Boiler Cost & Certification

[Nick TParticipant @nickt]

Hi All. I am looking at building a beginners loco and I am going through the process of costing our the materials. Taking Sweet Pea for example the boiler kit is about £800 and I think that is plus VAT. Is it possible to buy one's own materials?

If I joined a club I understand that a copper, not steel, boiler could be tested and certified by the club. Is that correct?

Thank you as always for any help, which is always appreciated.

Regards, Nick

[Nick TParticipant @nickt]

[Phil CatchesidesParticipant @philcatchesides15448]

Hi Nick, I must admit I don't make boilers – did one once and hated it – but of course you can buy the materials separately but don't forget the silver solder you will need, this could be £200 but others will be more accurate. In addition you will probably need to buy / make a brazing hearth, get suitable (large) burner(s) and have sulphuric acid for pickling. Some kits include flanged plates, if you don't buy these you will need to make / borrow / buy some forming plates and these are chunky steel items. All boilers need to tested by the club including commercial ones, did my commercial one for Pansy this afternoon with no problems. No idea whether clubs can do steel boilers. For me boiler making it isn't what I want to do so I save up and buy one.

Best of luck, Phil

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

You shouod join a Club for more reasons than wanting your boiler tested, indeed some clubs might take exception to an applicant who solely joined to gain access to boiler testing.

[dave greenhamParticipant @davegreenham19379]

Hi Nick.

Check your in box

Dave

[Chris GunnParticipant @chrisgunn36534]

Clubs can test both copper and steel boilers, it is worth joining one to get help and advice as you go along, plus you can get access to a track, and play with someone else's loco while you are building yours as well if you are lucky.

Chris Gunn

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Nick

Yes – a Society (or Club's) Boiler Tester could look at your boiler and conduct the various hydraulic & steam tests required for boilers >3BL However – I would strongly recommend that you join your local Society or Club before you build your boiler and talk to & consult with your local B/T before you do anything else.

They may have very useful suggestions – for instance in terms material specification and documentation – that will be very helpful to you from day one. I think it's also worth remembering that the B/Ts word is final – a bit like a Cricket Umpire – so it's worth knowing their views in advance.

If you have not already done so – I'd also suggest that you download the boiler test code (Green Book) from the Southern Fed website and read through it.

Regards,

IanT

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Phil,

To answer your question about steel boiler testing – the answer is a qualified "Yes"

The B/T has to be competent to do the work (e.g.be sufficiently experienced) and some MES B/Ts might not feel qualified to test a steel boiler. I'd guess this expertise is most likely to be found in groups that operate larger engines/boilers (7.25" & Traction etc). We don't tend to come across them in G3 !

The Green book specially rules out testing (by Society B/Ts) of stainless steel boilers by the way – suggesting professional or commercial testing be undertaken in these cases.

Regards,

IanT

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

> some clubs might take exception to an applicant who solely joined to gain access to boiler

I suspect that most clubs have alive and let live attitude – they realise that anyone making a loco is probably going to want to run it some day.

Neil

[old AlParticipant @oldal]

Join a club.

free information on tap. Somewhere to play trains

Read as much as you like, but to have real people show you and demonstrate stuff is the best way to get information to sink in.

Try a few local clubs and see what they offer, one may make better tea than the next but another may feel more comfortable to your needs. whatever, im sure you would be welcome unless you turned up with a dodgy looking boiler under your arm. Boiler testers are a funny breed and have to be cautious of what they cant see.

[Bob Brown 1Participant @bobbrown1]

One thing to allow for is mistakes and mistakes in boiler construction can get expensive as the materials are not cheap.

Bob

"The person who has not made a mistake has not made anything."

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

To have access to Someone knowledgeable and in the position of making the final decision is invaluable, little cost up front may save much work and cost later.

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

you wouldn't want to start with steel I think. To use steel you will need to design the whole boiler from scratch as the design of a copper boiler is so very different in terms of joining materials etc. Many Old school inspectors frown on steel boilers being home made, although if they actually knew anything about steel boilers and welding steel they would soon realise that it is near impossible to botch one and then have it pass the tests.

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