Stationary Engine List

By Staff
Published on August 1, 2003
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The Stationary Engine Mailing List relies on the latest
technology for its existence, its members making use of computers
and the Internet for information exchange. This month, we
experienced a couple of breakdowns in that technology.

First of all, the went quiet for a few days, due to some
problems with the main computer that handles the List traffic,
resulting in messages disappearing into cyberspace. Most of us on
the List are so used to the high volume of mail generated by
members that if nothing comes through for a couple of hours, we
KNOW there must be something wrong. A couple of days later, I left
the comforts of home for a family holiday in the southwest of
England. 1 was fully equipped for mobile communications, but that,
too, failed on the second day, leaving me isolated from the rest of
the world.

Despite having no means of keeping up with List conversations
for the last week, I did have the rest of the messages from the
past month, and from those I’ve selected the latest topic for
the readers of GEM. Coincidently, given the failures of current
technology, the chosen subjects relate to modern-day use of
technologies of the past. – Helen

One of the first pieces of literature most engine men acquire is
the necessary manual for their particular engine, which is usually
a great source of information, from starting tips to useful
information for keeping the engine in good running order for as
long as possible. One member of the List wanted to see what the
others thought about following the repair advice given in his
engine manual.

The Economy book says to use one pound of ‘sal ammoniac’
to a gallon of water to seal up cracks in water jackets. What is
sal ammoniac and has anyone ever used this to seal small cracks?
Never was any good at chemistry!

The List is blessed with folks from all walks of life, as well
as all ages and geographical locations, so responses, both the
technical and the practical, came quickly from those who knew this
method and had tried it.

Sal ammoniac is ammonium chloride. I have made, in the past, a
thick paste of iron filings, ammonium chloride and water to use as
a sort of mortar or filler for repairing small holes in castings –
it seemed to work.

You’ve already gotten an answer. I’ll chime in and add
that I got sal ammoniac in brick form from McMaster-Carr. A brick
might be a bit hard to dissolve in water, but you could check to
see if they have it in powder form. Sal ammoniac bricks are used
for cleaning the tips of soldering irons. I’m sure there are
other uses, too.

Sal ammoniac is an archaic term for ammonium chloride, NH4C]. It
is an irritant to the skin, eyes and respiratory system so be
careful if you use it.

Another thing that works very quickly and effectively rusts iron
or steel (should be a good replacement for sal ammoniac in this
application) is the ferrous chloride solution that results from
taking muriatic acid and adding steel wool to it until the steel
wool dissolves and no more bubbles evolve. It’s a pretty, green
solution, and it’ll rust iron or steel in no time.

Also, when applied with something like a cotton ball to bright
zinc-plated bolt heads and almost immediately rinsed off, it turns
them black. The solution doesn’t keep well, as it oxidizes and
precipitates out a yellow rust sludge. It remains an effective
rusting agent, however!

I used it twice and it worked well for me. I ordered the stuff
from a pharmacist and got four pounds in a plastic container. I did
it another way, warming the solution in the hopper with the help of
an immersion heater. I put an air hose in the hopper with minimum
pressure to circulate the solution. At 100-110 degrees F, I let the
solution go in a bucket and waited for the block to cool down to
normal room temperature. 1 did this four times and all the cracks
were closed by rust. Then it just needed a good rinse.

How about a good cleaning of the inside of the hopper and using
a little Quik Poly? This fast-setting epoxy is like water. It will
run into a crack and in a few moments you have a solvent proof,
waterproof filled crack. The Quik Poly is good to 300 degrees F, as
I recall.

If you plan to use this sort of approach for water hopper cracks
or for holes in fuel tanks, the Quik Poly folks recommend using
tape on the outside until the Quick Poly sets up. Either that or
use a lot of Quik Poly!

