Roundhouse burner install

[jabsteam]

I've got a used RH Lady Anne and am having problems keeping the fire lit.
One of the people at my club tells me the burner is mounted wrong - the fire slits in the tube point up. He says all RH engines have the fire slits pointing down. Is that correct?

[DolwyddelanLightRail]

From what I remember, my Lady Anne burner has the slits facing upwards...

[WVLR]

I wouldn't have thought it possible to fit the burner upside down as the flange profile won't fit any other way other than with the super heater pipe on the left and burner facing up.

[Resurgam05]

The pepper pot type 'FG Burners' on all of my RH locomotives have the fire holes facing upwards.

However, if the burner actually has slits then it could be an earlier arrangement.

The best thing might be to contact Roundhouse directly.

They are very helpful and should be able to advise you on the best course of action.

[GTB]

He says all RH engines have the fire slits pointing down. Is that correct?

Has he ever actually seen a current Roundhouse burner??? It is Accucraft burners that sit at the top of the flue with the flame pointing down.

The Roundhouse FG burner has been around for years and it sits at the bottom of the flue, with the flame pointing up. Also they have three rows of holes, not transverse slits like Accucraft. The mounting design ensures the burner can't be mounted the wrong way up.

Check that the superheater tube is not out of place and lying over the top of the burner impeding the flame. It should be mounted low down in the flue, tucked in beside the burner.

It's possible the gas valve may need lubricating, as a sticking o-ring can cause similar symptoms. Detailed instructions for burner troubleshooting are in the Roundhouse manual that comes with the model. If that is missing, it can be downloaded from their website.

The Roundhouse burner design hasn't changed for going on 20 years. If the model is older than that, then you'd need to contact Roundhouse for advice, as the online manuals only cover recent models.

Regards,
Graeme

[TonyW]

Older Roundhouse burners do have slots instead of holes, and they should point upwards.

[GTB]

Older Roundhouse burners do have slots instead of holes, and they should point upwards.

Can the FG burner be fitted to the early internally fired boilers, or did Roundhouse also change the boiler when the FG burner was introduced?

[jabsteam]

OK, thanks for the info guys.
The flame does point upwards, and the superheater pipe is below the tube.

The fire easily lights and pops back onto the burner, but each and every tank of Butane will burn for 10 minutes and then go out. I can relight it and it will go for another 10-15 minutes. It's just irritating that the fire goes out in the first 10 minutes every tankful. Go figure...

Here's the engine;

[TonyW]

Can the FG burner be fitted to the early internally fired boilers, or did Roundhouse also change the boiler when the FG burner was introduced?

Errrr... maybe.

The burner mounting arrangement also changed. Earlier burners were held in place by two 6BA screws that located in blind threaded bushes on the boiler backhead, whereas the current arrangement has the mounting block that is clamped to the boiler by a boiler band and requires the gas flue to protrude from the rear of the boiler.

I don't know the answer because I have never tried it but it should be possible with a bit of ingenuity, probably by drilling the new burner to take the 6BA screws.

[MDLR]

Given the name of the loco, is it taking its revenge??

(runs and hides)

[GTB]

Here's the engine;

Nicely made model. Hard to tell there's a Lady Anne somewhere in there though.......

One of my locos recently started doing as you describe. OK when starting up from cold with the gas turned right up, but when it was turned down to run on the track, the burner would go out after a while. The problem seemed to be the o-ring in the gas valve sticking and slowly closing the valve at low settings.

Roundhouse describe the problem and the fix in the manual.

Graeme

[GTB]

but it should be possible with a bit of ingenuity

Ingenuity is the most important tool in a model steam workshop.........

Graeme