New project, coal fired live steam kit time

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artfull dodger
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by artfull dodger » Wed Mar 02, 2022 3:51 pm

The damping is not automatic, its just the ability to slightly open the firebox door a bit to allow cool air to put pulled in and not up thru the fire. I will get a picture of the grate later today, its a conventional bar type. The firebox is dry sided and quite thick. 2 large, 10mm internal diameter, flue tubes set low in the boiler barrel. Its a very different take on coal firing and one, from all the videos I see, works quite well. I will find out here soon enough. I never did find any bad reviews of this design/brand like we saw with Sabre Steam coal fired boilers. A friend of mine is hoping to get one of the DJB open cab saddle tank Hunslets that is coal fired.
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by IanT » Wed Mar 02, 2022 10:49 pm

That's very intersting AD - thank you.

I'd assumed the damping was automatic - partly because I'm sure I've seen a YouTube of a continental cousin (possibly German) running a 16mm coal fired engine with such a device fitted.
Haven't been able to find it at the moment though.

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IanT

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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by artfull dodger » Thu Mar 03, 2022 2:47 am

It might look automatic as the Riverdale is designed for it to be controlled via RC servo on the 3rd or 4th channel. Here is the basic engine completed for the most part. Once the missing safety valve and its mounting adapter arrive, I can fire her up for the first time.
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by artfull dodger » Tue Mar 08, 2022 11:06 pm

Successful first run on coal. Lots of detail work still to do, but she runs really nice. Lots to learn and practice with the coal firing before the fist public run next month.
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by Keith S » Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:08 am

A great success! It certainly didn't take you long to assemble that engine. It looks great and obviously you didn't find it too difficult to get a coal fire going. What kind of coal do you have where you live?

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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by artfull dodger » Wed Mar 09, 2022 11:40 pm

If I lived in the UK, I would seriously look into going to work for Roundhouse assembling locomotives. Assembling things is something I really enjoy doing. My job on the assembly line for Chrysler is very satisfying. Being on the autism spectrum, the routine and assembly part of my job is a perfect fit. Same goes for building live steam kits. I built my first Aster a year after I got out of high school, a Pannier tank. My only challenge is painting, while mine tend to look good, they are not nearly as hard wearing as the automotive grade paint jobs on factory built engines.
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by Keith S » Fri Mar 11, 2022 12:50 am

Do you bake your finishes in the oven? I too had trouble painting my locomotive at first: the finishes seemed rubbery, soft and easily damaged. Then I read Chris bird's article about painting locomotives and I tried putting painted metal parts in a low oven (like 170 of your American degrees) for half an hour or so. Using automotive enamels, the finish baked thusly looks harder and more glassy- like enamel. Also, and this is a big deal for me because I lack patience, you can handle it as soon as it's done baking. I find this technique is necessary anyway, because if you don't bake the finish, the locomotive will do it for you - but only on the hot bits.

I understand what you mean about assembling. The kit engines from Roundhouse are relaxing to assemble while challenging enough not to be monotonous. It would be a good job. In addition, I am a very picky person, so I enjoy doing the valve timing.

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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by artfull dodger » Fri Mar 11, 2022 3:46 am

Yes. I was very active in HO scale and into brass locomotives which are painted much the same way then baked in the oven at 170'F for an hour or so. I did the same with the Elke. Everything was baked in the oven. That helps, then leaving the model alone for a day or two helps as well as even with baking, the spray can paint takes some time to fully harden. This is where the automotive grade acrylic enamel paint that Roundhouse uses, which is mixed with better hardener, hold up better. Here is a video of Elke running today on my railway, its first outing on the rails.
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by siclick33 » Thu May 26, 2022 1:16 am

Look what I've found :D I genuinely can't believe it.

I don't actually have the kit yet (it is at my parent's house), so I don't know if it uses the same boiler jacket, but did you paint the boiler itself? If so what did you use to paint it (and the smokebox)?

Many thanks,

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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by Snailrail » Sun May 29, 2022 9:38 am

siclick33 wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 1:16 am Look what I've found :D I genuinely can't believe it.
It's a shame I hadn't been on the forum for quite a while or you might have got it sooner ! Maybe your ad in the Bulletin came along at just the right time to nudge me into clearing some dusty boxes from my shelf. I would have loved to build it but realistically I knew it might never happen. I'm glad I had what you wanted and you will get the chance to enjoy it.

