Garden Railway Forum

I know I need to empty it "if its not being used for a while" but what happens if I'm running say once a week? Is it still worth doing it? Just conscious tipping my loco upside down for 5 mins whilst I agitating a piece of wire through the entrance hole to get the water to run out is prone to me slipping and I just wondered whether the act of emptying the boiler was possible more dangerous that leaving some in between weekly runs????

Views please (he ducks behind a suitably large item ready for having missed the blooming obvious! )

PS - those of you battery fans can smirk as you watch the responses to this one come in!

as i had the misfortune of finding out, a week is more than long enough for algae to start growing in the boiler.

im not sure what kind of danger algae poses to boilers as i found it was easy to clean out but its something to consider.

markoteal wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 1:19 pm
PS - those of you battery fans can smirk as you watch the responses to this one come in!

I gave up turning my battery powered locos upside down ages ago as it made no difference to them. Fitting a simple on/off switch does the trick!

RadioActiveGnome wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 2:19 pm as i had the misfortune of finding out, a week is more than long enough for algae to start growing in the boiler.

Your water source would be the issue here. Alage needs light to grow and a boiler is very dark.

As for leaving water in your boiler Mark, emptying it every week is a bit extreme. They don't do that on the real thing after all

If it is a brass boiler I would empty it after each session. However you are unlikely to come across one unless you have a fixation for early Merlins.
What I tend to do is use a syringe with a length of tube on it to suck out the majority of the water if the loco is not going to be used for a month or two. Otherwise I just leave the safety valve off.

What does leaving the safety valve off achieve out of interest? You mean you unscrew it and take it off?

What does leaving the safety valve off achieve out of interest? You mean you unscrew it and take it off?

Possibly very little, it is just a habit I have got into after having a had one seize into its hole a few years ago (brass boiler again). I also don't think that any seal should be left compressed if it can possibly be avoided. Some are removed if they are not hidden, if they are under a bonnet or dome they are just left loose.

Big Jim wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 6:15 pmIf it is a brass boiler I would empty it after each session. However you are unlikely to come across one unless you have a fixation for early Merlins.

With you all the way there Jim! Some, but not many, early Roundhouse locos had brass boilers. I have a Dylan with one, and I have had a couple of Pooters here for repair that had brass boilers. My Dylan does not get run very often so it is drained after every outing, and the safety valve is left off.

As for the rest, well my copper boiler fleet sits with water in the boilers from October through to April every year without any issues. It is always worth leaving valves, including the regulator, open to allow the O-rings and seals to not become stuck to their seats.

The one thing I have never understood is draining lubricators...

TonyW wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:17 pm The one thing I have never understood is draining lubricators...

Is this not so you can fill the lubricator fully with oil again after a run? I drain my Roundhouse locos after they cool down and they dribble water out of the drain plug.

I actually asked Roundhouse much the same question as the manual wasn't clear - the answer that came back was that there shouldn't be any problem if left for less than 3-4 months, but I didn't ask what it was that could go wrong!

TonyW - if you mean a displacement lubricator then the reasoning is quite straightforward: it works because water is denser than oil; a small proportion of the steam condenses as it passes through the top of the lubricator, sinks under the oil to the bottom and so the top level of the oil is pushed up and is carried by the steam into the steam circuit to lubricate the engine internally. If left without draining, therefore, the lubricator would become full of water with insufficient oil for the engine's needs, but if you then topped up the oil it would appear to be full when in actual fact there would only be a tiny quantity floating on a reservoir of water.

Thanks guys - good feedback

Sorry, I should have made myself clearer and wrote...

The one thing I cannot understand is draining lubricators of emulsified oil.

I'm with you there Tony, total waste of steam oil in my book. The oil is emulsified with the water immediately after a run, but by the next day it will have separated into clean water with oil on the top. Simple to then drain only the water, then top up with oil.
Regarding leaving water in boilers, I always wedge my boilers (fill them to the top to exclude air) and screw the filler cap on loosely, also leaving the regulator cracked as Tony mentioned.
Grant.

LNR wrote: Wed Nov 08, 2017 10:14 pm I'm with you there Tony, total waste of steam oil in my book. The oil is emulsified with the water immediately after a run, but by the next day it will have separated into clean water with oil on the top. Simple to then drain only the water, then top up with oil.

Presumably not much help if one plans on running again the same day?

Quite so, but I can get three consecutive runs from the lubricator before it needs refilling with oil. Quite enough for my days running.
Grant.