Accucraft Questions....

Discussion of Live Steam locomotives should be located here
Post Reply
made-in-england
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 826
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 4:22 pm

Accucraft Questions....

Post by made-in-england » Thu Jan 20, 2011 8:55 pm

Hi,

Probably stuff i should of found out BEFORE I bought the beast but if id of done that id more than likley not bothered...

Just a few things about ragleth...

Boiler draining... do it or not ?

De calcifing boiler with kettle cleaners.. (wot we uze on the bigguns, cant remeber what its called, Killrok?)

Servcing, what when and how often?


Will
Passengers are reminded not to tease the engines

DolwyddelanLightRail

Post by DolwyddelanLightRail » Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:00 pm

I've never bothered with draining the boiler on my edrig unless i'm working on it and i have to turn it upside down every now and then etc as i've been told that it'll be all right

Don't have a clue bout the others though

Sir haydn

Post by Sir haydn » Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:12 pm

I wouldnt bother draining the boiler unless your using hard water.

As for descaler, any off the shelf kettle descaler will do just follow the insructions (just remember to take off all the boiler fittings first!)

And servicing, only when and if you feel it needs it, just keep grit out of the oily bearings and keep the piston valve timed correctly. I have recently had an edrig in where it had been run out of time (it would only go backwards) for about a year and the valve was badly worn.

Hope this helps

User avatar
MRail
Trainee Fireman
Trainee Fireman
Posts: 118
Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:16 pm
Location: Merseyside, UK
Contact:

Post by MRail » Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:28 pm

My locos live out in the shed, so I tend to drain the boilers in winter as a precaution against frost damage. Otherwise I don't drain.
This is a relatively soft water area.
Rob G
Madog & Mersey Railway (SM32)
In my Father's roundhouse are many loco sheds.

DLRdan

Post by DLRdan » Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:23 pm

Nice to see you trust me Will :roll: I don't drain my boilers, I descale with vinegar and I shouldn't think you will have to do anything to Ragleth for quite a while although un bending it would be a start

Narrow Minded

Post by Narrow Minded » Fri Jan 21, 2011 3:43 am

Here's another vote for a)not draining unless you're working on it, b)white vinegar for de-scaling if you need it (but if you're using filtered rainwater that should be rare)

Now the bit that might draw some flak......................

c)servicing intervals - Make sure you give it a visual once over after every session before packing away and periodically give it a much closer inspection after cleaning. What with keeping an eye on it while it's running and regular post run checks I reckon you should stay on top of any maintenance required. :D

bessytractor
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 677
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:34 pm

Post by bessytractor » Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:11 am

why would that draw flak? Thats sensible! Part of oiling a larger loco round is to visually check all the motion, why should it not apply here?
proudly flying in the face of convention

ptlrcecil

Post by ptlrcecil » Sat Jan 22, 2011 5:47 pm

Boiler washouts what are they?
As for servicing , if it broke don't fix it.

SLRmidge

Post by SLRmidge » Sat Jan 22, 2011 5:56 pm

ptlrcecil:46969 wrote:As for servicing , if it broke don't fix it.
Cecil, shouldn't it be 'if it ain't broke'...... ;)

Pendo Pilot

Post by Pendo Pilot » Sun Jan 23, 2011 2:56 am

ptlrcecil:46969 wrote:Boiler washouts  what are they?
As for servicing , if it broke don't fix it.
Run it, run it some more, run it till it stops running. If something falls off then put it back on....Yes BR brainwashed me! :D

GardenRail

Re: Accucraft Questions....

Post by GardenRail » Tue Jan 25, 2011 6:47 am

made-in-england:46927 wrote:Hi,

Probably stuff i should of found out BEFORE I bought the beast but if id of done that id more than likley not bothered...

Just a few things about ragleth...

Boiler draining... do it or not ?

De calcifing boiler with kettle cleaners.. (wot we uze on the bigguns, cant remeber what its called, Killrok?)

Servcing, what when and how often?

Will
Use distilled water in your locomotive. We are not talking gallons here and none of the locomotives are cheap. Degrease, wash and re-oil running gear every few runs – will pay dividends in longevity. Drain the boiler if you are storing for any length of time. Servicing is really limited to cleaning as above, but do a visual check every so often to ensure nothing is loosening off with the heating/reheating. If you get a weep between steamchests and cylinders post again and I will run through this with you.

Buy and fit a resonator whistle :-) easy to do if you can drill three holes. Not required for maintenance but all locos should have a whistle of course...

made-in-england
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 826
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 4:22 pm

Re: Accucraft Questions....

Post by made-in-england » Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:28 am

GardenRail:47092 wrote:
made-in-england:46927 wrote:Hi,

Probably stuff i should of found out BEFORE I bought the beast but if id of done that id more than likley not bothered...

Just a few things about ragleth...

Boiler draining... do it or not ?

De calcifing boiler with kettle cleaners.. (wot we uze on the bigguns, cant remeber what its called, Killrok?)

Servcing, what when and how often?

Will
Use distilled water in your locomotive. We are not talking gallons here and none of the locomotives are cheap. Degrease, wash and re-oil running gear every few runs – will pay dividends in longevity. Drain the boiler if you are storing for any length of time. Servicing is really limited to cleaning as above, but do a visual check every so often to ensure nothing is loosening off with the heating/reheating. If you get a weep between steamchests and cylinders post again and I will run through this with you.

Buy and fit a resonator whistle :-) easy to do if you can drill three holes. Not required for maintenance but all locos should have a whistle of course...
Thanks Tag, I think I might go for a whistle... any ideas where you can buy them from? DJB?
Passengers are reminded not to tease the engines

GardenRail

Re: Accucraft Questions....

Post by GardenRail » Tue Jan 25, 2011 8:37 pm

made-in-england wrote: Thanks Tag, I think I might go for a whistle... any ideas where you can buy them from? DJB?
Google DJB Engineering.

IrishPeter

Post by IrishPeter » Tue Mar 01, 2011 4:39 pm

I usually don't have to drain boilers, Ruby tends to boil dry. I am more familiar with the dive down the yard when it stops chuffing and kill the fire routine.

I usually clean my locomotive's motion every week or so by spraying WD 40 over it and trying it with a paper towel. The WD40 blasts the cr@p out of the motion (if any) and removes the mucky oil. I then lubricate as normal. When it is windy I follow this procedure after every operating session as where I live can be quite dusty.

Peter in AZ

Bob P.

Accucraft questions

Post by Bob P. » Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:44 pm

As usual Tag is on the button. With two Ragleth's on order, I have the DJB whistles, just need the loco's! Blue one due this week but green one gone back from October to December. China slow boat getting slower. Will have a Bangham Resonator fitted to my Lady Anne too in due course. Picking up on anything Ragleth related.
Bob P.

James-Buzz

Post by James-Buzz » Sun Sep 04, 2011 10:09 pm

1. leave it with or without, at the end of a run its usually pretty empty!

2. use distilled water then no need.

3. servicing is limited to keeping motion clean, too much oil attracts dirt.

ferrysteam

Post by ferrysteam » Mon Sep 05, 2011 4:25 pm

The best oil to use on the motion is gun oil,also don't use deionized water in the boiler,some places sell it as distilled.

Image

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 29 guests