The IHC engine to which I referred, used a grease cup on each crankshaft bearing, and one on the "half-time shaft", besides the one on the crankshaft end, and used a drip-feed oiler to lubricate the cylinder (about 6-10 drops per minute), hopper-cooled, and was called a "kerosene engine", which we found would in fact, run very well on deiselene!!

donhe7

Hi. I have joined this forum. My brother just got a 6” Burrell traction engine and I want to check on the big end bearing lubrication. I suspect these are Syphon Wick Lubricators – is this correct?  If so I reckon I need wicks for these. Any idea where I might get these in the Uk?  I am new to steam engines so sorry if I am asking a stupid question or am getting this wrong.

`dont forget a lot of it is down to the quality of the lubricant not just some old oil at the back of the garage thats been laying there for 20+ years. suggest you look for oils that have a high shear strength possibly castor based?

Mallard set the world speed record for steam loconotives, but lubrication of the middle big end was always marginal, so having set the record, limped into Peterborough station, to be taken off as a failure.

Locomotives ran millions of miles with oil being fed from the oil pot to the bearing by worsted trimmings which passed the oil over, by capilliary action, to bearing.

Mill engines had a “dish” mounted concentric with the crankshaft centreline, with a pipe leading to the crankpin and big end bearing. Oil was fed into this dish, from a staionary pipe / reservoir, and was centrifuged out to the big end assenbly.

Almost until the end of WW2, low power ICE engines often splash fed their big ends. A scoop on the big end cap, dipped into the oil in the sump and forced oil into the big end, (and probably into the main bearings also) and the excess splash ensured that the pistons and bores did not run dry.

As speeds, compression ratios, and power, increased, pressure fed oil became a necessity.

howard

+1 for Martin’s comment above.  If you must fit a trimming then it should be a plug trimming for this application.  You want a small constant flow of oil, the rotary motion will empty the reservoir in short order with an ordinary trimming, there needs to be a small breather hole somewhere in the set up too.  Typically full size use corks with a cane through the centre, the cane is porous and allows he reservoir to vent without chucking the oil out!  For my eccentric oilers I cut out a felt disc with a wad punch and placed in the bottom of the reservoir, big end is fitted with a worsted plug trimming.  I had an occurrence last weekend where on the Sunday night it was so hot the oil became really thin (460 bearing oil) that when I steamed up Monday morning all the oil had run out of the big end bearing!  I turned the engine over slow to clear the condensate before I had oiled up and there was a nasty knock!  Refilled the oiler and waited a minute or two for the oil to get into the bearing and it went away.  Clearance on the bearing was a bit big, stripped it down this weekend, no damage thankfully, readjusted with the cotter.  Moral, make sure your bearing clearance is not too large or you will use a lot of oil in hot weather, or consider if it’s hot switching to a heavier grade.

Paul.