[Steam-engine] relief valves

[Jeff Smith]

Ms. Best brings up good points.

I also, was taught to not lift the safety other than
at the initial steam up for a safety check, and boy
did they give me a tough time if I did lift it anytime
later.

As far as the ash pan, as a child I watched my father
fix drafts around the wood stove and other items with
extreme heat with fire proof rope scraps from where he
worked.  They would use this material around their
boiler lagging to fix cold air leaks because the
boiler actually extended out the roof of the building.
 The rope was about 1/2" in diameter.  He made a door
for a stove and used this rope as a door seal.  It
worked real well and is still in use today.  I have
pondered making an ash pan that was like the door, and
have it seal against the bottom of a dry bottom
boiler; even to the extent of having it hinge and drop
the ash into a steel box on the ground.  I have seen
this done without the rope, and I think I can make the
pan seal much better.  I have even considered taking
ash pan doors and brackets and running them over a
belt sander or having them surface ground until they
were flat.  I may be a bit overboard, but there are a
lot of old warped doors out there, and those are items
I have considered to help stop the air leaks.

Jeff Smith



--- "Best, Dianne" wrote:

> When I was growing up among engineers & engines, it
> was considered a
> matter of professional pride to NEVER have the
> safety lift
> unintentionally. It was excusable to blow off steam
> if the separator
> suddenly threw a belt to the saw mill broke, but a
> good engineer with a
> good engine didn't always lift the safety even under
> those unexpected
> circumstances.
> 
> Many engines I see now-a-days don't have the ash pan
> tightly fitted and
> the draft doors are a mess, so it is almost
> impossible to completely
> kill the draft. It's a shame because draft control
> should be yet another
> tool in the fireman's tool box.
> 
> JMHO
> 
> Dianne



		
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