Ragleth issues

[Whosk]

My Accucraft Ragleth has been an excellent purchase for my first engine, it does everything expected of it, but I have a couple of issues:-
- It seems to pump out an extraordinary amount of oil, the area under the smokebox is saturated with oil at the end of a run, I have inserted a small piece of wire into the steam lines in the lubricator to reduce the oil consumption but it hasn't made a great deal of difference, obviously it uses all the oil.
- The other is a bit perculiar in that it intermittently develops a mind of its own and runs on uncontrolled (it has RCS RC), it seems to be tied in with max steam pressure, a mate has had the same problem, has anybody else experienced this?

Wayne

[Big Jim]

They can be quite oily, what grade steam oil are you using? It should be 460 grade thick stuff, not 220.

[Lonsdaler]

I have the same issue with my Ragleth regarding the 'oily' running. I'm using the Accucraft recommended 460 steam oil. The radio in mine is a Spektrum DX4e, and has been faultless. It sounds as though you are losing signal between Tx and Rx.
Somewhere, someone has mentioned an issue with Rx overheating - this may tie in with your problem at full pressure? Can you move the Rx, or provide some form of heat insulation? HTH

[steamie1]

Oil consumption is good, and normal.

On the R/C glitching: Check the servos are not fluttering with dirty pots. They should be steady waiting for command. As it is only the later area of the run, it seems like Rx problems. Is the switch somewhere damp too? Often shops install the R/C equipment and it is down to the individual as to how well it has all been placed and what radio gear is used.
A good switch in a dry place is important. Also the aerial should be routed right. If there are two they should be at 90degrees to each other. Eneloop batteries are good well shielded from heat. On this loco they should be in the box underneath the cab between the frames. Hitech HS81mg servos are good. These need to be well caged in with adjustable clevises, set up so the servo does not stall at its furthest travel point. R/C is as good as the sum total the weakest link in one part will give problems.

[Chris Cairns]

Oil - Compared to a full size steam locomotive it amazes me just how much oil we use in our 16mm scale locomotives. Accucraft's did have a problem with too large a hole in the steam pipe going through the lubricator (DJB Engineering used to supply a metered valve lubricator modification with their coal fired Edrig kits) but it was corrected by the time of the Ragleth's production. Worth checking that the exhaust pipe is still secure in the reverser piston valve block. Both my Edrig's & Ragleth's have worked loose and a fellow enthusiast's Ragleth suffered from the same problem at a recent exhibition. I include running around the inside of the smokebox and front end of the boiler with WD40 soaked cotton buds to remove the excess steam oil (otherwise it has a habit of burning off due to the adjacent poker burner) in my post run disposal.

It is interesting the variations in 460 steam oil supplied. Most of the 460 I've used is the same dark yellow-ish colour as the Morris Lubricants Compound Steam Cylinder Oil 460 we use in our full size steam locomotive. However my Cheddar/GRS tram threw a wobbly with steam leaking past the cylinders recently which was finally resolved when I used a bottle of Cheddar Models 460 steam oil which is the darker treacle colour. Be nice to know what & why are the differences?

Loss of Control - Although it may be radio control related as it happens at high pressures I would recommend checking the valve timing. Accucraft's are given a run round a test track in the Chinese factory but obviously not to the same extent as the Roundhouse locomotives. I had to adjust the reverser piston valve & one cylinder's piston valve timing on my new Ragleth. Here are the simple instructions from Tag Gorton.

Lay your locomotive on its side. Locate the reverser piston valve in the centre below the smokebox. It will have a scribed ring around the stainless steel piston rod.
Put the locomotive into reverse gear. As you do this the scribed line will just disappear into its steam chest. If it still shows, or goes in significantly more, then adjust using the locknuts on the shaft ? These may well be loose hence change in performance.

Once this is complete, place locomotive starboard side down. Turn the wheels anti clockwise as if running forward. As the main axle cranks reach 6 o'clock the scribed lines on the valve rod above the cylinder should just disappear into the steam chest. Adjust if required using the lock nuts.

Repeat for starboard side. One of these three adjustments you will probably find have loosened off hence drop in performance.

Your loco is now timed.

Known 2.4GHZ radio control problems Some owners had problems with Futaba receivers losing their bind on Roundhouse locomotives when hot. Some owners have had problems with Planet receivers failing to bind when hot - the solution here is to bind the receiver prior to lighting the gas burner. Some servo glitching reported using Hitec HS82-MG in the throttle channel of Orange RX R615X receivers.

I'm using an Orange RX R610 receiver in my Ragleth (single channel on the reverser), and an Orange RX R615 receiver in my Cheddar/GRS tram (single channel on the combined regulator/reverser valve) and my Edrig (currently two channels but considering changing to single channel due to lack of space onboard for a standard 4 x AA battery box). I've not suffered any radio control related problem to date with these set-ups. The R615/R615X receivers have a separate onboard red LED which will record when the signal has been lost by the appropriate number of flashes (i.e. no flashes means no loss of signal, one flash means one loss of signal, two flashes means two losses of signal, etc.). From what I've read online the RCS DSM2-EM receiver (Deltang Rx 102) LED only flashes during the signal loss, otherwise the LED is steady during perfect reception.

