What do you mean?

TheDrumvader get good

You can buy this as a kit from polly locomotives

I believe if blowing down to dry, you should not do it at any more than 30psi, especially on a copper boiler like this with little thermal capacity.

I think it's the sudden cooling of the metal isn't it?

Matt Seymour it shouldn’t make a difference, the boiler still cools at a safe rate

But best to let go down to a 15psi before blowing down?

@@jordanbailey3289 Its because of the small thermal capacity of the copper boiler. The ones you deal with will have a much larger thermal capacity due to the size and steel rather than copper. This'll mean that the boiler cools at a much slower rate.

Thanks. Glad to be of some use. Good luck with the build

Thanks. I love it too. It looks a lot better in her new colour. Video coming soon

Have you got a link to the new video?

@@mattseymour8637 Latest video on my channel has her in her new livery

I did not build this. It has been around for 44 ish years. I have recently rebuilt this, however, and a video will be up soon on how I did this.

You may have struck lucky then. I have witnessed some hottible boiler fractures due to people blowing boilers down dry. Along with 5" gauge, i do standard gauge practice, and narrow gauge. If i was to even suggest blowing a steel boiler down from hot, I would no longer be at the railway. The heat shock you will cause to the boiler is extrodinary. The stress put on the tubes, and stayes when cooling down, and releasing pressure is damaging to the boiler, and will dramatically shorten the life of the boiler. If you are worried about water damage, just use water treatment, and when you are finished, fill the boiler all the way to the top with water, let it cool showly. Leave the water in the boiler, and your boiler will last a lot longer. It works for us at both of y proper railways. I know many engines, over 100 years, or coming clost to that mark, that have mostly all origonal boilers (tubes have to be replaced every 10 years for insurance purposes). Therefore blowng down from hot is damn right dangerus due to the stresses and strains exerted on the boiler during blowing down.

Are these instances of steel boilers?

@@TheDrumvader how long after a run would you be safe to blow down a copper boiler?

I'd avoid doing that. Youll dramatically shorten the lift of your boiler by doing that. Only blow down at low pressures. If youre worried abut rust, use water treatment instead of blowing down at high pressure.

With a copper boiler is it OK to fill the boiler up after blowing down?

@@mattseymour8637 I'd advise against it due to thermic shock

I'm guessing you only need water treatment for steel boilers not copper?

@@mattseymour8637 Depends what the treatment is and how hard your water is. Around here, the water isn't too bad, but every 4 steamings I'll put a little bit of vinegar in to reduce scale build up. It isn't needed as I blow it down regularly. I wouldn't use boiler tannin on a copper boiler, nor Soda Ash.

Matt Seymour Yes and no. Parrafin is more expensive and harder to get, but white spirits can cause residue on the boiler. For the ammount that you use the soaked charcoal, the residue doesnt have an overall effect on the boiler. Thats why I use white spirits, but others will have other opinions

Thanks for the comments. I use charcoal soaked in parathin. Is wood better or charcoal?

Thanks for the advice. So paraffin would be better to use ?

Do I need a thin or thick fire in a 3.5 inch loco ?

@@TheDrumvader is charcoal better than wood?

I realised that after I exported the video lol

Thomas Leighton Heh... :)

Thanks. She'll be looking better after this rebuild