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

Guess my "binge" is continuing, as I just scored another old Jensen that fills a hole in my collection. Not really rare, but somewhat uncommon, and rarely in a usable condition, I'm speaking of a Jensen #45 with the affixed power cord and the (UGH) Steel Boiler, that is so often found rusted out. Perhaps this one is rusted out too, but it looks better than any I can remember seeing being offered on evilbay for a very long time if ever, so I bit the bullet and took the chance!

Hopefully it will be as good as it looks, but if not, at least I didn't pay too much for a display only piece, as I got it for just a little over $50, or actually just a bit over $60 delivered, and figured that wasn't too much to pay for what looks like a good chance at an operable engine of this model, which is the only steel boiler in the Jensen lineup?!?!



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Seller's images

Appears to be in great condition... Congrats..!!!

If it is rusted badly, you can use KBS gas tank sealer but the pre-cleaning solution will work a number on the finish.  But both Weeden's that I have had to do that too did in fact work.  Though the 1st one was more of a experiment on a older Big Giant with a steel/tin tank.  The other was a Weeden #20 that its tank was brass but the center flute was steel/tin - that one you could hardly tell I used the KBS tank sealer - which it ended up being a birthday gift to my brother.

The KBS sealer isn't cheap and you'll end up wasting 95% of it - once you open the can you use it or lose it.  So there is the whole ROI when you buy that stuff.

Good luck, hope we see a video of it running!

That's understandable for sure, but lets hope "Plan A" works out with no holes and little, if any rust!  I have my fingers crossed for you :-)

Nice addition to the collection Daniel.

Well, this little puppy arrived yesterday and appears pretty good overall.

Slight dent in the top of the boiler at one of the screw ports, which I've already been able to "work" out to where you'd have to know it was there to have a chance of spotting it. Bit of rust in the sight glass as seen in the seller's photos, I haven't tried to clean that deep yet. I did give the outside of the engine a wipe down that it didn't really need. Most of the dark areas that can be seen in the photos are in fact missing paint/black stain/rust as anticipated, but still one of the better ones I've seen in most of forever!

Made some Teflon gaskets for the whistle and s/v, chimney which is likely a more recent replacement, but fits good and snug. Hoping the sight glass seals are okay as they are currently but will deal with that if needed. Cloth cord looks to be in excellent condition. Resistance reading was 48.4 Ohms, which seems about right, but when I plugged it in for thirty seconds, I felt no heat. Didn't want to push the envelope by leaving it plugged in any longer on an empty boiler, so will have to wait for a true test run to see if it actually heats properly. I do know that steel transfers heat much slower and less efficiently that does brass or copper, so maybe that is all that is "wrong" with that quicky test?!?!

A little light oil around and it ran great on my airbrush K.J. Miller compressor without any obvious signs of leaks, but only steam will truly tell!!!

Pictures are at the beginning of the thread in the first post.

You are likely correct about the sight glass seals, but time currently does not allow the luxury of that approach!