Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines
Builds, Repairs, Show Your Machines! => Videos The Office of Steam Cinema => Topic started by: RichSteamTx on November 02, 2024, 05:50:34 pm
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Nice display, you keep a cleaner house than me 😂
Thank's Nick! Considering not long ago I didn't have any Weeden's (except the steam roller back in Tx) it has come along nicely & quickly! I think it is a pretty nice small cross section of Weeden items. My brother mentioned sending me his boat (bad tank) and I kind of regret saying "don't send that thing to me".
As for clean, well it isn't hard being just me in this little apartment but finally I have something I enjoy here in Atlanta. Now the house back in Texas... that's isn't as tidy LOL
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Nice display, you keep a cleaner house than me 😂
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When I went to steam the guy up last week, the paint soften up. This became apparent when I needed to tighten up one of the sight glass nuts as it started to leak under pressure. When I put my wrench on, it touch the silver paint and made a mess of it.
I basically didn't read the instructions of the Rust-Oleum High Heat Paint, which requires 450° @1 hour cure. I thought that curing temperature was for the paint to withstand 1,000°. The 450° @1 hour isn't possible with these engines, especially with the leaded parts (whistle, PV, elbows). So lightly re-painted and tried a 325° @2 hours. Actually the top silver got more like 4 hours as I did the baking for the top, then the bottom.
Next I am going to just leave it alone for a bit. I am off to Texas later this week and won't be back until after Thanksgiving. Then I'll try a steam test again. Hopefully I got the sight seals good. One thing about the silicone seals I have, I think they are a bit to long for these older style leaded fittings. So shaved a bit off of them. That way the seals aren't getting squashed before the first thread engages.
On the good news side of things, the tank sealer seems to be holding and I am not seeing anything going wrong when look into it from the PV square hole. Anyways, I know what to look for once it heats up. If the paint gets tacky (I'll test behind the wheel), I let it cool down and it will be a shelf item. Which as of now, it looks pretty good next to my TV :-)
[attach=1]
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For better or worse, here is the Steel Tank Big Giant painted all up. I hated painting the tank but you got to do what you got to do. Now I just need the little bits I painted (the gold/red/some black touch ups) to dry really good.
[attach=1]
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The KBS sealing seems to be working!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/o8eJINDN6Ns
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Thanks guys, very nice for you to comment on the pair!
One more full day until I can try to see if the KBS sealer works. It for sure seem solid inside but "looks" doesn't tell you much. If it actually runs as well as it did when I first steamed it up, I'd be very happy. As of now, when I close off the vent valve and I give the wheel a good spin, it makes a nice vacuum - which you hear when you open the whistle (you hear a "swish" of air). Considering this is a oscillating piston, that's certainly a good sign.
If sealing/running is successful, I am going to paint the engine, as I need to stop the outside from rusting. I decided on Rust-Oleum Silver High Heat for the tank & their Black for the lower base. Then I have some model paint for the little bits that are gold & red. I'm likely going to leave the lamp base alone as I want that to be a possible donor.
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That's a nice demonstration of a pulley working :)
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Thanks for the demo, Richard...!!
The lifting hoist works great as does the Weeden Big Giant!
Gil
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While I have a Big Giant and a #20 (both brass) working their way to me, I have started a experiment with this steel Big Giant. I am using KBS cycle tank sealer (https://www.kbs-coatings.com/cycle-tank-sealer-kit), since there is a nice box hole for the bayonet pressure valve. I hardly give myself 50% chance it will work & hold. Even if it does work, I'll never really trust it and the parts I can take off will likely go to the #20 that my brother found. That engine is missing anything that could easily be taken off! It is a interesting engine as it has a Bayonet Pressure valve with a steam line connection, sadly the pressure valve arm was busted off.
Anyways, I ran the engine through the KBS process yesterday, so I have 96 hours for it to cure properly. During stage one, the tank ended up having more leaks than I realized - including four pinholes on the side of the tank. I reinforced the outside of these pinholes with JB Weld patches.
Once I get to the sealer, it really became apparent how it was compromised, as now you see the "silver" sealer oozing out everywhere. From the top around the smoke stack, the bottom of the tank, around the seam there the tank attaches to the base. No wonder why I could figure out where the steam/water was coming from - it was from everywhere! Though now that it as started to dry, it doesn't look that bad around the seams. Well, unless you look underneath and up into the wick slot and you see it all around the tank's base.
I also wouldn't be surprised if I have lost a bit of water capacity too - its not like a Big Giant / #20 holds a lot of water in the first place! I also wonder how the sealer will effect the heating up of the water to steam. The sealer is rated to 500°F, so I am not to worried about that but more it acting as a insulator. If it actually runs as good as my first steam up I'll be pleased (and surprised).
