mechanical lubricator

[Ian RParticipant @ianr]

Simplex 0 6 0

I have just fitted a new mechanical lubricator to my loco

It has a single bottom feed to the T pipe feeding steam to the cylinders

I have run the loco on air on 40 psi on my rolling road. I am getting oil from the drain cocks when open on the left cylinder but nothing from the right.

I cannot understand why this should happen has anyone have some suggestions or should I just steam it up and see if it works for both cylinders under steam pressure

[Brian Baker 2Participant @brianbaker2]

Greetings Ian, you need to be sure that oil is reaching both cylinders, so I would first check that oil flows out of both pipes from the pump, and that the pump is pumping OK.  I use an old pressure gauge and take care not to over pressurise it, one stroke of the pump can over pressurise the gauge easily.  the pump should deliver 150 psi no trouble.  You can use a plastic syringe to check that oil flows correctly through all the pipework.  Then you need to be sure that oil is pumped through both pipes, I use the old pressure gauge and block the other outlet with a finger.

Having checked these points, then the test under steam would be appropiate.

Regards

Brian B

[Ian RParticipant @ianr]

The oiler has one bottom feed pipe

it connects to the middle of the T junction that feeds steam to both cylinders

oil reaches one cylinder but not the other

 

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Air trapped in one of the delivery pipes ?, Are the oil delivery tubes screwed onto the steam pipe, if so, slacken off the screw on the dry side and bleed the air out of it.

Bob

[Ian RParticipant @ianr]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I have one delivery pipe from oiler to the T  connector that delivers steam to both cylinders</p>

[JAParticipant @ja]

Chatting to a Speedy owner I was told that this could be a problem. One obvious solution would be to have a lubricator for each cylinder. However this would supply too much oil in the case of an LBSC type lubricator. Recently I have seen a photo of a Jim Ewin’s type lubricator with three pumps, one for each cylinder on a three cylinder loco. When it snows I will look at the arrangement.

JA

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Air trapped in the system. block the working side and operate pump till oil shows at the other side, then re couple. Whilst common to have only 1 pump,it’s not ideal, either a twin pump unit or a pump on each side is better but more costly. Noel.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

OP is quite clear that there is one oil pipe feeding into the steam pipe tee where it splits to the 2 cylinders, so most of the suggestions are not useful. I have the same issue on one of my locos, one cyl gets a lot more oil than the other. I fitted a 2 ram pump on my second loco, but eventually when the round tuits arrive I’m going to experiment with one pump feeding 2 sight glasses with restrictor valves to get equal feeds.

[Ian RParticipant @ianr]

Do oilers perform differently when run on steam to when run 40 psi air

Is running on air giving a false understanding of the issue

I am unsure what happens whilst run on air is different to what happens under steam

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

I don’t see any good reason why. My diagnosis of my problem is that the pipe twixt the cylinders isn’t exactly horizontal, so the oil dribbles down the hypodermic feed pipe into the bottom of the tee and then runs into the lower cylinder. Having an atomiser fed with live steam might help, but I’d have to remember to turn it off when regulator shut, or have a GWR style jockey valve.

[Charles LamontParticipant @charleslamont71117]

suggestions:

make sure everything is free of burrs and the oil exit hole edges are sharp and square

make the oil feed a little jet that sticks up to the centre of the steam pipe diameter

put the oil feed, again as a jet, in the vertical leg, before the tee

[Derek DroverParticipant @derekdrover32802]

I have a Simplex and the oil feed method is a bit “random”. If the loco isnt sitting exactly flat then the oil will run to one side. When running on track with steam blowing through the pipes it’ll draw the oil to the cylinders, so they’ll both get some (one probably more than the other).

Because of this issue, many people create an oiling point on the lid of the steam chest that you can unscrew and put a few drops in before/after running and rely on the lubricator during operation.

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