Stuart Turner Sun Engine

[Alan Worland 1Participant @alanworland1]

Just had my Sun engine running, and it sounds lovely – like a sewing machine!

Not knowing how much oil to put in the ‘sump’ I put enough in to allow the big ends to dip into the oil, so it must be pretty oily in there. I have oil leaks from front and rear main bearings, which is sealable with ‘O’ rings, but there is obviously steam leakage past the pistons which tends to blow oil out of my ‘breather’ the result is quite a mess!

Not sure what sort of breathing device I need (the sump has 2 holes about 1/4 dia, one has a dipstick in the other a vented plug)

I believe originally the engine was supplied with these holes open. I fitted the dipstick so I knew how much oil was in it and made the vented plug to basically fill the hole with something that wouldn’t let the dirt in but would still allow the escape of leaked steam – which it does but is carrying a lot of oil with it. It’s ok running up to probably about 700/800 rpm.

Have any of you wisened fellows any experience of running this engine and it’s oil and breathing requirements?

 

[Alan Worland 1Participant @alanworland1]

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

Hi Alan,

 

Not the voice of experience here, but I recall seeing a similar closed sump steam engine that used ‘oil flingers’, these are fingers that stick down from the base of the big end and ‘fling’ the oil where it’s needed. It means you can use less oil and the big ends don’t foam the oil so much. But it does require  some work and a sump that clears the big ends by a fair margin.

 

Neil

[Alan Worland 1Participant @alanworland1]

Thanks for your input Neil.

I have already investigated the ‘splasher option’ but there is only about 2mm clearance from bigends to crankcase base! I decided this wasn’t going to happen.

I have made a new breather which is now much taller with a larger bore and a mushroom shaped top, under the rim of the top I have 3 small bore holes at 120 degrees drilled up at 40 degrees to meet the bore.

I have also fitted ‘O’ ring seals to the main bearings.

This afternoon I have had steam up.

With 15cc of steam oil in the sump this gives about 3mm dip of the bigends, and I am pleased to report that it is now oil tight!

It was running for about an hour and even when loaded and working hard (by me gripping the flywheel!) there was only slight wisps of steam from the breather.

Drainng the oil while hot immediately after running I found the oil was well churned up and moisture present, in fact I would consider that the level would rise with running due to moisture?

Anyway, bathtime next! complete with ‘oil slick’ round the bath!

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

Sounds great!

 

I have heard that the oil in some full size closed-sump steam engines was in fact more like a mousse of oil and water. Take care you don’t get bacterial corrosion if it’s left to settle out.

 

Neil

[Alan Worland 1Participant @alanworland1]

You can keep your ducks – I’m having my boat in the bath!

Bathtime went well, engine runs like a dream, tied to the taps I was able to run full power at 45 psi and with the burner turned up the pressure was rising. The burner for the test puposes is my Sievert equipment with a 24kw burner! I need to install an onboard butane/propane supply and find a suitable burner – preferably one which burns quietly!

The only problem I found was with the universal joint, it runs at quite an angle and clatters away like a goodun, I have a ‘proper’ small universal joint which I will be installing next

I think your description of mousse is pretty well bang on! After any runs I am draining the oil – read mousse, and maintaining the engine in a warm state to dry out any moisture, although I find the whole engine is very hot and probably shouldn’t take long.

Needless to say say after an hours steaming I had to remove the oilslick from the bath!

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

Posted by Alan Worland on 10/02/2010 23:29:19:

You can keep your ducks – I’m having my boat in the bath!

Bathtime went well, engine runs like a dream, tied to the taps I was able to run full power at 45 psi and with the burner turned up the pressure was rising.

ROFL! 

 

Brings to mind an old Chuck cartoon where he starts up a boat in the bath and creates a tidal wave!

 

Your ‘tied to the taps tip’ should be reprinted in ME, I hope Dave spots it!

 

Post a pic of your boat once you get it out on the water.

 

Neil

 

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

I remember when my Dad bought an outboard motor for his dinghy and it wouldn’t run properly.   So, he took it to work and clamped it to the side of a water bath , and adjusted the components.   When it eventually started properly, it swamped the workshop!   It was a British Anzani, this would have been about 1968.

 

Regards

Geoff

[Alan Worland 1Participant @alanworland1]

My Dad used to tell a story when in his youth about his Dad. Apparently gunpowder was ready available for purchase and my Grandad had this idea of setting a small charge in the hearth to ‘clean the chimney’, well the charge was lit which went off with more ‘whoof’ than required removing brickwork from the chimney breast and covering the room in debris!

The story goes than Nan wasn’t best pleased – can’t imagine why!!

[ChrisHParticipant @chrish]

Talking of minor explosions, I remember being on a ship in the very late 1960’s which had a Scotch boiler.  When the Chief decided the tubes were getting a bit ‘sooty’ he would come down and announce that he was going to have a “minor explosion”.  This was a hint to all the other engineers to suddenly remember that they had vital work to do elsewhere, like up on the foc’sle head, or anywhere else that was well away from the engine room.  The Chief would then set the burner going without igniting it, allowing the oil to cover the hot furnace floor.  Then he would fire the burner and the oil on the furnace floor would obligingly go ‘bang’ and knock all the soot off the tubes.  On hearing the bang and establishing that the boiler hadn’t exploded and the engine room was again safe to enter, the engineers would return, when the Chief would then assure them “ah, that’s much better now”!

 

Such was life in much simpler, less regulated times, before ‘elf n’ safety, job procedures, work directives, risk assessment requirements before such activities such as breathing and blowing your nose, and the like imposed themselves on our lives! 

[Alan Worland 1Participant @alanworland1]

Yes, these were indeed ‘the good old days’ gone forever, never to return – just get worse!

[AndyBParticipant @andyb47186]

Hi all,

 

Just to add to the original question:

Harley Davidson used the same splasher principal on their WL 45 cu inch sidevalve engines; a splasher was attached to the dynamo (generator in their speak) pinion and was used to oil the timing and cam drive train.

 

Not relevant may be, but shows the variety of uses…

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

I think if my wife saw the bath being made oily, getting tied to the taps would be the least of my worries!

 

Edited By V8Eng on 13/02/2010 14:07:16

[Author]

Posts