Pretty expensive experiment but I am bored here in Atlanta, Ga! I am also debating if I want to try and paint it (if it doesn't exploded on me). The Stage 1 of the KBS ate off just about anything left of the nickel on the tank and paint that was left on the engine. Then it could be just a interesting "display" item.
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Jensen are very nice, my brother's got me here to these forums in the first place (I want to say he has 1 or 2 others). As for me, no Jensen's for me - I've told my brother if he tries to give me one I'll stop talking to him!
@Nick - you would make a good drug dealer, you are very good pushing products! LMAO!!
Keeping my eyes out for a brass boiler Big Giant, that won't brake the bank!
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What a lovely pair 😍 sorry about the leak :'(
Can we talk you into buying a Jensen?? ;)
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That's why I'd do the cross/twist was for more "bite". You can 100% use the screen shot for downloads or for anything you'd like!
Bad News. The Big Giant has a internal leak. It will still run (slowly) but when I fired it up a bit ago I could hear steam escaping but couldn't see from where. I took off the pressure valve, which is a interesting 1/4 turn twist off, and the tank is steel - so all kinds of rust inside. Ugh, one of the main reasons why I dislike Weedens!
Very bummed and now trying to decided if want to try and find a Big Giant where its tank is brass. Clearly they changed to brass at some point, as that ad I posted talks about "Brass Boiler". The good news, my giant has a lot of good parts.
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I just got a YouTube comment that if you go from straight to twist or vice versa on the drive belt between engine and accessory, that changes the direction of the pulley on the accessory.
I am surprised you guys didn't call me out on that, ya'll must have been thinking "what a idiot, untwist your drive belt". If not, I am certainly calling myself a idiot by not knowing that or realizing it when I gone from straight to twist drive belt all these years!
Twisting the belt is a standard practice for gaining a bit more "Bite" with the belting, so it is less likely to slip on the pulleys. But yes, it does also change the direction of rotation of the driven accessory.
Thanks for the picture of the "Caution" sheet!
With your permission I'll add a copy (screenshot) to my download files.
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I just got a YouTube comment that if you go from straight to twist or vice versa on the drive belt between engine and accessory, that changes the direction of the pulley on the accessory.
I am surprised you guys didn't call me out on that, ya'll must have been thinking "what a idiot, untwist your drive belt". If not, I am certainly calling myself a idiot by not knowing that or realizing it when I gone from straight to twist drive belt all these years!
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Thanks guys!
I can't believe I got so much paperwork on these engines! I also believe Alcohol burns a lot cleaner than Kerosene? I am really hoping the original works as well as the one I had on for the video. It was really seized up with calcium and took a bit to free it up.
The Big Giant definitely has speed, though I wouldn't say it has a lot of torque. You can see that when I release the gear from that lever and then again when I remove the band. Though assuming the gear didn't slip, I'd image it would do 4 pounds if I also had the 3 pulley block and tackle setup. Which is the point of that setup for its mechanical advantage. I just can't seem to find a miniature 3 pulley block and tackle. I'm actually surprised that I found the miniature 2 pulley block and tackle.
Here is a snap of the directions!
[attach=1]
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Certainly, that is rather impressive performance!
Glad to read in your "Caution" notice slip that the #20 is good for both Alcohol and Kerosene. I've only seen that it was intended for Kerosene, which was of course a very commonly available fuel back in its day. I do have several hundred gallons of Kerosene, not five feet from where I'm sitting (as backup heating to my wood stove), though it is on the outside of the wall and I'm inside, but I would definitely prefer using Alcohol in my Big Giant for the sake of smell alone!!!
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Well done Rich.
An excellent video.
Charlie
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Here is another ad I found that I forgot to post, from October 1923. It is very similar to mine, though it has the normally seen bass tank & stamping on the tank.
But the rest of it seems to be spot on, even the piston rod being simply drilled with a hole.[attach=1]
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I have to say, the Big Giant can move!
I am hoping the original piston will work as well as the "spare" I have on now but I need a gasket. The original one still has some gold paint on it and it doesn't have a fitting at the end for the shaft pivot (the piston rod is just drilled with a hole). Frank's shipment just left Indianapolis, so either it is going to NC first or straight to Georgia - doesn't matter I'd be lucky if I get it by the end of the week. I am getting 5 inches of glass tube (for my #17 & other #14) and some 1/2" ID Teflon Gaskets.
I am going to be sooo upset if that reproduction weight doesn't show, it was the last the seller had of that style. Though I'd really love to have one of those circle ones.
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By golly it did it, I have to be honest...I was skeptical, but it sure did the lift. ;)
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Here we go, the Weeden "Big Giant" running its optional Hoisting Drum from Youth's Companion's magazine. Still need the weight for the pressure value, been bouncing around Atlanta for the last 3 days... ugh the USPS in Georgia sucks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKEhKqMaRxM