Hi Royce, About time you made it to the NSS again! I look forward to seeing you. Possibly we are the only live steamer's on the West Coast who seem to have made careers out trying to get just ONE locomotive running properly.
Neoprene apparently breaks down when exposed to alcohol. For filling alcohol fuel tanks I used a syringe with a neoprene plunger seal. After a few years the neoprene broke down, became gummy as you report, and made the syringe very stiff to work. Finally I had to discard it and get a new syringe. I concur with Lord Geoff that silicone tubing from the hobby shop is the way to go. It's tinted blue in color, and comes in several different inside diameters. Get the correct size for a good push fit over the copper tubing. I haven't used proper hose barbs with it. I just take two turns of #20 or #22 gauge solid copper wire around the connection and twist the fall ends with needle-nosed pliers. Not too tight or else the twisted part breaks off or the wire cuts into the tubing. The only deterioration with silicone tubing that I've seen is where the copper tubing gets REALLY hot. The alcohol feed line from the Philly sump to the burners will never get that hot under normal useage. When the copper gets really hot over an extended period of time the silicone crystallizes and welds to the copper. Then it loses strength, and it needs to be chipped off the copper. No damage to the copper. Steve On 6/29/06, Geoff Spenceley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >Hi S.B Royce, > > > The best line for the alky feed is soft silicon tubing, I am sure > Sulphur springs has it--if you give them the dimensions. You may > find a supply at you local DYI or at a hobby shop who stocks fuel > lines for model aircraft. > > Look forward to seeing you in Sacramento. > > Geoff. > > >Hi steamers. Just got my reservations at Lion's Gate and sent my reg > >fee to Sonny. So . . . that means I'm committed to attending the Summer > >Steamup in Sac next month. I didn't make it to the Queen Mary, deciding > >that the time might be better spent trying to get my steamer further > >along. While I've been working as much as I can (which isn't as much as > >I'd like) to get as much done on my Philly and tender, it will not be as > >complete as I would like. I've still got problems with the axle pump - > >can't seem to get it to pump under boiler pressure (although static > >tests show that the pump functions well) - but I'm going to bring it > >anyway. I do have a question about hoses though. I've been using > >neoprene for the feed and return lines. It seems that the feed line > >hose is degrading to a gooey mess where it is stretched over the copper > >(5/32 od) feed line. Has anyone ever observed this ? There are no > >bands clamping the hose to the tubing. So it is simply neoprene/copper > >interface. What gives ? The return line with the same connection has > >not suffered the same fate. > > > >And on a related matter, what is the preferred hose for the alcohol feed > >line ? (I'm trying to get the tender alcohol tank/sump done before > >Sacramento). > > > >Thanks in advance for any input you more experienced steamers might > share. > > > >Looking forward to seeing all of you. > > > >royce (in SB) > >_______________________________________________ > >SSLiveSteam mailing list > >Send messages: [email protected] > >Cancel subscription: http://postfix.45mm.com/mailman/listinfo/sslivesteam > >Rules: http://www.45mm.com/sslivesteam_guide.html > > _______________________________________________ > SSLiveSteam mailing list > Send messages: [email protected] > Cancel subscription: http://postfix.45mm.com/mailman/listinfo/sslivesteam > Rules: http://www.45mm.com/sslivesteam_guide.html > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://postfix.45mm.com/pipermail/sslivesteam/attachments/20060630/38114f85/attachment.html _______________________________________________ SSLiveSteam mailing list Send messages: [email protected] Cancel subscription: http://postfix.45mm.com/mailman/listinfo/sslivesteam Rules: http://www.45mm.com/sslivesteam_guide.html
