While I was pawing Strasburg's nice new reproduction of the Sellers lifting injector in the vendor area at TRAIN 2000 this time last week, I began wondering: Which type of injector moves water faster, lifting or non-lifting? Or is there a difference in the capacity? Does the amount of water already in a boiler affect an injector's ability to feed (the way I know some injectors function better with a full tender tank)?<br>



Wrinnbo@aol.com

In my experience with both (including lifting acting like non lifters on tank engines) both work fine. The one advantage of a non lifter is, being below the level of the tank, priming is not a problem even if there is a leak in the suction line. Non lifters are always easy to work without overheat worries also as cold water is easily run through them. <p>Among lifters, Hancock Inspirators have always seemed less satisfactory to me since with the overflow automatically closing there is no visual indicator, they can break, and in a noisy, busy cab it isn't always easy to tell they are not operating by sound. Sellers guns and Nathans and their clones are much easier to keep up with.<p>Dave<br>



lathro19@idt.net

The non lifting injectors will give you problems from leaky suction hoses. This causes the injector to break. Water that is too warm will also cause this injector to mal function. If the steam heat line (de icer) is left on the injector will fail to work. The big nathan and chicago injectors draw more water through the suction line than just a line open to the atmoshphere can spill. Meaning that if a break is in the line the injector will draw large amounts of air and stop working.<br>

We don't use deicers down here, Robert.<p>Dave<br>



lathro19@idt.net

We don't use them in Southern California either but they are on there non the less. Crack the frost valve then try your injector, see how well it works. <p>Suction hose, water hose, same thing. Its the big hose that supplies water to the injector<br>

I have memories of some Bad Old Days at Spencer before Tea21 with water dripping out through leaks in the suction hose and the non lifting gun working just fine. I wonder if the SP stuff is differently plumbed? Maybe the lining of the hose was loose........<p>Dave<br>



lathro19@idt.net