After polishing with 400 and 1500 grit wet/dry, and then cleaning, the cylinder went right back together in the reverse order, as predicted by Tony and Sam. A compressed air test with the engine reassembled now showed that the other cylinder was leaking air past the o-ring. The engine ran better, but still not smoothly.
Since the tools were all out on the workbench, I went ahead and disassembled the other cylinder. It wasn't full of debris, but it needed polishing. Within 2 hours it was back together with a new o-ring. On air the engine would start up and run smoothly. The cylinder action was a bit tight but smooth. Under steam yesterday, however, things were not great. The boiler raised steam in 5 minutes, and intitially the engine seemed like it wanted to run. But then it got very stiff and would not turn a full rotation, almost like there was severe priming. (Also the first cylinder's head leaked steam, although the head was fully seated and straight.) This continued until I shut the fire down. Subsequently it ran again for an hour on air down to 10 psi just fine. Causes? Possibly insufficient steam volume. Possibly the o-rings are still too tight and the piston's expansion with heat makes them tighter. Possibly priming. I will try it under steam again before tearing into the cylinders again. Maybe rig up a superheater to dry the steam a bit before it goes to the engine. Steve __________________________________________________________________ Switch to Netscape Internet Service. As low as $9.95 a month -- Sign up today at http://isp.netscape.com/register Netscape. Just the Net You Need. New! Netscape Toolbar for Internet Explorer Search from anywhere on the Web and block those annoying pop-ups. Download now at http://channels.netscape.com/ns/search/install.jsp _______________________________________________ SSLiveSteam mailing list Send messages: [email protected] Cancel subscription: http://postfix.45mm.com/mailman/listinfo/sslivesteam Rules: http://www.45mm.com/sslivesteam_guide.html
