SOME STEAM-WAGON TIPS.
Page 31
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Useful Hints as Contributed by Our Driver and Mechanic Readers.
I T RAM often occurred to us that it would be an excellent thing for a: good many petrol chassis if there wore some important maintenance operation which had to be carried out once a fortnight. It such were the case, the general standard of efficiency of those machines would be considerably improved. The steam wagon has that advantage. It has a boiler which positively must be cleaned every other
week at least. A driver of a steam wagon must know something about the interior of his machine within a fortnight of taking it over. Knowledge of one part leads him to wish to .know more about the rest, and it is an undoubted fact that: taken on the whole, steam-wagon drivers are more cognizant of, and take a greater interest in, the mechanism of their charges than is the case with those, who are responsible for petrol vehicles, • At least, it is a fact that moat of the letters which we get from steam-wagon driver a are notable because of their practical value.
" F.R.," •of Sheffield, gets the 15s. prize this Week for his description of an extremely simple yet clever and effective means for curing a trouble which is very real and prevalent with certain types of stearn-engine sight-feed lubricators. As he states in his letter, the difficulty which so frequently arises iS that the oil, instead of ascending drop by drop through the water in the sight glass, would se»ietimes refute to leave the nozzle at the bottom, and wOuld crawl along the sides of the glass, marking it to such an extent that it very soon became impossible. to tell whether oil was passing or not. Cleaning the glass was only a temporary cure, as the surface' very quickly became discoloured and opaque again. The trouble was naturally most often encountered during cold weather, but was not 'altogether abaent even on a warm day.
As a cure; " F.H." adapted the simple expedient of giving the oil something to climb, so that instead of laboriously making its way along the sides of the glass, it. could take a short cut. He made use-of a piece of wire for the purpose—the soft wire that is generally employed in oil-cups of the siphon type.
Re wound a piece of this wire round the nut which tightens the rubber joint ring on the top of the glass, letting the free end hang until it just reached the nozzle by which the oil entered. The oil now runs nicely up the wire, so that the rate of feed can easily be seen, and the tendency to soil and obscure the sight glass has completely gone. Mass-procination methods as applied to the cleaning of steam-wagon boilers might very well be the title of a short communication which we have received from " W.E.C.," of Dedham. He re;commends the use of steam for the purpose, this method to be employed on al
termite washing-ant days, or perhaps on every third such day. Screw the end of the injector overflow pipe on the wagon to accommodate a hilt-inch union. A piece of flexible steam-piping is required, complete with a suitable nozzle, which may be made, in accordance with the individual views of the driver, from an old piece of gas-pipe. Steam must be obtained via the injector steam valve of a wagon which is standing with steam up. Remove manhole Cover and all mud-hole doors, and blow the deposit off the inside Of boiler barrel, firebox crown, and firebox crown stays.
In the caae of Garrett wagons fitted with superheater,the pipe which is provided for blowing soot off the coils of the superheater will be found to serve admirably as a nozzle for boiler cleaning. Readers will realize, of course, that this is a method only available when more than one wagon is kept or where other sources of steam pressure are usable.
" G.E.R.," of Manchester, sends a useful sketch of a tool for screwing a bush
into a worn fusible-plug hole. These holes, as is well known, become, in time, corroded and burnt. One way to deal with them when they reach that stage is to rebore and tap them, fit them with screwed bushes, and renew the fusible plugs. These screwed bushes, or adapters, as they are sometimes called, are remarkably difficult to place in position. The tool reconunended considerably facilitates the operation.
The adapter he uses is screwed 11, Whitworth thread outside, the hole being tapped l in. gas. The tool has at one end a collar 1i ins, diameter by 2 in. thick. Under this collar is a portion screwed to fit the hole in the adap ter, and beyond that again is a squared portion.
When fitting the adapter in place a piece of OM lead wire should be laid round the underside of the head, to act as a joint ring. Then thread the tool into the adapter, so that the squared part of the latter will project into the firebox. With a spanner on the square the adapter can very easily be screwed into place. The lock-nut should then be put on from the inside of the box, and screwed well home by means of a box spanner. The tool can then be removed with ease without disturbing the adapter. An adapter of this kind, and fitted in the manner described, has successfully withstood a test pressure of 300 the test being carried out under the supervision of the insurance company's engineers.
It is very important, by the way, when drilling and tapping the boiler plate for an adapter of this kind, to have both drill and tap perfectly square with the surface of the boiler plate.
. Lamps Alight.
On Saturday, May 6th, light vons lamps, at 8.88 in London, 9.17 in gewcastle, 9.7 in Birmingham, 9.28 in Edinburgh, 9.16 in Liverpool, 9.FI in Bristol, and 9.59 in Dublin.