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[rhavrane]

Bonjour,
I have bought a "brand new" steam plant, only tested once then left on a shelf ... for more than 10 years !
Bad luck, for me I mean, water  was left in the boiler... The rest in pictures :
https://youtu.be/j_2xBOR2ais
https://youtu.be/yxJUC9kUlyM

Morality, I highly recommend emptying your boilers after using them 

If you wish activating the subtitle function in your langage with YouTube, please watch this video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UJOgdflke8&t=4s

[1967Brutus]

My estimate would be tapwater or demiwater, or demi with a bit of tapwater being used. In combination with brass fittings that is a killer.

I use double destilled water, refresh every four hours, measure conductivity regularly, but leave the water in the boiler.
So far, I do not see any ill results.

I have done some checks, like measuring the water at the beginning of a 2 month storage period, and after, and I cannot see any chemical changes to the water. Therefore, no chemical reactions going on in my boiler during periods of inactivity.

When I was still professionally working with steam plants, active as well as idle boilers were tested every 3 days, and changes to the water could clearly be observed in one month...

[KBIO]

Hello !
Sometime , I pull out some boiler with water which has been inside for more than 10 years and I never have no deposit , no problem. I use only filtered rain water from my garden . The shrimps left inside are boiled and good for lubrification.
Your boiler has probably been filled up with tap water or pond water in the Parisian basin . This water is reputed to be very hard and very calcareous . But .. ! THe limestone did never freeze a thread as it is inside the port.
If there is some suspicion of limestone deposit , then , remove the glass of the glass level and with a syringe , flush with vinegar or even diluted HCL acid. Then soak and flush with vinegar or HCL if really dirty. The acid has no effect on the copper. Be careful with brass boiler though : Sa¨to and Regner.

I don't think it was the limescale that stucked the thread. Rather, I think the previous owner used a little too much threadlocker to reduce a leak at this point. If the original thread was made with a tired tap, then this explains it. Re- thread properly and avoid thread sealant .
It's a good idea to empty your boiler if you're not using it, but life happens ....
I saved many old boilers this way. The vinegar is our friend . The beer too , but it does not clean so well though !  
Still
Cheers !

[1967Brutus]

Personally, I use citric acid... Once a year (beginning of July is marked on my calendar) I fill the boiler to the top with a citric acid solution, leave the filling cap off, and put a very low fire under the boiler for about 15~20 minutes.

Rinse it 3 times with destilled water, and done. Half hour job, tops.

I am not so much worried about deposits, in my case it is because I can never 100% exclude traces of cylinder oil getting into the boiler.

As said earlier, I keep a runtime counter on my TX and every time that number can be divided by four, I drain the boiler and feedwater tank and refresh.
Mind you, the refreshment is "when convnient"... I do not refresh in the middle of a demo day or something like that, either before or after getting back home. It's not a big deal.

[rhavrane]

Bonjour,
Advantage of living in France and buying French when you don't know how to fix your mistakes yourself 
https://youtu.be/i-HvjgEJBH4

[rhavrane]

Bonjour,

I couldn't resist, I have worked hard      to be able to make this second test, a few things to be repaired yet:
https://youtu.be/oafJz-LFU9g

[rhavrane]

Bonjour,
Finally https://youtu.be/QNuKUhLQDeY 

[rhavrane]

Bonjour,
I try to minimize the splashing coming out of the steam exhaust pipe connected to the double oil separator by connecting it as close as possible to the steam outlet of the machine.
https://youtu.be/NOIW4ucypXw

[1967Brutus]

It is a bit of a job, but... You can reduce the splash to near zero by fitting a syphon to your condenser, so it will stay (near) empty.
The syphon needs to go to some kind of dirty water receptacle, because that outflow is very oily.

[KBIO]

Good evening !
Condenser, decanter, separator, oil trap and even Ozsteam demon?
But what are we talking about???


A commonly called a “CONDENSER”  is a "illigitimate" accessory that condenses oil poorly and traps it more or less well!
In short, there's grain for thought here, and once again, a vocabulary problem.
What we do need to know, though ; when the steam leaves the machine, it expands, so the pressure drops, but the temperature is still the same when it enters the “condenser.  As little oil is deposited on the walls, the steam escapes unhindered.
The water present inside the condenser at start-up is not due to super-condensation, but rather to warming up the engine and above all to the “priming” in the boiler. Indeed, most steamers, believing they are increasing their autonomy, overfill a bit too much their boilers, so the vacuum created  when the steam line is opened, plus the internal agitation, cause the excess water below this valve to immediately escape and splash out.
A badly designed closed horizontal "condenser" fills up pretty fast , prevent the steam  from escaping freely  and creates a back pressure on the engine outlet. The condenser's diameter exhaust in this case must ber 2/3 time larger than the inlet to help hot steam to escape.

