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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 6:16 pm
by Bill/Rubery
Here ...hopefully is the requested picture of the underneath of my Mark Two Brunel (the one with the lowered gearing)
Image Note the BURNER in the centre of the boiler 'mouth' and that wheel very close to the burner metal frame!

Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 7:38 am
by mikewakefielduk@btinterne
Thanks for that Bill. As you can see, if I arrange  my Brunel in the same way as your photo, my burner appears to be just about where yours is.

Which still leaves open the question of how Dave Kirby in his article managed to centralise his burner under the boiler without it fouling the wheels. As we're told his line is 32mm the only way I can think he's done it is to have a different shaped burner.

I suppose the sensible thing would be to email him and ask rather than speculate.

Mike
Image

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 6:27 pm
by Bill/Rubery
Way back in the first message of this epic I asked about the exhaust pipe on my Brunel and that it appeared a loose fit. You....Mike suggested soldering the pipe in. Soldering is no problem with me but I am not sure about soldering Copper pipe to Brass and what flux to use. I also don't want any problems with the engine block caused by the gas gun HEAT for heating the joint. I am currently debating adding a 'steadying' bracket to hold the pipe rigid and using Milliput to seal the join of the engine block/exhaust join. There is now a tight fit of the exhaust pipe as the pipe has another route to travel....to a on board condenser....

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 8:26 pm
by mikewakefielduk@btinterne
Although I used solder to hold the exhaust steam pipe to the cylinder block, the joint doesn't have to be steam tight so you could use some sort of sealant instead or even tap a thread in the block and screw in some kind of union.

I took the cylinder block off when I soldered my steam pipe in place. Common multi-core soft solder will do, you don't need silver solder.

and yes, a bracket is a good idea.


Mike

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 12:03 am
by Chris Cairns
On my William II & Brunel piston valve blocks I soft soldered a brass screw into the 2nd exhaust hole to block them. The exhaust tubing that Mamod supplied for my Brunel is a tight fit but I am also considering the use of a condenser/oil trap.

I'd be wary of tapping a thread and fitting something into the exhaust hole. Alan Dunster (the original Mr Dream Steam) tried that with a Mamod Golden Jubilee but the resultant exhaust back pressure caused some poor running - presumably a factor of the internal diameter/bore of the fitting/tubing being used.

Chris Cairns

Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 12:05 am
by Bill/Rubery
I had a steam up recently with my Brunel conversion. I found that as usual the gas adjustment is spot on and I don't get the flaring and flame creep like I did on the Mark 1 engine, The tubing to the condenser worked well however due to a boob on my part all the steam came out of the condenser base along with the water/oil mix!....(I weep)...A bit of alteration work on the condenser to get a steam plume arising into the air is now going through the works. I will send a picture in of the (hopefully) full steam ahead engine in due course....Happy Christmas to all you fumblers.... like ME!

Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 1:14 pm
by Chris Cairns
Got my Xmas present from the 16mm NGM Association with delivery of SMT 151 & Bulletin today.

Nice to see Mike Wakefield's excellent article on the Brunel lubricator has made it into print.

Chris Cairns

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 12:28 pm
by Bill/Rubery
Yes indeed, congrats to Mike on that article about the Brunel lubricator in SMT though the text was a bit above me! I wonder when Mamod will introduce a replacement lubricator? A question....does water act as a 'oil' as the Mamod lubricator runs out of oil? I ask as my Brunel has a 'run time' like my old 'Millie'!

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 5:12 pm
by Chris Cairns
My understanding is that the old Mamod oscillating cylinders which had plain pistons (no oil ring(s) or 'O' ring) just relied on the wet steam as a lubricant, but as we know they could wear out quite quickly if no piston oiling regime was adopted or a displacement/dead-leg lubricator fitted.

With the Brunel cylinders you have an 'O' ring on the piston, an 'O' ring on the piston rod, and a separate piston valve all relying on adequate lubrication. On my Brunel (seems to be a one-off Friday Afternoon Car) it will slow down & stop when the oil has been used yet there is still steam pressure available. Emptying the water out & filling the lubricator up again sees it off on its way again. The use of a flywheel on the Brunel (and the stationary & mobile engines fitted with these piston valve cylinders) generally seems to overcome this stiffness due to lack of lubrication whilst running despite the obvious steam leaks as clearly displayed in some YouTube videos.
Bill/Rubery wrote:I wonder when Mamod will introduce a replacement lubricator?
Presumably if there has not been sufficient feedback from Brunel owners about this apparent lack of lubrication (I know that Mike Wakefield has discussed it with Peter Johnston) then there is no perceived need to correct it. Mike's solution would not easily work with the Mark II's boiler without a redesign (the regulator housing would need to be reversed).

