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

I've restored and run well over 100 toy engines on live steam and have never run into this particular problem. This little Carette loses over half of its water after boiling through the cylinder and out the exhaust--or whistle if left open--almost empty within minutes. The boiler capacity is about 175 cc and I'm filling with only 100cc. I've also cut down the burner's wicks to where the burner can barely power the engine. Still no change. Is anyone familiar with this problem? I'm baffled by it (please watch the video clip). To add insult to injury the engine is part of a fountain. A little condensate is normal but this is ridiculous. What am I missing here? Thanks in advance.

https://youtu.be/IDcmmr-IsGM?si=0pirU5ZYy1Mkkrv8

Thanks Bruce. It runs great on 3-5 psi. Tension on the slide valve is adjustable so I can try tightening that a bit. But why would this cause all the water getting through?

Thanks. What exactly do you mean by "priming"?

I would guess priming because of some type of contamination in the boiler causing the water to foam inside. Have you tried cleaning the inside of the boiler?

Or, Not likely but could someone have replaced the steam line or the original be too long and down inside the boiler near the water level? Can you see inside with a light or small bore scope?

Thanks guys. I'll decontaminate the boiler but there's no sign of foaming anywhere and never heard of this being a problem for tiny boilers, but it's worth a try. Boiled water also comes out looking very clean. The fitting for the steam line has two internal diameters forming a socket for the line to be soldered into, so it's impossible for the steam line to extend beyond the fitting into the boiler. Sounds unlikely, but maybe the fitting itself is too long due to a factory screw-up, who knows.

Now I think there may be a problem with the safety valve. The stem was badly oxidized and had to remove a lot of green residue from it. The gasket is new and the tension is good but it might be leaking steam (and water?) through the valve stem. I'll test that tomorrow and make a new stem if necessary. Insufficient steam pressure may lead to the water intake in the engine.

If that doesn't help, check the timing in the slide valve on the cylinder. The shaft length
might need to be adjusted. It's shaking so bad that it might be trying to pump in and out
and with all of the shaking, water splashing against the SV is being pushed out.
How long have you had this set up? Did it run OK before or is this your first run of it?
It's a beautiful set and if you like, I'll take the troubles away.

The shaking in the run might have been enough to froth the
water to such a degree that it went into the steampipe.

Does it shake at all when running on air?

Wayne