I've been asked to help recommission a car with a Derr boiler & burner. What are some of the differences in managing this system compared to Stanley?

Since it's still a water level boiler, I assume that water management is basically the same - operate the bypasses to keep the level where you want in the indicator, whether a sight glass or kidney gauge. But since there is less total water stored in the boiler, I imagine that the level will fluctuate more quickly. Maybe a good-working automatic bypass is a must for a boiler like this.

I don't suppose you can modulate the amount of fire - the gun burner is either running full-blast or it's not at all. I imagine there is a pressure switch to actuate it. Would it typically have its own fuel pump, so the Stanley pump & pressure tanks would be out of the picture?

Obviously the pilot system would no longer be used.

I guess blowing down would be the same - once at the end of the run, but I suppose it would be over pretty quickly.

How about firing up - get the right water level in the boiler, open the drip for superheater protection, and just start the burner and let it rip?

An old letter from the original purchaser of the Derr system says that he was unsatisfied, and that he thought Derr could have done a few easy things that would have made it a lot better. He didn't say what they were. It will be fun to see how well the existing system works.

Thanks,

Kelly

Kelly
The information you posted is two vague. You will have to dig into what is there and how the system is built.
Two cars I know of had Stanley type burners and controls. Mine and some others had gun type oil burners, but each fired differently. One had an igniter on all the time the car was running.
I used a two-stage burner, it started on two Gal per Hr. and at 100 PSI you would pull a switch which opened the air full and engaged a second nozzle at four Gal for a total burn of Six Gal per hour. You could leave it there and have the pressure regulator turn the burner on and off or if on a slow roar switch back to just the two Gal nozzle. The water level had a LED display, controlled by liquid level probes.
Rolly

This system is just as Thomas Derr built it, some time between 1927 and 1942. It ran until 1942, then some time in the '70s. I'm looking forward to making it go again.

Kelly
What a great opportunity to document how Derr did things. If it’s the car off Cape cod Ellis may have made some changes, but document every thing you find, great stuff.
Rolly



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2015 05:11PM by Rolly.