Bertie, I have owned an Aster JNR 8550 for over 25 years. It is the later model with two working cylinders. It is still a very strong and reliable runner. It is a very simple model by today's standards with no pressure gauge, sight glass or method of refilling the boiler while in steam. This has never been a problem as the alcohol fuel runs out about the same time as the boiler runs dry. As Robert has mentioned, if you were to run out of water before burning all of the alcohol the engine stops, you lose your draft and some flame will erupt out of the firebox but no harm will come to the smithies boiler. I have seen pressure gauges and tender pumps added by some owners but I have never gotten around to making these modifications myself.
The single cylinder model is another matter. If I remember correctly the other cylinder was used as the lubricator. This model was not very successful and I believe Aster made a kit allowing the owners to convert the engine to two working cylinders. I don't know if any of these kits are still around but you never know. I am not sure what your expectations are for this engine unmodified but it will have its limitations. Hope this helps. Best Regards, Jim McDavid ----- Original Message ----- From: Tilmans<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 4:31 AM Subject: [SSLiveSteam] Aster JNR 8550 Dear members, Although I have received some positive reactions to my request for information regarding the running properties of the ancient Aster JNR 8550 mogul I would like to learn the feelings of a larger group. I am planning to buy an unused Aster JNR 8550 from 1976 and would like to use it for what is was made for. It is a one-cylinder engine and how does this work in the garden? Also the lack of a Water Gauge Glass puzzles me regarding how to now if still water is present in the boiler. Hope to hear from you, Bertie Tilmans (NL) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mijn Postvak In wordt beschermd door SPAMfighter 458 spam-mails zijn er tot op heden geblokkeerd. Download de gratis SPAMfighter vandaag nog! _______________________________________________ SSLiveSteam mailing list Send messages: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Cancel subscription: http://postfix.45mm.com/mailman/listinfo/sslivesteam<http://postfix.45mm.com/mailman/listinfo/sslivesteam> Rules: http://www.45mm.com/sslivesteam_guide.html<http://www.45mm.com/sslivesteam_guide.html> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://postfix.45mm.com/pipermail/sslivesteam/attachments/20070125/2365eb71/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
