HINTS ON MAINTENANCE.
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How to Get the Best Out of a Vehicle, to Secure Reliability and to Avoid Trouble
417--The Care of the Foden Boiler.
Constant attention to the boiler of any steam wagon is a very important matter, and in this case we deal with that required by the Foden boiler. To keep the boiler clean it should be filled up every night and blown down to a. working level every morn log through the blow-out. cock. This procedure will remove the sediment from the bottom.
The fire should not be taken out at night, but banked up to the tube plate, thus retaining the heat and avoiding unequal contraction. If cold air be allowed to pass through the tubes, they cool and contract more rapidly than the thicker metal in which they are expanded. Consequently, leakages may occur and the tubes will become a constant source of annoyance. The heat retained in the boiler by banking the fire also enables steam to be raised more rapidly in the morning.
Washing out should be performed every week, and in no circumstances should a boiler be worked more than two weeks without a thorough cleaning, which should never be performed while the bOiler is hot.
When removing the mud-hole covers, always mark them so that they may be replaced in exactly the same positions.
To clean the boiler, let the water out by removing one of the covers, see that the wash-out rod is ready at hand, and use it freely while the water is flowing : this will dislodge much of the dirt and save water. 'Now remove the other covers, also the Plug, and the hand-hole cover in the smokebox. A jet of water, with as much pressure behind it as possible, should then be directed through the hole at the top of the smokebox on to the tubes and firebox until all 'the dirt is washed off: After washing the tubes and firebox top, place the hose nozzle in the bottom hole ; the jet will then wash out the dirt to the foundation Use the rod in each mud-hole at the bottom and work well round to remove any dirt which may have become solid, at the same time keeping a. good supply of water flowing until it shows clean after passing through. Examine and clean the plugs, and if the joint rings are not damp, smear them over
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with a liberal quantity of graphite and tallow, and carefully replace them. After filling the boiler to the correct height, tighten the covers as steam is raised.
A good plan is always to carry a caulking tool, so that when the steam begins to leak it can be stopped at once.
418.—Improving the Brake Shoes on the Dennis.
After a few months' wear and tear it sometimes happens that the rear brake shoes en the Dennis develop a rattle, which, if not attended to immediately, becomes severe. To prevent this rattle the following procedur•e has been adopted with success :
First turn four rings 7-16 in. thick, external diameter 2.i ins, and internal diameter 21 ins. These should be a force At on the brake shoe hanger gins. Now procure two or three discarded valve springs, those from a Tylor engine will be found quite suitable. These should be cut to a suitable size, which can be
• found by experience, and one fitted at the inner end of each hanger pin.
The rings are fitted after the shoes have been replaced ; each is tapped on until flush with the end • of the pin, and then drilled for either a i-in. tapered pin or a split-pin, which can be done without dismantling the spring seat.
To take up wear on the shoes, the faces on which the cams operate may be provided with new wearing. surfaces made of sheet steel, suitably bent and with the inside flange of each cut to miss the brake shaft behind the earn.
Each wearing piece should be held in position by two 1-in, by i-in. countersunk setscrews, the holes of which should be centre popped to prevent unscrewing.