Accucraft Length of run first Boiler fill?

cncmodeller · Post by **cncmodeller** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 8:54 am

I thought I would get up to speed on my Accucraft Superior as I soon will have a 'Lew' by the same manufacturer and my previous experience has been with Archangel locos exclusively.
However I would like to compare notes to see what I am experiencing with 'Superior' is normal, After filling up and raising steam and finally clearing the valve gear of oily water I only manage a short run before the boiler is empty, I do have a top up valve but I am a bit puzzled by its short duration, after checking the boiler its down to about 1/4 inch level. I can't see any leak though and wonder whether the initial difficulty getting it to move off is where the problem lies and also as soon as I open the regulator a crack the fire gets blown out!?

John

steamie1 · Post by **steamie1** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 9:59 am

Doesn't sound right to me..

Mattyrallye · Post by **Mattyrallye** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:05 am

depends what you class as short. How long we talking?

cncmodeller · Post by **cncmodeller** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:06 am

80 Feet.

DLRdan · Post by **DLRdan** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:10 am

If the fire goes out when you open the regulator that could be a loose union nut or a blown super heater element. Both of these would put the fire out and would be a leak you couldn't see. If there is a lot of condensate coming out on start up then the water could be foaming in the boiler, rinsing it out with some water and a little bit of vinegar should help.

MikeD · Post by **MikeD** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:15 am

I don't have a 'Superior', but the 'Ragleth', 'Lyn' and 'Lyd' Accucraft locos I have all run for about 20 minutes or more on a first fill.

The 'Lyd'/'Lew' is a bit harder to fill the boiler to the correct level as it doesn't have a drain at the 'full' level like the others do, and it's easy to get an airlock and think the boiler is full, even though it's not! I'm now using a tube extension on the syringe so I can push the water right to the bottom of the boiler when filling, to make sure it is properly filled up!

Mike

cncmodeller · Post by **cncmodeller** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:49 am

Thanks for your responses guys, I will check that super heater/union tonight [ thanks Dan].

John.

Gremlin · Post by **Gremlin** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:03 pm

Agree with Dan, I knew of a Mortimer with the same issue and that was to problem.

DVT Dweller · Post by **DVT Dweller** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 8:33 pm

Dan's super heater suggestion sounds like it could be it, its usually moisture or oil getting blown back into the burner that causes them to blow themselves out. What oil have you been using in it? I believe that using the thin stuff from Roundhouse will cause the super heater to corrode.

Ive got an Edrig (about 30 mins steaming) and a Lew from Accucraft.
so cant give any advice on the running time on the Superior. The Lew has a sight-glass and water top-up valve. The best way to stop bubbles forming in the sight-glass is to drop a piece of brass wire, about 1mm in dia, into the sight-glass after removing the top bolt. One thing to check that can lead to false reading is if either the top or bottom inlet are blocked (PTFE tape, glass too long or broken or general crap).

I tend to 2/3 fill the boiler to start and by about 20 mins I top it up as the level has dropped to about 1/3 so you should easily be getting 30 mins+ on a full fill on Superior I would have thought.

Hope you manage to sort things out with it soon.

Steve

IrishPeter · Post by **IrishPeter** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 3:40 am

When I finally got it together and had the valve gear set, even my kit built 'Ruby' managed about 18 minutes.

Peter in AZ

cncmodeller · Post by **cncmodeller** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 2:01 pm

Thanks guys for all your help, I've solved it now, It was the front connection of the superheat tube that was the problem and also I found that the rear boiler drain plug was not working that well so I have blanked it off, it appears that at some point the brass fitting for this has some part of the thread stripped and its internal hole was not aligning with the copper tube in the housing.
I now manage to get about 15 minutes running time with gas turned right down to barely audible it merrily chuffs along with 50psi on the clock.

John

DolwyddelanLightRail · Post by **DolwyddelanLightRail** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 3:07 pm

cncmodeller:96717 wrote: I now manage to get about 15 minutes running time with gas turned right down to barely audible it merrily chuffs along with 50psi on the clock.

John

15 mins sounds a tad low to me. I think the Superior gas tanks are larger than that fitted to the Edrig/Caradoc and I used to get 30 mins out of my Edrig on a good day, verging 40 mins with the pre-warmed boiler trick

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Accucraft Length of run first Boiler fill?

Accucraft Length of run first Boiler fill?

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