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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by artfull dodger » Mon Jun 20, 2022 5:13 am

I painted the boiler and smokebox with high temp satin finish BBQ grill paint. I used regular paint with a built in primer on everything else. All parts including the boiler got baked in the oven at 175'F for one hour or a bit more to cure the paint. It was then left alone for a day or so before assembling things. You will get a few scratches in the boiler paint during assembly, I know I did. I just sprayed some of that grill paint into a cup and touched up the scratches with a small brush. I also blacked all the piping and the Regner whistle that is quite visible between the frames just below the boiler. The chassis builds up just like a typical Roundhouse other than some mods you have to make to the exhaust lines so they will go up into the exhaust nozzle. Take your time, read the assembly book from Riverdale a time or two before starting to do anything. Feel free to post questions or pvt message me if you get stuck on something. Mike
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by artfull dodger » Mon Jun 20, 2022 5:29 am

I would also, in hindsight, recommend a satin or matte finish for the model vs the high gloss that Roundhouse uses. Typical paint from a rattle can does not have enough hardener in it to deal with the grit and grime of a coal fired model. It scratches up very quickly when you clean it up, many times I just wash mine in the kitchen sink with dish soap and a soft brush, coal grime is like diamond dust, it will tear up the paint if you just wipe it down with a rag like a gas fired model. I can now see why many kit built Riverdales are done in a satin finish. I wish I had done mine this way in regards to the black cab, roof and boiler wrapper. I also added a wood floor to the cab as cleaning up dropped coal and just the dust from stoking will make a quick mess of a metal painted cab floor. My floor is starting to look real nice from the coal dust starting to "blacken" the wood a bit. I have also fitted a SSP Slomo to mine since RC is still a ways off. So far, I find it more relaxing to just run Elke in manual mode with the Slomo since I need to keep an eye on water and the coal fire. You also need to flush the running gear, ie axle bearings and motion with WD40 more often as the coal dust will get into the soft axle bearings and eat away at the metal axle like sand paper, same for wearing out the motion. They say to plan on 1 to 2 hours of clean up time per run. Mike

Newest video from todays run, now with a RH tender, gotta carry the coal someplace! The glass jar has a air tight lid that screws on, keeps the coal from absorbing moisture when the engine sits unrun for days on end. Narrow Planet did all the etched plates, they even do the Riverdale builders plate
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by Old Man Aaron » Mon Jun 20, 2022 5:04 pm

That's come out real nice! A mate of mine recently finished a gas-fired Billy with the George tender, really suits the loco.
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by artfull dodger » Mon Jun 20, 2022 8:43 pm

I put one of the new rear coal bunkers that Roundhouse offers on my factory built Billy, that also really makes the engine look more complete as a tank engine. The open cab back really needs either the bunker or the tender.
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by Keith S » Tue Jun 21, 2022 6:26 am

Mike, I admire the job you did building that "Billy". I think it looks great, and it's clear that you've got the aftermarket boiler steaming well. I hope you won't mind if I suggest you take a look at the valve timing. You can tell by the "pulsating" sound of the exhaust that there is a valve event just slightly out of time. It wouldn't take but a small adjustment to put it right.

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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by steamhostler » Fri Jun 24, 2022 12:03 am

artfull dodger wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 8:43 pm I put one of the new rear coal bunkers that Roundhouse offers on my factory built Billy, that also really makes the engine look more complete as a tank engine. The open cab back really needs either the bunker or the tender.
How do you coal fire the engine with a bunker blocking the firebox door?
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by artfull dodger » Fri Jun 24, 2022 6:25 am

The bunker is on my gas fired Billy, Elk has the tender and the typical open cab back that comes on the Billy. Roundhouse offers a coal bunker for the rear of the cab that fits the Billy, Katie and Lady Anne. I put one on my BIlly.
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Re: New project, coal fired live steam kit time

Post by Hydrostatic Dazza » Fri Jul 01, 2022 9:56 pm

Would it possible to get a picture of the grate and bar and and spacing dimensions ?
I am yet to continue my steam tests when the weather permits .
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