Roundhouse Billy Water Top Up Valve

Dannypenguin · Post by **Dannypenguin** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:44 am

Hi all,

I have a customer that would like a Roundhouse Billy but would also like a water top up valve - the engine obviously does not come with one however does anyone have one fitted/know someone that has one fitted and how it was done? I would guess you'd need to fit a water gauge too?

Any help appreciated.

Dan

mikewakefielduk@btinterne · Post by **mikewakefielduk@btinterne** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 1:34 pm

It would be hard to fit a sight gauge as there aren't the necessary openings on a Billy's boiler backplate. It obviously could be done but wouldn't be easy.

One alternative would be to purchase a Silver Lady boiler from Roundhouse as I believe the Lady Anne and Billy have the same boilers. Expensive though.

Personally I wouldn't bother with a sight gauge as they're rarely accurate. I always stop my loco after a run and let it cool down for a bit before refilling with gas and water, whatever the sight glass shows.

A top-up valve is easily purchased from Roundhouse for a few quid but you'd have to guess how much water to put in so there'd always be a possibility of the boiler either running dry or over filling.

TonyW · Post by **TonyW** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 3:00 pm

mikewakefielduk@btinterne:118462 wrote:... but you'd have to guess how much water to put in so they'd always be a possibility of the boiler either running dry or over filling.

Pumping water in until the pressure gauge goes down to zero has worked for me for many years and gives the loco a good shot of water without filling it to the top.

DLRdan · Post by **DLRdan** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 3:50 pm

I use the same method as Tony, works well for me.

Billy uses the safety valve to fill the boiler, other engines have a separate filler plug which is normally replaced with the top-up valve. It might be possible to use the basic series system which fits on the steam turret and points out the side of cab. You would have to check that it won't interfere with the gas tank. It might be best to give phone Roundhouse and just ask.

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 5:19 pm

Billy uses a Type 2 boiler (filler bushing at the front) whereas Lady Anne uses a Type 1 boiler (filler bushing near the centre).

The Basic Series Water Top Up uses a different steam turret. Type 2 boiler does not have a removable steam turret, only a boiler blanking plug (which could be replaced with a goodall type filler valve).

TonyW wrote:Pumping water in until the pressure gauge goes down to zero has worked for me for many years and gives the loco a good shot of water without filling it to the top.

You've posted this before Tony, and I've adopted a modified version, normally using a set number of pumps. Depending on the loco (or type or position of the filler valve), the pressure does not always go to zero - I was actually topping up my Lumber Jack at Peterborough when water started being pumped out of the safety valve, with pressure just below 1 Bar - fortunately I managed to clear the priming before it emerged from behind the layout!

Chris Cairns

mikewakefielduk@btinterne · Post by **mikewakefielduk@btinterne** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 5:21 pm

Billy uses the safety valve to fill the boiler, other engines have a separate filler plug which is normally replaced with the top-up valve

The later Billy have a separate safety valve and water filler.

mikewakefielduk@btinterne · Post by **mikewakefielduk@btinterne** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 5:47 pm

The later Billy (and Lady Anne - they use the same boiler)

I'm going to correct myself. This is based on the early Lady Anne (1998) and later Billy (2009) that I've had.

Both locos have boilers with the same physical dimensions but where the Lady Anne has to be filled through the safety valve (the brass dome is held on with a strap), the Billy has a separate filler.

I believe the early Billy and Lady Anne had identical boilers and needed to be filled through the safety valve.

Later Billy and Lady Anne had separate fillers and safety valves.

So its only the early locos that shared the same boiler.

DLRdan · Post by **DLRdan** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 7:08 pm

mikewakefielduk@btinterne:118469 wrote:
the Billy has a separate filler.

Can you tell me where this filler is located ? The instructions for Billy from the Roundhouse website say that it is filled through the safety valve bush. Is this no longer the case ?

Chris, I had forgot that the turret on the classic series was soldered to the boiler. As Chris has said, swapping the blanking plug for the top up valve should be an easy process.

mikewakefielduk@btinterne · Post by **mikewakefielduk@btinterne** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 7:24 pm

Can you tell me where this filler is located ?

The blanking plug on the top of the turret if you've got one. Sure you can fill it through the safety valve instead, but why bother? I'd just put down the safety valve cover and forget where I'd put it.

I don't know, but suspect, that Roundhouse instructions are phrased as they are to cover all Billy boilers, early or late.

Boustrophedon · Post by **Boustrophedon** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 8:24 pm

I have the same eed on my Katie. What is the screw thread on the filler cap?

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 9:20 pm

What Mike is calling here as the Billy water filler plug is still referred to by Roundhouse as a boiler blanking plug in the kit manuals/loco handbooks (one of the problems with the online Roundhouse manuals is they are undated).

On my 2004 Billy kit it is sealed by a fibre washer and I had to nip it up slightly to stop a weep when I first fired up the boiler, so it cannot be used as a filler plug (unless I replace the fibre washer with the appropriate 'O' ring). On my 2008 Katie kit it is sealed by an 'O' ring so could be used as a filler plug, although you need to be more vigilant with the initial full boiler level before removing the 30 mls.

Boustrophedon wrote:What is the screw thread on the filler cap?

The boiler blanking plug is where the safety valve is fitted when the Type 1 boiler is used in the Lady Anne, so is 5/16" x 32ME.

Chris Cairns

mikewakefielduk@btinterne · Post by **mikewakefielduk@btinterne** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:45 pm

Sorry, meant to type "plug" but it ended up as "plate", have corrected it.

My 2009 kit Billy assembly instructions say:

"BOILER BLANKING PLUG
The boiler blanking plug is screwed into the turret at the top rear of the boiler. This makes use of a ‘O’ ring and needs only to be finger tight."

whereas the online Katie instructions say:

"BOILER BLANKING PLUG
The boiler blanking plug is screwed into the turret at the top rear of the boiler. This makes use of a ‘O’ ring and needs only to be tight enough to stop steam escaping. Use a pair of pliers or a suitable spanner."

Finger tight v spanner?? No idea why.

Dannypenguin · Post by **Dannypenguin** » Sat Jun 11, 2016 9:14 am

Thanks all for the responses. Much appreciated. I'm usually okay on this sort of stuff but this question threw me slightly so I promised I would research the matter.

So (and Mike please tell me if its not okay to utilise your image), as far as I can see (and DLRdan has mentioned it above), a Goodall valve could be fitted to the rear water filling plug/boiler blanking plug, circled below? If so, where could one of appropriate size and thread be sourced?

The customer could still access the boiler via the saftey valve plug to initally fill with the syringe.

Ringing Roundhouse is on the cards, I just wondered if anyone here had done it first. :)

DLRdan · Post by **DLRdan** » Sat Jun 11, 2016 9:39 am

You can get one the correct size from here.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Goodall-type- ... nIIcm6QINA

It even mentions the Roundhouse cab in the drop down list.

Dannypenguin · Post by **Dannypenguin** » Sat Jun 11, 2016 11:39 am

Excellent thanks very much for that Dan, very useful.

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Roundhouse Billy Water Top Up Valve

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