Spirit-fired Tich Locomotive

[Mark SalzedoParticipant @marksalzedo65030]

Hi,

I have a spirit-fired 3 1/2" Gauge Tich. I have spent some time trying to steam the locomotive but I cannot get the pressure to rise above 15 psi. I don't suppose there are any spirit-fired 'experts' out there (possibly) in the Surrey area who might have an hour to spare in trying to get her to steam.

Many thanks,
Mark

[Mark SalzedoParticipant @marksalzedo65030]

Spirit-fired Tich Locomotive

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

>bump<

Hi Mark.

Coal fired boilers use the blower to get a forced draught to really get the boiler going. I don't know how meths would respond to a blower – do you have one and have you tried using it?

Neil

[Mark SalzedoParticipant @marksalzedo65030]

Hi Neil,

Thanks for your response.

Yes indeed. I certainly used a blower when trying to steam her on spirit. The pressure didn't rise above 15 psi over a 40 minute period.

Best,

Mark

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Mark…if you pm me, with your email address I will send you about 4 pages of information which may assist you.

Mick

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

This might not help, but I once converted a boiler from spirit to butane. Its not difficult and your steaming woes are forgotten forever. I did tis on a Juliet which is a fair bit bigger in terms of boiler size – to be honest I struggle to see how anyone gets a boiler of these sizes to steam using spirit, unless it is fed under pressure and vapourised first?

[Mark SalzedoParticipant @marksalzedo65030]

Hi,

Yes, thanks for that. I am considering converting it to gas firing. The frustrating thing is that at some point the previous owner was steaming it quite successfully with a wick burner. It would be good to do likewise.

Mick sent some very useful information regarding spirit-firing which I am reading through at the moment.

Regards,

Mark

[Keith LongParticipant @keithlong89920]

Hi Mark

Not sure if it will help, but there has been quite a bit of discussion about spirit firing of small boilers on the 16mm narrow gauge modellers Yahoo group. Seems that over the years the quality of meths bought openly has declined significantly, causing problems with firing, and some on that group are taking out the necessary licences to be able to purchase methanol at industrial purity rather than the adulterated stuff that is commonly available. Might be worth a browse.

Keith

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

I am not prejudiced either way and I am currently building both a gas fired and a spirit fired loco but whilst gas firing is OK just turning a gas tap on is not nearly as much fun as spirit firing with full Stephenson effects.

Mick

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