A simple example below: oil is recovered from the walls by centrifugal effect, without any restriction on the steam outlet.
Steam exits tangentially into a simple open container. The oil settles on the wall and the steam escapes unhindered.
Virtually no water at the bottom of the tank. The steam has no time to condensate.
At the end of the day, the small amount of oil and water at the bottom is emptied. Easy access for emptying. (not too good for enclosed steam plant) .


https://youtu.be/o2cwiK--Suk?si=cCHJVhzpaX966acKYou'll
https://youtu.be/yPdeV4eVj7Q?si=e2nrchNJB0Zg3Z9n


 There is condenser underneath the hull , the is condenser with heat exchanger , pumping cold water from the pond around the steam pipe bundle , ... You'll  know it all there :

https://modelismenavalvapeur.forumactif.com/t2-condenseur-deshuileur-voyons-voir


Vive la Vapeur !!
Cheers !

[1967Brutus]

A commonly called a “CONDENSER”  is a "illigitimate" accessory that condenses oil poorly and traps it more or less well!
In short, there's grain for thought here, and once again, a vocabulary problem.
What we do need to know, though ; when the steam leaves the machine, it expands, so the pressure drops, but the temperature is still the same when it enters the “condenser. Overheating then occurs, and condensation cannot take place yet. As little oil is deposited on the walls, the steam escapes unhindered.
The water present inside the condenser at start-up is not due to super-condensation, but rather to warming up the engine and above all to the “priming” in the boiler. Indeed, most steamers, believing they are increasing their autonomy, overfill a bit too much their boilers, so the vacuum created  when the steam line is opened, plus the internal agitation, cause the excess water below this valve to immediately escape and splash out.
A badly designed closed horizontal "condenser" fills up pretty fast , prevent the steam  from escaping freely  and creates a back pressure on the engine outlet. The condenser's diameter exhaust in this case must ber 2/3 time larger than the inlet to help hot steam to escape.

A simple example below: oil is recovered from the walls by centrifugal effect, without any restriction on the steam outlet.
Steam exits tangentially into a simple open container. The oil settles on the wall and the steam escapes unhindered.
Virtually no water at the bottom of the tank. The steam has no time to condensate.
At the end of the day, the small amount of oil and water at the bottom is emptied. Easy access for emptying. (not too good for enclosed steam plant) .


https://youtu.be/o2cwiK--Suk?si=cCHJVhzpaX966acKYou'll
https://youtu.be/yPdeV4eVj7Q?si=e2nrchNJB0Zg3Z9n


 There is condenser underneath the hull , the is condenser with heat exchanger , pumping cold water from the pond around the steam pipe bundle , ... You'll  know it all there :

https://modelismenavalvapeur.forumactif.com/t2-condenseur-deshuileur-voyons-voir


Vive la Vapeur !!
Cheers !

I don't know who wrote that, but the bolded, is ABSOLUTELY untrue: An expansion/pressuredrop without a temperature drop is physically impossible without a supply of heat. You can take my word for that, it is part of my professional education.

The steam IS allready condensing in the cylinders (albeit a little) and by the time the steam enters the condenser, in my installation it contains about 10% mass liquid water. My oil separator (other people call this part a condenser) is thermally insulated, therefore very little condensation takes place IN the separator, yet it expells a fairly steady flow of liquid. This means the steam coming from the engine contains liquid, and the expansion when entering the separator forms the rest.

[KBIO]

Hello !
You are right , this is the principle of the detente of Joule-Thomson . The basic !
 

[KNO3]

Morality, I highly recommend emptying your boilers after using them 

This is the best advice for model steam boilers. Most people can't check the quality of the water they use, so emptying after each use cleaning with a weak acid when needed is a good approach.

[1967Brutus]

This is the best advice for model steam boilers. Most people can't check the quality of the water they use, so emptying after each use cleaning with a weak acid when needed is a good approach.

In case of doubt, always the best approach, yes...