 psi get no hotter than 377 F. cotton string and gypsum covered in paint do hold up very well.....putting it on can be theraputic ;D

Cheap as dirt too.

Dave


----------



## sunworksco

You can also buy Nomex insulation sleeves.
These slide on very easy.
http://www.sleeveit.co.uk/products/2_ara-braid_x.php
Regards,
Giovanni 

View attachment Sleeve_It_Ara-Braid.pdf


----------



## mach632

Hi folks after the wrap i crazy glue then paint with white let dry,AND MAKE STEAM THE PAINT HOLDS EVERYTHING QUITE NICE HAVE FUN OK ANDY


----------



## fcheslop

Hi,I also use cotton string and a little pva glue then paint them and have never had any real problems once they get dirty just re do them. Hi mach632 hows the boat builds
Best wishes Frazer


----------



## G_N_R

I go along with Steamer's theraputic idea. Thm:


----------



## steamer

G_N_R  said:
			
		

> I go along with Steamer's theraputic idea. Thm:



Isn't it though! ;D

Dave


----------



## PaulCasey2012

Here in the UK we have a store called Hobbycraft and they sell candle wick in rolls. It has a flat woven profile and looks just like asbestos lagging, and as an added bonus they do a version with a fine wire woven in so it stays in place.


----------



## davedfsme

Any electrical shop that rewinds electric motors will have a wide variety of fiberglass sleeving.  You might find a size that will slip over your pipework, or just wrap your pipe to simulate asbestos lagging.  If you wrap on more than one layer for thicker insulation, you might find it helpful to alternate directions, left to right.  The overlapping helix in the opposite direction to the first helps keep it from unraveling, and it won't tend to "bunch" as much when you have to lag around a bend.   Whip the ends right up close to a fitting after wrapping your pipe work, and you can trim off the excess sleeving with a sharp knife close to the whipping.  Now you can get union nuts and such undone with out disturbing the lagging.

Look at the uncoated sleeving here http://www.varflex.com/index.html for example.  No interest in this company, I just remembered their name from some of the spools at the shop!

The stuff isn't as cheap as cotton, but is practically impervious to heat, moisture, mildew, rot etc, and is fairly abrasion resistant too.  You can finish it with paint, mud, varnish or what-have-you, but keep in mind that the air between the fibers is your insulation.  Try not to saturate the stuff, just coat the outside.

DJD


----------

