1/3 Scale Case Steam engine

[chrsbrbnk]

did you fire it up yesterday ? today is supposed to be pretty mild also Mine takes roughly an hour to get enough steam to drag itself around and about a half hour from fires out to steam pressure low enough walk away from the engine and about an another hour to cool enough to pack it up. out door temp ought to play in to it

 

[Mike N]

did you fire it up yesterday ? today is supposed to be pretty mild also Mine takes roughly an hour to get enough steam to drag itself around and about a half hour from fires out to steam pressure low enough walk away from the engine and about an another hour to cool enough to pack it up. out door temp ought to play in to it

I tried yesterday, however my propane burner doesn't get hot enough. I drilled out the orfise and now I finally have about 20psi after 2 hrs. Still need more btu's I guess! May need to get the dry oak firewood out. I haven't moved the tractor outside yet.

 

[Mike N]

Mike N. I hope I didn't offend with my amateur advice, but I know that experts and amateurs all read these threads. As a pilot you are in the top league of people trained to follow the process. So I'm sure you'll be more disciplined than I am keeping a log.
Enjoy steaming your beautiful engine!
K2

You did not offend me. I need all the help I can get. My propane burner doesn't get hot enough, after 2-1/2 hrs. I only have 22psi of pressure. I need more btu's I guess!

 

[Mike N]

Just watch out when testing the steam blower. Gas blowlamps can be extinguished by the draught of air, so you quickly fill the boiler with gas air mixture... highly explosive if an ignition source appears....
WHOOF!!
K2

Yes, that would be bad.
I'm using a bbq grill burner. Not enough heat.

 

[Mike N]

First Steam Up 3/7/2021
Video Link
https://photos.app.goo.gl/C6VQwDgWc4qAXEjj9
I have a few leaks to fix. My preheater leaks exhaust steam from the engine. I need to seal this up. Also the packing on my mechanical water feed pump leaks. Otherwise I am very pleased with the way it runs. I ran the pressure up to 150psi to test the pop-off valve, worked perfect. I ended up using my weed burner torch to get enough heat to get good pressure.

 

[Mike N]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5BoWZLtuM6hGNMESA

 

[a41capt]

That’s beautiful. Congratulations on one hell of a build!!!

John W

 

[chrsbrbnk]

looks awesome !! amazing how loud they are what were you thinking of for the seat arrangement? I copied Lawrence Defoe's design so its removable for photo shoots and maintenance other people put it on the waterwagon but thats pretty far back from the throttles ect. having the seat on the engine makes high effort things like plowing or towing houses easier.

 

[Cymro77]

Awesome! Congratulations/

 

[Mike N]

looks awesome !! amazing how loud they are what were you thinking of for the seat arrangement? I copied Lawrence Defoe's design so its removable for photo shoots and maintenance other people put it on the waterwagon but thats pretty far back from the throttles ect. having the seat on the engine makes high effort things like plowing or towing houses easier.

I found a really nice cast iron seat at my wife's uncle's aution sale. I made a removable bracket the fits under the hitch mount, I need to get the height figured out, & where to hang my feet??

 

[cl350rr]

Really nice build, congratulations

 

[Mike N]

This is how I plan on keeping my boiler dried out!

 

[chrsbrbnk]

I usually put one in the deck between the bunkers and let the other kinda drag along but after a couple of close encounters with running over parts of my boot I 'm thinking of reconsidering had to back off the boot one time those little cleats really grip!

 

[Mike N]

How soon can the boiler water be drained after steam-up? I'm sure it isn't a good idea to shock cool the boiler. Once the pressure drops to zero the temp should be less than boiling temp.

 

[chrsbrbnk]

This is a whole big debate I usually empty out the firebox. run th engine with the pump pumping to keep the water level up since the water consumption goes up with low steam pressure this also cools the boiler, wait until its down to about 5 or a little less psi the use the blow down vlv to help blow out crud from the water legs. normally we have steamed as long as possible on the day and need to get the thing cooled down reasonable fast takes like a half hour or more to get it cool enough not to melt the ratchet straps . I have a friend who shall remain nameless who drove his 1/2 scale case up on to the trailer under steam then chained it down, closed all the dampers and doors ect. and drove off down the highway turns out a 60 mph wind can really stoke the fires even though thought they we out. this set fire to the planks on the trailer bed he notices all this smoke rolling off the trailer pulls over and drains the bunkers on the fire. crisis averted

 

[Mike N]

I built a Buzz Saw to use with my Steam Engine. 20" dia. blade.
Hopefully I have enough HP to cut off some sticks!

 

[DavidLloyd2]

I built a Saw Mill for my 3in model Case T/E runs good,

DavidLloyd2

 

[Mike N]

I built a Saw Mill for my 3in model Case T/E runs good,

DavidLloyd2

Wow, It really works great!
I thought about making a small bandsaw mill someday. I have a Woodmizer LT-15.

 

[Steamchick]

Nice and slow for the camera, but you need to saw faster to use the steam and not have the safety lifting all the time. I like the balance of the indexer working on the cutting stroke and slipping to the next tooth for the return stroke of the saw blade. A proper job there! Very clever how you managed to turn the picture around the right way... I thought being in NZ you would be all upside-down when viewed from the UK. Do you have some special software to do that?
Ignore me... many do...
K2

 

[ajoeiam]

I built a Saw Mill for my 3in model Case T/E runs good,

DavidLloyd2

Very interesting.
Do you have drawings for that sawmill?