Subject: Banjo joints - what sealant? Mon Oct 27, 2008 6:26 pm
After a wasteful attempt at fabricating an operating whistle on my Edrig, and giving up I have steam coming from a joint, this is metal to metal with no gasket. I think it had some sort of gunge on it but it was cleaned off (as one would). There is a fibre washer but only on one side. Before I screw things up further (haha) I thought I would ask you experts what I should use as a sealant.
Mylomar would be my first choice but I don't know if I have any these days, so am looking fer an alternative that I don't have to pay for.
I have some O rings that will fit but can they take the heat, part in question is top of steam chest - to guage.
Should I wrap PTFE (teflon) on the threads. These are very fine so I don't want to risk stripping them.
Then I have tub of Boss White, but am reluctant to use this as it gets a bit hard.
BTW GREEN Hermatite is not on my shortlist, although I do have some GOLD Hermatite.
Carl Hibbs Admin
Location : Haute Normandie - visitors welcome
Subject: Re: Banjo joints - what sealant? Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:52 pm
Stick with the fibre washers and PTFE in my opinion Patrick. I've used it carefully on M3 threads. I cut it in half lengthways with very sharp scissors.
Mylomar jointing compound is available direct from Regner or Atelier Vaporiste if you choose that route.
pjti
Location : Galizano, nr Santander, Nth Spain
Subject: Re: Banjo joints - what sealant? Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:00 am
Just found the HYLOMAR website, didn't realise they still made it. The only tube I had was over 30 years ago and that was 2nd hand, wonderful stuff sounds like the ideal sealant for this job. Now then where do I get some locally ? ( that's the Continental connection) What's the Spanish for Car Factors .
Talking of Regner , Carl do you know anything about the whistle kit they sell , they are quite a good price but I can't find any piccys ? Can it be made to fit Edrigs and do they work ? I get rather lost on the website. Atelier Vaporiste list them too.
Carl Hibbs Admin
Location : Haute Normandie - visitors welcome
Subject: Re: Banjo joints - what sealant? Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:39 am
Blimy you were up burning the midnight oil....
I'm glad you found Hylomar (not Mylomar....)
Regner whistles... Quite high pitched but loud. Yes they are reasonably priced and can be made to fit Accucraft as they both use metric threads. You will need to have a look at your machine and see best where you can fit another steam take off. Some people go for an adaptor on the pressure gauge side although there are other possibilities. I'm thinking of fitting one to my Caradoc.
I fitted ones to my Chiemseebahn and Emma and found they work better vertically and not horizontally where they collect water.
If you can silver solder without setting fire to the house (I can't) then anything is possible.
I would buy a Regner catalogue as all the bits are there available to play with.
Here's a page scanned from an old catalogue which shows it quite well. If you want it higher resolution I can send it by e mail.
pjti
Location : Galizano, nr Santander, Nth Spain
Subject: Re: Banjo joints - what sealant? Thu Oct 30, 2008 12:34 am
Ah looks the biz but is it really 6cm long - I was hoping for something a tad smaller. How does the sound compare with a Mamod which is about half that size , any ideas ? The one I was making would have been about 25 - 30mm x 5/16 inch - it whistled quite well when I blew it but failed miserably under steam, it too filled with condensate even when upright.
What a laugh trying to buy Hylomar over here, Maria had to interpret for me, but she has no mechanical knowledge at all and has no idea what gaskets, gasket joints or sealing compound is, or what it is used for.
Carl Hibbs Admin
Location : Haute Normandie - visitors welcome
Subject: Re: Banjo joints - what sealant? Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:25 pm
If you do fit a Regner whistle horizontally fit it so the hole is facing downwards, obvious I know but I've seen some that are not!
You can hear a Regner whistle on this clip near the end.
dtsteam
Location : Preston, England
Subject: Re: Banjo joints - what sealant? Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:14 pm
Most steam whistles spit some condensate to start with. Somemtimes a little leakage through the valve actually helps as it keeps the whistle warm. For most model engineers, whistles are a no-no as they can waste a lot of steam. I like the regner idea of having the whistle face down underneath as it allows the condensate to drain away by itself.
I've has some fun making whistles for steam launches, but discovered, like Patrick, that air and steam behave differently. The trouble is that you can blow about 5 psi, which is Ok for an organ pipe, but connect it to your boiler and you could push 50 psi through it. Consequently the whistle sounds, but is overblown a number of octaves so the note becomes too high pitched. Carl might get a lower note out of the Regner whistle by restricing the team supply enough to make it drop an octave, however it may not sound promptly (or 'toot'). Basically, the longer the pipe, the lower the note. Longer pipes don't consume more steam, so make the pipe as long as you can. The pipe should always be stopped - that doubles its effective length over an open flue. There are rules about length and the note which is sounded, but unless you are building a chime any old racket will do.
One interesting development is the resonator whistle, which uses a separate chamber to extend the effective working length. Google Bangham or Resonator whistle, if like me you are a whistle geek !