Post by: therat05 on April 27, 2019, 10:09:19 am
Very nice job on that beam engine Steve !
My is there a lot going on, once you´ve got them all hooked up to that big 504...
Great show, thanks for sharing (https://emoji.tapatalk-cdn.com/emoji482.png)
Thanks Jan i have other videos of the plant running much longer and i only used that video because the gas run out after 5 or so minutes giving me an ending, your right there is a lot going on but it is a great sight to watch that steam plant running especially if your in the room watching....Steve
Post by: classixs on April 27, 2019, 10:00:28 am
My is there a lot going on, once you´ve got them all hooked up to that big 504...
Great show, thanks for sharing (https://emoji.tapatalk-cdn.com/emoji482.png)
Post by: therat05 on April 27, 2019, 09:48:46 am
A really nice restoration Steve. The beam engine looks great.
Hello Kevin thanks for that, i love bringing these engines back to life and if i can make them look good as well then the jobs done...Steve
Post by: Kevin68 on April 27, 2019, 03:16:59 am
Post by: therat05 on April 25, 2019, 01:30:53 pm
A fantastic transformation, also a real treat to watch that 504 boiler power all of your Stuarts on steam! :o
Thank you, considering the state of it when i got it i thought i had bitten off more than i could chew...the picture you see on here is it after an all day soaking in white spirit just to remove the crud, The Stuart 504 is a fantastic boiler it kept those engines going much longer than in the video when i fitted a new bottle of gas on its next run, considering its piped up in 5/32 pipe on the outlet of the boiler to the engines it was amazing it was producing enough steam.... the working pressure was around 30 psi or 2 bar.... its a joy to watch and operate in the flesh turning individual engines on and off made me feel like a real boiler man ;D....Steve
Post by: Swift Fox on April 25, 2019, 12:39:27 pm
Post by: therat05 on April 24, 2019, 04:43:36 am
Absolutely worth the effort Steve, it just looks awesome. Love the transformation, just an all round top notch job.Except for the flower pot condenser
that was a last minute addition but i still keep it in as it is very efficient ;D,,,,Steve
Post by: Jim on April 24, 2019, 04:04:58 am
Hello Jim i have run it many times and it is a real joy...it all breaks down into small units for storage, it takes me about an hour to bring it all down and connect it up then generally get it ready for a run.
The plant was built on a budget by buying cheap sometimes non running engines, the beam and the No8.... the boiler also needed work....I then refurbished the whole lot to my best ability and made the plant as you see it ..i think it was well worth the effort....Steve
Absolutely worth the effort Steve, it just looks awesome. Love the transformation, just an all round top notch job.
Post by: therat05 on April 24, 2019, 03:07:27 am
Just watched the second video Steve. You have lots of hours of fun ahead of you playing with all these nice Stuart big boys toys!Hello Jim i have run it many times and it is a real joy...it all breaks down into small units for storage, it takes me about an hour to bring it all down and connect it up then generally get it ready for a run.
The plant was built on a budget by buying cheap sometimes non running engines, the beam and the No8.... the boiler also needed work....I then refurbished the whole lot to my best ability and made the plant as you see it ..i think it was well worth the effort....Steve
Post by: Jim on April 24, 2019, 02:49:14 am
Post by: therat05 on April 24, 2019, 02:38:33 am
That boiler can really produce steam.The 504 is an excellent boiler Bob ..running all four Stuarts started out as an experiment but was so successful that i made it my main steam plant showpiece ....Steve
I like to watch the beam engine run slowly, as they did in real life.
Post by: therat05 on April 24, 2019, 02:34:56 am
Fantastic resto there Steve.Thanks Jim it took a while to sort out but it now is the centre piece of my steam plant....Steve
Post by: Hero on April 24, 2019, 01:59:40 am
I like to watch the beam engine run slowly, as they did in real life.
Post by: Jim on April 23, 2019, 09:17:10 pm
Post by: therat05 on April 23, 2019, 12:59:02 pm
Steve, you have done that beam engine right...now a real thing of beauty and it runs!!!Hello Rog i was an idiot to buy it but i didnt pay much for it and considering the deal i got buying the steam plant from the same chap i still came out well on top....thats not the steam plant in the video i have sent you, the one i bought was rubbish but all the parts were good...the steam plant in the video was made by me and all the engines and the boiler was refurbished by myself the end product of my dream set up.
Rog
It was only when i got it home i realised the size of the job..i really did not think it would ever run let alone steam again.
I have it set up on an oak plinth with a Stuart S50 and run them as a steam plant together, Here is a video video of them running together on my utube site as part of a four engined steam plant run by a Stuart 504 Boiler... I think they make a terrific team.....Steve
https://youtu.be/oDjgx424fWo
Post by: IndianaRog on April 23, 2019, 12:39:30 pm
Rog
Post by: therat05 on April 23, 2019, 12:33:37 pm
Mine arrived as a set of castings started by an idiot .I wish i could do that sort of stuff Dennis ...my engine was very poorly made but had been running in the past having
Suffice to say holes in wrong places and all sorts of issues.
