In a dutch forum, when I reached 40 runhours, someone commented that the quality of this engine was apparently, based on my reporting, much better than expected. The subject of that thread is the question whether the "cheap chinese machines" are worth considering or not.
Suffice to say, any prejudice I had, is gone and they absolutely ARE worth considering.
Today, I have landed at 70 runhours, and re-reading that forum I stumbled upon that old post from back then.
This is the comment I posted today in that thread (ran it through Google Translate of course, duh...), because I simply wanted to share my thoughts here as well for those that have the same question I had (whether these engines are any good):
In the meantime I can report that I have almost 70 operating hours, and the machine is still running without any visible deterioration, no mechanical rattles, no obvious play or clearances, the Stephenson arches do not rattle (although I am quite precise with lubricating them), the performance does not deteriorate, the steam consumption is quite constant, the behavior of the machine, for example when reversing under load or running extremely slowly, does not change. The crossheads are still tight, both in the guideways and in the crosshead pins, and the piston rod seals have not yet shown any visible deterioration. The seals of the control valve rods show some steam oil leakage, but that is actually a good thing, because that oil helps to lubricate the Stephenson arches. Ditto for the piston rod seals: No steam leakage, and the oil that escapes helps keep the crossheads in condition.
BUT ALSO: The gas tap on the gas tank, main steam valve, feed water valve, steam control valve, etc., not only still function flawlessly after all this time, they are also all still 100% tight on both the valve itself and at the spindle gland. The functioning of these items is what keeps an installation safe to operate IMHO...
The steam regulator does not close 100%, but it never did and cannot be expected from a stopcock of this construction. It also does not have to: a minor leakage her assists in keeping the engine warm when stopped.
The parts in the installation that appeared to work less smoothly were the RC controlled burner regulating valve and the feed pump, and both were from Regner, not Microcosm...
They are also working well now, by the way.
I am absolutely aware of the fact that the machine as delivered out of the box and used without further consideration with regard to lubrication and water quality will probably show significant deterioration within a few dozen of runhours. But I think that goes for most engines.
Virtually all engines come with simple oil cups on the bearings etc etc, which is nice for bench runs, but not for "active duty". IMHO, wickfeed oiling is the only way to go.
The fact that this brass engine lasted 70 hours with all signs suggesting that it will last many hundreds of hours to come, that speaks volumes.
In short, the basis of the machine is 100% good, it is a "machine with potential", so to speak. Install proper lubrication (wick feed), and polish the running surfaces of the steam slides (the only thing I can really fault my engine for), keep an eye on your water quality, and the thing will work as well as any other machine.