Chris Cairns

[Whosk]

Thanks for all the reply's, the oil was supplied by a local dealer when I bought my Ragleth, so what it is is unknown, I can only trust that the dealer knows his stuff - he is a trusted agent here in Oz.
The RC is the new RCS TX2 radio (and it is superb), my cab is an open affair at this stage and I can see my throttle lever quite clearly, it doesn't glinch (although it has but not with this problem- I thought 2.4 is glinch free??).
But I think Chris might be onto something, I just checked the settings and it is quite a way out, I shall adjust it and have another steam up - any excuse for a run, and play with the new whistle!
All my fittings are tight so I might just have to live with the oil problem, the biggest issue is smoke and smell when it is burning of the hot motion.

Wayne

[jabsteam]

One oil consumption fix I've done on my Accucraft locos is taking a piece of K&S 9/16" brass tubing, cutting a 1/2" section off it, slitting that section lengthwise, then installing it down inside the lubricator just low enough to clear the top plug.
You adjust it by turning the slit closer or farther from the feed tube with the oil hole in it at the top of the lubricator. the closer the slit to the tube hole, the more oil used. It takes some fiddling to get it adjusted corrected to your liking.
CAUTION: Too little oil is BAD for the piston valves, as they have no rings and rely on a film of oil to seal themselves.

[Chris Cairns]

Having read your tip in another online Forum I tried it in my Edrig's lubricator but it did not work.



At the bottom of the threaded portion there is a lip that extends into the lubricator centre. I do not have access to the right size metric tap and trying to file that lip did not work either. So I could not get the brass tubing right up against the steam pipe which is just below & behind that lip.

On the 3rd attempt I finally found the right size diameter wire which reduces the oversize hole small enough to still supply enough steam oil but not as much as before when it was running around with a permanent blue smoke exhaust.

Chris Cairns

[mikewakefielduk@btinterne]

I've had my Ragleth from new. It was initially fitted with a single channel R/C but I've recently upgraded it to two channels. I've sited the second servo in the cab as the box underneath was getting a bit crowded with the rechargeable battery pack and the receiver.

The receiver and transmitter are FlySky 2.4 GHz

The only time I've had R/C issues was when I forgot to recharge the battery pack prior to using the loco that day. It worked fine for a bit but when the loco was furthest away from me it stopped responding to the receiver when I closed the regulator. Unfortunately this meant the loco accelerating around a sharp curve and coming off the track, scratching the previous pristine paint on one side.

Since then I've made certain I always remember to recharge the batteries.

As for using a lot of oil, yes they do. Fitting a Chuffer stops most of it getting thrown out of the chimney though.

Mike

[Chris Cairns]

Hi Mike,

I have one of these in my toolbox which is very handy for checking the receiver battery pack voltage.



They are actually intended for checking LiPo batteries but work just as well for our receiver packs using the 1S pins. Mine was £1:59 inclusive of shipping from Hong Kong and they have dropped the price slightly - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RC-Lipo-Batte ... 43b2c005dd

My budget transmitter does not have a voltmeter but it does have an audible alarm for low voltage. I was running my Ragleth earlier this year on our Industrial Railway Group's indoor 45mm layout when that alarm kicked off. Knowing that 2.4GHZ does not suffer from glitches I just continued running as the layout is level throughout and eventually my transmitter stopped working. However the position that the reverser ended up in was just right for the Ragleth to continue running around until the gas finished.

The only problem with the Chuffer keeping the oil in the smokebox is that oil tends to burn off particularly if you have the gas up slightly too high. 2 members of our West of Scotland Group have Edrig's as well and have both suffered the tyre falling off the leading axle wheels. I actually watched one last Sunday shedding its tyre then doing an amazing somersault off the viaduct fortunately landing right way up in the flower bed below. Having fixed the tyre back on the owner then ran his loco again on blocks to see if it had been damaged (it had just dislodged a battery out of the receiver battery box so did not respond to the R/C) and I've given him one of the Accucraft regulator levers I picked up at Llanfair so he can control the gas burner better. Unfortunately I've just discovered my Edrig has these vulnerable tyred wheels as well so something to keep a closer eye on when I finally get it running again.

Chris Cairns

[mikewakefielduk@btinterne]

Thanks for the ideas Chris, I've now invested in one of the battery testers.

Interesting thoughts about the Ragleth. I've three very similar Accucrafts (Ragleth I've had from new, a second hand Caradoc and a very second hand Edrig). Without Chuffers they all spit out out from their funnels when starting from cold but after that are pretty good, a bit oily yes but nothing noticeable, certainly no smoke from the funnel.

However if you look at this youtube video: http://youtu.be/R8CLNVwSFvA (from a posting on the 16ngm forum) you can at times see the exhaust plume is distinctly blue, so I'm guessing that Accucraft's lubricating oil is burning off in the smoke box. Couldn't see the safety valve lifting noticeably so don't think the burner was too high. Perhaps its all down to the make of steam oil that's used.

[JimboJet]

My Ragleth loves the oil too! Seems to use 90% in a run, however, when I drain down at the end, there is always a little squirted out. I fitted a Summerlands Chuffer, and this seems to keep the loco clean now (in terms of top of the tanks etc), but there is always plenty of oil to clean up around the smokebox underneath and around afterwards.

As for the R/C, I have two channel (Spectrum) and I have never had a problem (apart from not charging the batteries-what a tit!)

Happy Running, its a great little loco!