Those who study it will see I have no outboard bearing for crank.
I fabricated a crankshaft and have both bearings on board .
Makes for a stable engine and smaller footprint .
Cheers
Dennis
a long hard life and was badly worn, so my skill if you can call it that was to make drawings and careful measurements so some one could make me up what i needed which they did, my contribution was to get the thing rebuilt and set up properly then carry out work to the piston and valve to make the engine run and finally decorate it....Steve
Post by: Scorpion2nz on April 23, 2019, 11:54:34 am
Suffice to say holes in wrong places and all sorts of issues.
Those who study it will see I have no outboard bearing for crank.
I fabricated a crankshaft and have both bearings on board .
Makes for a stable engine and smaller footprint .
Cheers
Dennis
Post by: therat05 on April 23, 2019, 09:24:31 am
You guys are making me want to dig out my "boat anchor" Stuart beam and strip it down and make it over, or at least get it running. But to do that I'd have to bump a dozen or more priority projects out of the way first.;D ;D ;D Boat anchor ...Door stop..we could start a trend here Stoker...12 projects is a lot of work but you should run with the current theme and get right on the anchor job
Maybe next winter?!?!
....Steve
Post by: Stoker on April 23, 2019, 09:15:10 am
Maybe next winter?!?!
Post by: therat05 on April 23, 2019, 08:58:20 am
Those rings on the column are polished brassThat is very good Dennis and a novel idea...Steve
I turned the cast rings off and turned grooves then placed brass rings there
Only one of the few things I did to make it a different stuart beam
Cheers
Dennis
Post by: Hero on April 23, 2019, 07:13:34 am
Post by: Scorpion2nz on April 23, 2019, 05:51:16 am
That looks excellent i like the rings on the column picked out in Gold ...i have another beam that is in Stuart green with the column made in Stainless steel....SteveThose rings on the column are polished brass
I turned the cast rings off and turned grooves then placed brass rings there
Only one of the few things I did to make it a different stuart beam
Cheers
Dennis
Post by: therat05 on April 23, 2019, 05:28:08 am
This Stuart Beam is painted “hammerite Hammertone Green “
(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)
That looks excellent i like the rings on the column picked out in Gold ...i have another beam that is in Stuart green with the column made in Stainless steel....Steve
Post by: Scorpion2nz on April 23, 2019, 01:32:04 am
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
Post by: Hero on April 22, 2019, 10:24:40 pm
Post by: therat05 on April 22, 2019, 02:02:02 pm
Post by: Hero on April 22, 2019, 01:55:03 pm
I have an unpainted Stuart beam of my own. Maybe it should be grey....
[attachimg=1]
Post by: therat05 on April 22, 2019, 01:34:37 pm
Hm. It does seem to look a little better now....🤔Hello Bob
i thought it brushed up quite well ;D....Steve
Post by: Hero on April 22, 2019, 11:42:01 am
Post by: therat05 on April 22, 2019, 05:04:16 am
The beam engine on examination later was covered in crud and fitted with many non standard parts,an example was small copper tube used as watts motion spacers, the watts motion itself was all different sizes..the valve links both different and crudely made...all nuts and bolts different sizes and types ie allen bolts on the piston cylinder in fact the whole thing was a mess and obviously did not run.....I had bought a door stop.
First i tried to get craftsmen to rebuild it for me without success they wisely declined...So back to me then if i wanted the beam engine running i would have to do this myself.... it was stripped down and all non standard parts dumped and new parts purchased ..made by Kevin and myself ..or scrounged until i had all the parts required.... eventually it was time to put all this stuff together.
The engine parts were prepared degreased and undercoated and primed then sprayed in my team colours of Industrial grey Halfords enamel, 2 coats undercoat and 3 top coats, some details were lined freehand with Humbrol enamel Red... the pile of bits before me was then put back together using all new nuts and bolts of the correct sizes...the piston rings which were broken and metal as standard on this machine were removed and a viton 75 O ring fitted 19.5mm ID x 2mm C/S I knew this would run as my Stuart No8 has a similar piston and that has an o ring piston ring as standard, i made a complete set of gaskets the machine was now assembled.
The test was on air to start with ..the valve was a bit troublesome to set, the problem being the gasket was to thick on the valve body keeping the valve away from the face so permanently letting by, this was resolved using a thinner gasket...the engine then burst into life ..what joy seeing something i thought would never run... running...the only problem was the crank klunks which is something that i can get replaced at any time, i do not mind the klunk as it sounds like an old ships engine...it sounds much worse in the video than in real life ...the engine ticks over on 10 psi the real test will be on steam.
Here are some before and after pictures and a couple of videos..the first video is of its first ever run on steam no practices followed by its first test run on air....Steve
VIDEO LIVE STEAM
https://youtu.be/y_uMBHwmzMo
VIDEO TEST RUN ON AIR
https://youtu.be/kI_Glm8zcRg
DOORSTOP AS PURCHASED
(The steam plant purchased at the same time is pictured in the back ground)
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