Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

I bought my first Jensen engine nearly 30 years ago and now I have well over 100 of them. I treat them all the same and they are all in as good of shape or better than they were when I got them.

Always use distilled water in your engines. Hard water mineral deposits will ruin an engine in short order.

Always keep your engine well oiled when running it. It may make a mess, but you can wipe it down before you put it away.

Always drain the boiler when it’s still hot after a run. The remaining heat will dry the boiler thoroughly within a very short time. Any distilled water remaining in the pipes or cylinder will eventually dry out and cause no harm. Tap water that remains can cause harm in the form of mineral deposits and also corrosion depending on the PH and alkalinity of it.

Try to keep your engine in its original box. The box will do a fantastic job of keeping it clean and preserving it. I have some engines that are almost 90 years old and look new because they were always kept in their original box.

Jensen engines are probably the most robust toy engines made and you have made a great choice in the 20G.