Further to my post 'A whole bunch of questions', an update. During my attempts to get the water in the sight glass to the half-way mark so I could drive without putting water into the engine, I managed to run the boiler dry. (I know, I know.) So I let it sit for a couple of hours, and then put a bit (maybe a litre) of water in. (IK,IK.) A bit of steam came out the blow-off, and I waited a bit and added another litre. Then another. And so on. Seemed fine. When I fired it, steam everywhere, and water leaks into the firebox. Damn! So the burner and smoke-box are off, and the spiralators (or whatever the Stanleys called them) are out.

That's the confession. Now the questions. The divider inside the firebox is pretty ragged. (Remember, this is a forced-air Doble-type burner.) Should I replace the divider, or does it matter? Same with the smoke-box. The outsides are fine, but the inside metal is thin. And finally, for the moment, where can I buy a roller expander? All the ones on the internet are 1" or larger. Again, my thanks.

For a boiler tube expander, go to [www.mcmaster.com] They start at 1/2" in diameter there.

If you rebuild the inside of the combustion chamber use 310 stainless.
You can get small quantities cut and shipped from Slice of Stainless out of Ohio
Just about any size you want.


[www.sliceofstainless.com]

Rolly

Moving right along......I've been told that roller expanders might not work very well with ferrules. Comments? And also that spiralators (or whatever they're called) might lead to scaling in the tubes. Certainly my tubes have lots of scale, but then, they've been in there for 30 years and a lot of steaming. Finally, the only fireproof malleable material I can source locally is Devil's Putty, which is fireproof but not an insulator. Any thoughts? Thanks.

.I've been told that roller expanders might not work very well with ferrules. Comments?

You have been miss lead.

Roller expanders work with all steal boiler pipe and tubes, and very well with the light gauge steel ferrules. When I built my Stanley boiler I used the tube roller on all the ferrules.
For an insulator material use Fiberfrax


[www.fiberfrax.com]

Rolly

Hi,,I'm tired,,,but I'll try,,Okok,,you have a direct water glass,,and you got the wrong water leavel,,,whats wrong here,,ARE both valves to the glass open,,I once saw someone drive with the valve [s] closed,,,annealed the tubes and warped the top tube sheet,,,,so lookinto this,,,A little water through the engine wont hurt,,WHILE IT IS STATIONARY,,when steam issues w/water,,as steam starts,,close the throttle,,and open a blow down valve,,perhaps around 50#,,will get the water out faster,,to the leavel ya want,,,All those lil'air bubbles take space, so the leavel should be a bit higher,,,when ya put the fire out,,,the bubbles collapse and the leavel will drop,,perhaps 2-4 inches,,so when you come back to a parked Stanley,,you may wonder where the water went,,Long as you have water in middle of glass,,plus-minus,,fire up and it will rise as the eubillation occurs[sp?]On my car it rises about i nut on the casting,,,#### Terbulators ???Not usually on Stanley,,,Dont need em,,most of the heat transfer is in the first 3 inches of tube,,so if you annealed the tubes,,,you had very little water in it,,like 1" ?? and that SHOULD have been evident on the glass,,### It was a cold day,,+15 at 6 am,,and 38 by noon,,Last year,I had posted that it was a hi of -5f,,,so I'll keep quiet this year and try to gather strength for another assault on spring,,Cheers,,Ben //whadddidIforgett,,>

310 Stainless, Rolly's [www.sliceofstainless.com] isn't working . I need a piece of 310 ss 20 gauge. Bill

Don Hoke at Vintage Steam Supply has 310 stainless for lining the burner. find it at: [www.vintagesteamproducts.com]

For Ian and Ben.... A turbulator is a device that turns a laminar flow into a turbulent flow. Turbulent flow can be found in industrial applications such as heat exchangers and the mixing of fluids. In this case, in Ian's fire tubes, the turbulators are in his over sized 5/8" diameter fire tubes to help drive the heat into the fire tubes. I have driven Ian's car with it using the turbulators, and the boiler works very well. Frank Nutting (of Knott's Berry Farm fame) built Ian's boiler using the turbulators back when Carsten Henningsen owned it. If the boiler had the smaller fire tubes like what Stanley had originally used, there wouldn't be any need for Ian's fire tube turbulators.

I need more than just lining material. Thanks

Bill
You can get all you want cut to any size from
A slice of stainless. [www.sliceofstainless.com]
Rolly

Thank you, I ordered a piece.

Vintage Steam Products not only has stainless steel liners but also a full range of Fiberfrax, caulk, diplag, etc. Everything you need to put your boiler, burner, and fire box back together.

www.vintagesteamproducts.com. Let me know if you want a paper catalogue.

We also have a 1925 Stanley SV252A Phaeton for sale. It runs very nicely and is quite original.

We recently acquired a collection of parts and will be posting them on eBay over the next few months.

Let us know how we can help you get or keep your steam car on the road and touring safely!

Very best wishes!

Don, Carolyn, & CJ Hoke

Wanted: Parts for 1924 Stanley Model 750 and 1925 Stanley Model SV 252. We buy steam car parts and literature. Visit the virtual steam car museum at www.virtualsteamcarmuseum.org.

For all your steam car needs, visit www.vintagesteamproducts.com.