Hi all;

We are trying to get our coal fired steam auxiliary back on the rails by the end of May after a winter boiler inspection (5 year).

We have some of that non-asbestos block insulation, but does anyone know what it is called, and, possibly a supplier? We might require more than what we have in stock.

(yes, I have tried searching, but the RYPN archives are not that good...)

Thanks;

John Stewart
Ottawa, Canada.

Shay running.
freewrl-1@rogers.com

I believe it was calcium silicate board insulation on our engine.

Check www.mcmaster.com page 3254

We at the Strasburg Rail Road have been using fiberglass home insulation with very good results for 15 to 20 years.

rick@strasburgrailroad.com

We used some stuff called insulblock. I believe it was from AP Green. Good luck

cjvanwinkle@hotmail.com

> Hi all;

> We are trying to get our coal fired steam
> auxiliary back on the rails by the end of
> May after a winter boiler inspection (5
> year).

> We have some of that non-asbestos block
> insulation, but does anyone know what it is
> called, and, possibly a supplier? We might
> require more than what we have in stock.

> (yes, I have tried searching, but the RYPN
> archives are not that good...)

> Thanks;

> John Stewart
> Ottawa, Canada.

John, if you do go the Fibreglass insulation route, try thier AF series semi rigid boards. They provide good R values and are easy to handle. They come in various sheet sizes and are easy to cut and fit around pipes etc. Some of thier foil faced duct wraps could also be usefull. They do have a National Tech rep whom I think is located in Toronto or Montreal. Try a web search for thier corporate site. We use a lot of thier materials in building contruction with good results. Also try Johns Manville. Hope this helps.


http://www.wcra.org
gandmferguson@shaw.ca

John,

I don't know about North of the Border, but down here below the Mason-Dixon Line, we use good ole Calcium Silicate Boards for the barrel and then One Shot powered paste for around the flexible caps. All of this is available through a local insulation supply house. I suggest letting your fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages (does anybody still use a phone book these days?)

Also, when applying the boards, get yerself some old truck inner tubes and make some large "rubber bands" to go around the shell. They will hold the insulation in place until you can tie it off with wire. Be sure to use a stainless steel wire to wrap the boards with.

The fiberglass solution is also a good one but I do believe that may require stand offs on the shell to keep the jacket the proper distance off the shell. Perhaps Kelly can enlighten us further on that.

Good luck,

G. Mark

Look at our Revamped Website
aw90@comcast.net

Yes Mark, we did have to make stand offs to use the fiberglass. We rolled 1/4" x 2" flat stock to the approx. radius of the barrel. We then cut 1/4" angle iron into 2" long pieces and welded them to underside of the rolled flat stock. The length of the one leg of the angle iron depends on the amount of stand off from the boiler. We also weld 5/8" round stock from one band to an adjacent band to keep them stable and the right distance apart. This whole process takes some time, but it's pretty much forever and dealing with home insulation is cheap and easy.


rick@strasburgrailroad.com

> Yes Mark, we did have to make stand offs to
> use the fiberglass. We rolled 1/4" x
> 2" flat stock to the approx. radius of
> the barrel. We then cut 1/4" angle iron
> into 2" long pieces and welded them to
> underside of the rolled flat stock. The
> length of the one leg of the angle iron
> depends on the amount of stand off from the
> boiler. We also weld 5/8" round stock
> from one band to an adjacent band to keep
> them stable and the right distance apart.
> This whole process takes some time, but it's
> pretty much forever and dealing with home
> insulation is cheap and easy.

R.L.-- Sounds like a good solution. Does the framework stay in place during external inspections and ultrasound gridding?

HP


hpincus@mindspring.com

> R.L.-- Sounds like a good solution. Does the
> framework stay in place during external
> inspections and ultrasound gridding?

> HP

Howard,

The frame work stays in place for inspections and gridding because the only thing in contact with the boiler is the 1/4" legs of the angle iron. We design it to avoid going over top of areas that you would want easy access to. (Like flexi sleeves) Remember that the minimum clearance between the boiler and the frame will likely be at least 2", so sneaking a UT probe in there shouldn't be a problem. If you would go the frame route, remember not to attach it in any way to the boiler, you want it to "float".

Rick

rick@strasburgrailroad.com

> Howard,

> The frame work stays in place for
> inspections and gridding because the only
> thing in contact with the boiler is the
> 1/4" legs of the angle iron. We design
> it to avoid going over top of areas that you
> would want easy access to. (Like flexi
> sleeves) Remember that the minimum clearance
> between the boiler and the frame will likely
> be at least 2", so sneaking a UT probe
> in there shouldn't be a problem. If you
> would go the frame route, remember not to
> attach it in any way to the boiler, you want
> it to "float".

> Rick

Rick:

Thanks for the clarification; I thought that was the way it worked. What gage jacket do you use, and do you hang it in the traditional manner-- jacket clamps and bands on the seams? Can one walk on/stand on the finished jacket (to fill the sand dome, for example)?

HP

hpincus@mindspring.com

> Rick:

> Thanks for the clarification; I thought that
> was the way it worked. What gage jacket do
> you use, and do you hang it in the
> traditional manner-- jacket clamps and bands
> on the seams? Can one walk on/stand on the
> finished jacket (to fill the sand dome, for
> example)?

> HP

Howard,
We hang the jacket in the traditional way with clamps and bands. We make sure that we put a support band under all seams, otherwise of course, when you would tighten the jacket bands, the jacket would be pulled down below the supported areas. With the jacket "skeleton", we try to keep the span on the top of the boiler where you might stand to about 2 feet. We use 19 or 20 gauge.
Hope this helps,
Rick

rick@strasburgrailroad.com

I think some detail photos of this method of supporting boiler jackets would be most helpful, not only to operable steamers, but to cosmetic restorations also.

ryarger@rypn.org

> I think some detail photos of this method of
> supporting boiler jackets would be most
> helpful, not only to operable steamers, but
> to cosmetic restorations also.

At present, all of the annual work on our engines is done, except for #90, which will be done next week. Because of this, all of the jacketing that was removed has been put back on.
If someone can remind me for next year(In November when annual work starts in ernest) I would be happy to post some photos.

rick@strasburgrailroad.com