Garden Railway Forum

Does anyone know of a boiler for them that keeps the flame on the inside as opposed to being under the boiler?

From what I have gathered mamods look like they caught on fire over time from the fuel tabs burning outside the boiler.

Thanks y'all!

you mean an internally fired boiler?

no thats never been done for mamods, there to small

Seriously?

Shoot. So do Regners or any other low price steamers have boilers like this?

All Regner locomotives apart from their micro range are internally fired.

If you had the ability to build a boiler, I am sure the boiler for Dave Watkins' "Brick" would be suitable...

http://www.16mm.org.uk/newsite/files/default.html

Download file named "Boiler"

The duration of the run would of course be reduced due to the extra space taken up by the flue tube running through the boiler.

Does using the gas burner slow the process of the engine turning into barbecue looking then?

nikkor:99244 wrote:Does using the gas burner slow the process of the engine turning into barbecue looking then?

That should never happen so long as the burners not higher than it should, I have pot boilers over 20 years old that look as good as the day they where made

Internally fired boilers show almost no sign of being fired repeatedly. I have seen that type of boiler used on a mamod before but as Jim says you would have to make it yourself. The fuel tablets do leave the boiler looking a mess over time however you can buy a gas burner that sits in the same place as the tablet burner and will leave very little visible scorching to the top of the boiler. A meths burner is also avaliable but will create a tiny amount of soot build up but this will take some time.

DLRdan:99251 wrote:Internally fired boilers show almost no sign of being fired repeatedly. I have seen that type of boiler used on a mamod before but as Jim says you would have to make it yourself. The fuel tablets do leave the boiler looking a mess over time however you can buy a gas burner that sits in the same place as the tablet burner and will leave very little visible scorching to the top of the boiler. A meths burner is also avaliable but will create a tiny amount of soot build up but this will take some time.

Ad be easy to clean off

Ah well... that's good, how long does a mamod last before it needs paint and rebuild?

They are not too small but cost too much compared with the price of the loco to build, who would pay £200 or more for a boiler and gas tank for a loco that you can buy used for less than half that.

What would you suggest then?

I do have a soft spot for Mamods I wont lie.

nikkor:99263 wrote:Ah well... that's good, how long does a mamod last before it needs paint and rebuild?

Can't say, depends how its ram and maintained

Assuming well maintained and ran regularly on weekends for about three hours total.

nikkor:99270 wrote:Assuming well maintained and ran regularly on weekends for about three hours total.

It really is impossible to say, 2 people could look at a locos paintjob one could think its fine the other could think it needs a repaint.

But if painted properly it should last many years, I haven't seen many locos repainted because of heat damage, most get repainted after a longtime because the paint has faded or become scuffed or chipped over the years

Alright, what kind of maintenance do you do on them?

nikkor:99276 wrote:Alright, what kind of maintenance do you do on them?

You mean for their paintwork?

Just given them a wipe down after they cool down from a run, don't let dirt build up.

The thing to giving the paintwork a long life is to get it right when you actually do the painting, using the right paints and getting the dry and baking time right

No no, I mean mechanical.

nikkor:99279 wrote:No no, I mean mechanical.

Oh basic maintenance is mostly common sense stuff, use steam oil in the steamline, mechanical oil for the motion, use pure water with no minerals in it so the boiler doesn't suffer buildup.

Clean the oil from the motion often with a light solvent so it doesn't collect grit and become a grinding paste.
Keep an eye on your gaskets and 0 rings and replace them when they perish.

D these little jobs often and it should outlast you