Gas Problems...

[Steven.T]

Hi All,
Whilst running my Roundhouse George last weekend, I encountered what seemed like a problem with the gas system.

The loco ran fine before. I was using a new gas canister on this particular running session.
After a few successful runs, I went to re-light the burner (after filling with gas, water etc).
I lit the match, held it over the chimney, and turned the gas on a little. The flame did not pop as it usually does, however I could see a blue flame in the smokebox, after a few seconds, the flame popped back into the burner and was fine, however It sounded like there was some gas leaking from somewhere.
Now this next bit is weird, I happened to take a deep breath, satisfied the loco was working, but exhaled pretty much straight into the cab, and the flame extinguished!?

Having looked up the flame not lighting correctly in the loco's manual, Roundhouse recommend stripping the gas jet down, which I will do sometime this week (not particularly confident about it to be honest!)
Does this sound like it could be a batch of "dirty" gas, seeing as though it is a different brand from what I was using previously which I had no problems with?
Any Ideas?
Sorry if it all sounds a bit confusing, I'm getting into new territory here!
Cheers,
Steven

[tom_tom_go]

Cleaning the gas jet is a good place to start and is easy to do so don't worry.

If I can do it you can

[Keith S]

What happened after that? Did you go on to have a satisfactory run, or did the flame behave strangely from then on? Maybe it was just that your tank was very full. I find the flame on my roundhouse engine is a little feeble when the gas tank is freshly filled, until things warm up, especially in colder weather. In fact the last time I ran the engine (in October!!) the gas was quite cold and I had to leave the gas regulator fully open in order for the feeble little flame to stay lit. After a minute it picked up and the engine ran well after that.

[Steven.T]

Thanks for the replies chaps!

Keith,
I didn't feel comfortable running the loco after the above happened, just incase something happened!

I'll give the jet a strip down on Wednesday Night and see what I can find, I've got a rolling road to test it on now as well which should help!

[TonyW]

... held it over the chimney ...

The gas we use is heavier than air, so try putting the match/lighter under the front buffer beam instead. This should give easier ignition but also avoids the loco standing in a "puddle" of gas which can then ignite when the gas reaches the top of the chimney and the ignition source.

[Steven.T]

... held it over the chimney ...

The gas we use is heavier than air, so try putting the match/lighter under the front buffer beam instead. This should give easier ignition but also avoids the loco standing in a "puddle" of gas which can then ignite when the gas reaches the top of the chimney and the ignition source.

The strange thing is Tony I have lit over the chimney for the past year, and it has worked everytime until just the other day.

[bazzer42]

... held it over the chimney ...

The gas we use is heavier than air, so try putting the match/lighter under the front buffer beam instead. This should give easier ignition but also avoids the loco standing in a "puddle" of gas which can then ignite when the gas reaches the top of the chimney and the ignition source.

This method is also pretty much a must for loco's fitted with chuffer's

Thanks for that Keith, being new to steam and having fitted a chuffer recently I have also being having problem lighting.
A useful thread thanks.

[Steven.T]

Thanks for all the help guys, stripped the gas jet down tonight, lit first time as it should, using the same gas can as before aswell!
Ran for a good quater of an hour, theres only so much watching a rolling road I can take!

[Keith S]

Yeah, that is kind of boring. It makes me wonder why guys play with stationary steam engines so much... but anyway, glad you got the loco working well again. I guess every now and then a bit of fluff gets in there and it needs to be cleaned!

[bazzer42]

Thanks for all the help guys, stripped the gas jet down tonight, lit first time as it should, using the same gas can as before aswell!
Ran for a good quater of an hour, theres only so much watching a rolling road I can take!

Steven, I'm relatively new to live steam. Is jet stripping easy? My lady Ann will be 15 this summer and wonder whether she would benefit from a jet clean as a sort of service although part of me thinks "if it ain't broke...".

[MDLR]

Steven, I'm relatively new to live steam. Is  jet stripping easy?  My lady Ann will be 15 this summer and wonder whether she would benefit from a jet clean as a sort of service although part of me thinks "if it ain't broke...".

That's a very good policy to adopt. In actual fact, the first time is always the hardest and if you're taking apart a much-liked loco for the first time there's bound to be a bit of trepidation. However, it's not TOO hard, and as long as you've got no bits left over when you've put it back together, you'll be OK!

[Steven.T]

Thanks for all the help guys, stripped the gas jet down tonight, lit first time as it should, using the same gas can as before aswell!
Ran for a good quater of an hour, theres only so much watching a rolling road I can take!

Steven, I'm relatively new to live steam. Is  jet stripping easy?  My lady Ann will be 15 this summer and wonder whether she would benefit from a jet clean as a sort of service although part of me thinks "if it ain't broke...".

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, as Brian said, its a bit nerve racking taking a spanner to an expensive bit of kit. If you follow the instructions Roundhouse provide you won't go far wrong!