I agree that you should attempt to keep the Quik Poly on the
inside of the water jacket only and avoid getting any against the
outer wall of the cylinder

I see just one problem with this method. When you coat the
inside of the hopper, you diminish the effectiveness of the heat
transfer. I know this will not be a problem most of the time, as
most of us run our engines quite slow. But, something like a
shoe-box Fairbanks-Morse D might get way too hot. Just a thought to
consider.

As is often the case with this type of discussion, it
revived some memories of using this method in the old
days.

I remember my late father (a railway man with the Queensland
government railways) telling me how the big, square, overhead
railway water tanks were built. Their sides consisted of as many
square cast iron panels as required, all identical and slotting
into each other. They must have been about 4 feet square, and
stacked probably two panels high and as many long and wide as
required.

The gaps were then ‘rust sealed’ by ramming in the sal
ammoniac and iron filings as you described. The initial (and any
later) water leakage did the rest. They would not have been small
cracks between the panels, either. This method would have allowed
easier transport and handling to erect tanks of any capacity.

Thanks for reminding me about this. I had forgotten.

Thanks for the information from the past. Using sal ammoniac
must have a pretty common thing, and used for a long time, to have
been noted in the owner’s manuals of many engines. 1 am going
to give it a try on an engine with a hairline crack in the head.
The crack is so fine I did not realize it was there when 1 painted
it.

Those who’ve tried it can vouch for the success of
this old remedy. Around the same time as this discussion, someone
asked who used his or her old engines for practical purposes. Not
belting them up to various items for displays, but genuinely
putting them to work. Some answers were more than a little
tongue-in-cheek.

I spent all day Saturday limbing up oak trees at the house and
cutting those limbs up with the 6 HP Hercules buzz saw. I find the
buzz saw a much safer alternative to a chainsaw, especially on
small branches that a chainsaw tends to grab and sling into your
shins. Besides, 1 can run the buzz saw in shorts and don’t have
to be all dressed up in protective clothing for a chainsaw, with
earplugs and a safety shield.

I’m curious to know who uses their antique engines and
accessories to do real work around the house/farm. Tell us about
the engines you are using and what you are doing with them.

Not an old engine, but I have a friend who uses an old JD
tractor to run a belt-drive hammer mill to grind feed for his cows.
He could probably buy it cheaper, but where is the fun in that?

I met a fellow about 15 years ago who had a Stover-powered
cement mixer he still used whenever he needed to mix up concrete.
Maybe I ought to see if he is done.

We make ice cream using the breadbox Fairbanks. This week I
modified the freezer for use with the Lorenz, so we’ll be
making the first batch with that engine on Saturday. We also use
the Fairbanks to turn apples into juice. The juice is fantastic,
but there really wouldn’t be any compelling reason to make
juice if it wasn’t an excuse to play with iron.

At one time there was a plan to use our big hacksaw in the
garage, but the hassle is just too great compared to the smaller,
electrically powered saws.

I use my World War II era milling machine on a weekly basis, and
when I was raising a few hogs and had planted corn I used my
hand-powered IH corn sheller to shell the corn for the hogs. I also
have used an antique post drill in my shop to drill
5/8-inch holes in -inch plate. I also have
used my old forge for heating and bending iron from time to
time.

It’s good to know that some engines are still being
used for their intended purpose. Ours, when not being actively
worked on, tend to be used only for background music while other
jobs are being done.

Last month I promised news of the Tillinghast
half-breed’s first UK show. Despite the loading process taking
a good three hours, we managed to successfully take her out of our
narrow entrance and transport her to the show, where she was
received with great enthusiasm and interest. She ran for several
hours at a time, entertaining folks with the occasional loud crack
from her homemade barker! As we were also able to get her BACK into
the garden on the first attempt, it was, all in all, an extremely
successful weekend.

Engine enthusiast Helen French lives in Leicester,
England.

Contact her via e-mail at: Helen@insulate.co.uk You can join
the Stationary Engine List on the Internet at:
www.atis.net

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