I have been fortunate in being provided with one of Mike's modified lubricators to fit to my Mark I Version 2 Brunel, but it will need to wait for a convenient slot in my workshop schedule as there is a lot of work to be done here (complete de-rivet/stripdown to iron out any residual stiffness, raise & re-orientate the boiler, and form a new steam pipe). Given its limited running potential (it is now out of gauge for our indoor 45mm layout as the high cylinder fouls a scenic arch) this is another low priority project.

Chris Cairns
(edit to correct grammar)

Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 10:01 pm
by TTHLRMatt
Does anyone know the thread used on the regulator valve? I know its the same as the gas valve.

Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 5:18 am
by Chris Cairns
TTHLRMatt wrote:Does anyone know the thread used on the regulator valve? I know its the same as the gas valve.
As far as we know Mamod have used 2 different types of regulator valves on the Brunel boiler, one being the standard gas valve at that time, the other having a larger diameter shaft (like mine).

Best to contact Mamod for the definitive answer. They do seem to be replying to E-mails at present (although they are related to the Thomas Telford development) otherwise give them a phone and ask for Peter Johnston, their designer. Contact details already discussed on Page 2 here - http://gardenrails.myfreeforum.org/ftop ... asc-15.php

Chris Cairns

Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 10:02 pm
by mikewakefielduk@btinterne
I believe Mamod are now closed until the first full week of the New Year.

As for the thread, Mamod have used a variety of sizes, mainly imperial but with the odd Metric one thrown in for good measure (for example, the Telford regulator seems to be M3 x 0.35).

I'll take the regulator out of my Brunel tomorrow and see if I can match the thread to a thread gauge. Unfortunately I only have gauges for metric and BA threads, so if its something else I won't be able to help.

Mike

Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2014 11:37 am
by mikewakefielduk@btinterne
Both the regulator and the gas valve on my Brunel are threaded 6 BA. Of course, this doesn't mean that other Brunels are the same as Mamod have a policy of "constant improvement" which some might cynically rephrase as "what we have a surplus of".

Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:22 pm
by Bill/Rubery
Running my Brunel this afternoon to see if my condenser chimney works alright (it does)...made me wonder what that short bit is that pops up and down on top of the Mamod engine??? when the engine is running....

Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:33 am
by mikewakefielduk@btinterne
Its the end of the piston valve that controls the inlet and outlet of steam to and from the cylinder.

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 10:56 pm
by Bill/Rubery
Nearly finished the 7/8" scale conversion of my Brunel. A question, I wonder why there is the 'Blow-down' valve fitted? I fill the boiler up with my sringe (spelt wrong?) and then withdraw 30 ml. for steam space. At the end of the run I turn the loco upside down and shake out the water out of the boiler Am I doing things in such a way to make the above valve redundant??

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 6:22 am
by mikewakefielduk@btinterne
I too have wondered why Mamod fitted the blow down as it sticks out to the side and has a habit of catching things. I guess the best use for it is to open the valve immediately you've finished steaming for the day to ensure there's no danger of steam oil being sucked back into the boiler as everything cools down.

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 6:06 pm
by Chris Cairns
Bill/Rubery wrote:I wonder why there is the 'Blow-down' valve fitted?
mikewakefielduk@btinterne wrote:I too have wondered why Mamod fitted the blow down
It is actually the sight glass drain valve and was one of the quoted sales improvements for the Mark 1 Version 2 model, along with the spare boiler insert.

Mamod had to find a new supplier for their sight glass fittings after the initial production of the prototypes & the Mark 1 Version 1 models, so ended up with this version fitted with the drain valve. As you will probably be aware sight glass's on many of our model locomotives are notoriously inaccurate so these drain valves are beneficial in trying to work out the correct boiler water level. The Regner water top up valve is fitted by a banjo bolt fitting into the top of their sight glass.

On larger models & the full size versions the sight glass would also have cut off valves fitted top & bottom primarily to safely cut off the escaping steam in the event of a sight glass tube failure.

Chris Cairns