This weekend felt like I did the box step again – one forward, one sideways, one backwards, and then sideways again.
I finished insulating the tank. Technique of gluing to the tank mounted strips worked well. Challenge was the seams where the covering plywood met. Used tape as clamps but not as even as I would have like (one step forward).
Since I sized the tank to fit between my frames, I had to trim away about half of the frame width to accommodate the extra length. Here was where I took a step backwards. My Dremel sander did a great job but when trying to square out the corners with a small chisel (and here is where I’m going to blame my awkward, trigger finger induced grip), I didn’t control it well enough, it slipped off the frame and straight through the hull. Any remote chances of another float test this season was gone. I may sister the frames but I’m thinking the fiberglass mat and epoxy coating had made the hull into a monocoque structure.
Leaving the hull repair for another day, I turned to the various pieces of piping. The feed lines fitted up ok but the thickness of the bottom insulation had raised the tank up to where the steam outlet elbow interfered with the feedpump outlet. (one step sideways). I could have used a double male union fitting but that would have probably necessitated a new discharge line. Making lemonade from lemons, I decided to add a 90 degree valve to be able to use steam back pressure to blow the condensate tank contents out the drain tube. Screwing the valve directly into the tank bushing would still not have given me the required clearance so I used the dbl union and a female sleeve to stack the valve a little higher.
But, here’s the other step sideways. Now the steam outlet interfered with the steam line to the engine! After annealing the outlet line, I was able to get enough clearance which was good, I didn’t want to strip the insulation from the steam supply line to anneal it again!
I’m still hopeful I’ll be about to do a steam up on the porch and get an assessment of my new condensate tank fill time, both with and without using the pre-heater, before the weather’s too cold.
Stay tuned.
Ken/Landlocked