Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines
The Regular Stuff: Chat, Buy, Sell, Off Topic, etc. => General Discussion - Model & Toy Steam Engines – Stirling Cycle – Flame Lickers – Small Antique Originals => Topic started by: Nick on April 20, 2022, 10:58:27 am
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I get a kick out of their excuse, and that's all it is. In all of our engines, TR, TE, and showman's,
we use silver solder that is hotter and it shows the bulge blah, blah, blah. Mine doesn't have that
bulge on the other side, they all seam to be on the left side, blah, blah, blah. This has been going
on for decades, you think they would have gotten it fixed. I don't see these problems with Wilesco.
I see a lot nicer and more authentic detailing in the Wilesco line too. My Mamods are two Minors, one
WS1 (Workshop), one SE3, and one Centurion, all bought used. I would never buy anything new from them
now, not just because of the lack of quality but because of the lack of aesthetics. I'm done with Mamod.
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I have a Mamod Challenger also. Mine is one of the early ones with the stainless-steel piston/rod and squared cylinder. It does have a slight bulge in the boiler barrel, I think that's where the end cap is. It doesn't have the problems yours is experiencing, but a word of warning about the gas tank. I bought the gas scuttle also and this tank as well as the one on the SP8 I have leaked gas out of the stem (and lit up!). Both have been replaced with BIX tanks. BIX tank threads are not compatible with Mamod pipework, so that had to be changed too.
Due to these glaring oversights by Mamod, I'll never buy another one.
I knew I should have gone with a Bix burner… ::)
Mine leaked a little after the first fill… I filled it outside and wiggled it with my finger and the leak seemed to stop. Guess that’s what I get for trying to save a little money… ::)
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I checked mine out also, just like Bret's. Slight bulge, stainless or nickel rod. A very small wobble,
square cylinder too. Good rivet's. It sounds like they cheapened them up. Mine was built in 2007.
Maybe they had a big turnover of employees due to the pandemic like a lot of companies experienced.
It looks like a practice one or a dropped and returned one. I hope they square up with you.
They’ve offered to send a newly machined flywheel on Monday…
Here’s their answers to the other questions ::)
[attachimg=1]
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I checked mine out also, just like Bret's. Slight bulge, stainless or nickel rod. A very small wobble,
square cylinder too. Good rivet's. It sounds like they cheapened them up. Mine was built in 2007.
Maybe they had a big turnover of employees due to the pandemic like a lot of companies experienced.
It looks like a practice one or a dropped and returned one. I hope they square up with you.
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I have a Mamod Challenger also. Mine is one of the early ones with the stainless-steel piston/rod and squared cylinder. It does have a slight bulge in the boiler barrel, I think that's where the end cap is. It doesn't have the problems yours is experiencing, but a word of warning about the gas tank. I bought the gas scuttle also and this tank as well as the one on the SP8 I have leaked gas out of the stem (and lit up!). Both have been replaced with BIX tanks. BIX tank threads are not compatible with Mamod pipework, so that had to be changed too.
Due to these glaring oversights by Mamod, I'll never buy another one.
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After noon in the UK, and another day, still no reply from Mamod… even if they are not yet decided on what to do about it, a simple “we have received your email” would be nice… 😞
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So sorry to hear this Nick, but not surprised...
I really like the original SE/TE series and older, and was so thrilled, back when they finally bit the bullet, and started making stationary cylinder engines.
But after reading reviews and watching loads of movies, starring their present day lineup in general, i completely lost interest in new engines from Mamod.
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That is a bummer Nick. Hopefully Mamod will get back with you and this works out. I totally know that feeling when you see the lack of care used to build that model. I have to agree with Bruce, an exchange will likely have the same result. Good luck!
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Mamods QC dept need a kick in the rear.
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Aw heck no....the slop in your connecting rod through gland is enough for me to "send er' back"
This is what they told Mirko years ago about his Challenger ::)
I have the Challenger and i have the same "problem" on the gland.
The reply from mamod years ago is, the piston gland is a "floating gland".
Not sure what that means.
" floating glad" = we're ok with 4-6 thousands slop.
I got turned off of this model after reading a similar report from Jim about this years ago.
I had this same setup in a Mamod Sp #7 (I believe) poor runner and weak, took a lot of massaging from me to get it to run just "ok"
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Aw heck no....the slop in your connecting rod through gland is enough for me to "send er' back"
This is what they told Mirko years ago about his Challenger ::)
I have the Challenger and i have the same "problem" on the gland.
The reply from mamod years ago is, the piston gland is a "floating gland".
Not sure what that means.
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This is my fourth new purchase from Mamod over a 10 year period and will likely be my last (I’ve said that before ::) )
First was the “New Mamod Train” now known as Mark I. That was my best purchase other than an o-ring in the wrong place…
Second was a tender for the loco. I wanted one with matching stickers, but they had already changed to a new sticker. I could have bought it from a US dealer and saved around $100 but Mamod told me they still had them with the old sticker… sure enough, it arrived with the new style and was told they really couldn’t do anything about it ::)
My forum anniversary engine arrived with chimney bouncing around in the box and poor soldering, that’s when I said I was done with them.
After watching many videos of how well the Centurions run, I finally placed an order… I added the gas burner to the shopping cart as it didn’t change the shipping cost. Not inexpensive is right… the two pieces and shipping came to £524.00, about $685 :-\
After 4 emails and no replies I’m not too happy… I have been given another email address to try, we’ll see where that gets me…
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Aw heck no....the slop in your connecting rod through gland is enough for me to "send er' back" the untrue bore of the flywheel is an embarrassing QC pass. Since the purchase of the mamod forum 10th year anniversary model they're quality control is non existent. Its so sad and frustrating to buy a brand new engine and have so many disappointing quality issue's, this was not an inexpensive model and should be made right , but I suspect you'll not do much better with a replacement.
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I have several TE’s (Maybe a dozen) and this is the first that has this visible bulge…
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
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The sight glass was leak free, only downfall is the gas tank blocks the view.
There was no shipping damage, no marks to the inner packing foam and it was all packed quite well.
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Well I always preferred Wilesco to Mamods
not from design more from quality. One important
detail is the Sight glass which is much better by Wilesco -
Is it possible that the Flywheel received
a blow during transport? This is not acceptable
for an Industry product of today. Sure it is
a toy and not made in China - but it is too bad.
The piston rod looks too loose but that could be
correct because of thermal expansion.
Hope you will get an answer shortly
Arnold
O-Ring and Gaskets seems to be 100 years old - haha
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Sorry to read about the QC issues. Hope you can get a positive response.
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Some other minor details that I wouldn’t have complained about, but the lack of response from Mamod has left me kind of upset…
What is this extra broken o-ring for?
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
The seal under the whistle arrived cracked in multiple places…
[attachimg=3]
This one is pretty minor and can be fixed by bending the tabs, but the scuttle sits at an angle
[attachimg=4]
Just built 3 weeks ago
[attachimg=5]
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I also ordered the gas burner scuttle and the burner sits at a slight angle, not a terrible angle, but enough to be noticeable…
[attachimg=1]
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I have tried to contact Mamod, but my last 4 emails have gone unanswered… where do I go from here? I am not very happy with my new purchase…
This is the first firing straight out of the box… I know it’s a toy and not a precision model, but should it have this much slop/play at the 1 minute mark? Also note the rivet holding the engine frame at 1:30 😔
https://youtu.be/UrvEJmmk1OU