Boiler transport

Hi all,

Might be a silly question , but I plan to pick up my boiler (and cylinder) in a short while at STW myself. Transport cost for it (to Germany) is more than me driving there and back.
Now to the question: I will be using my station car, putting the boiler on it's side all the way forward until it rests against the back seat. Of course I will also use straps (several) to tie it down correctly. I will put some heavy duty plastic foil to act as kind of sliding base to aid moving it back toward the tailgate upon arrival back home. For unloading I already secured helpers (4 - 5) to help me lift the boiler out of the car.

Any comments on that procedure? If you picked up your boiler yourself, how did you do?

Second thing: as soon as I am back home I plan to put it on a trolley, much like I have seen on other builds. I read somewhere the foundation ring should be about 25 cm off the ground to have the boiler in the right hight for to mount the wheels later on. How high, then, is the front of the boiler, i.e. what is the step between foundation ring and boiler barrel?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Elwood

Who is working on updating his built diary he has not updated for too long...

Moving the boiler sounds ok just make sure its well strapped down it is VERY heavy and make sure you can get it out at the other end
I mounted my boiler on a wheeled trolley and just make sure the boiler barrel is level
Mark

Hi Elwood

Your boiler laying down will have a foot print of approx 1000mm x 400mm
I would suggest a sheet of scrap plywood under the boiler will be a safer option, of approx the above size.

Does your car have a raised step across the back or is it flat? if flat slide and tilt if not an engine crane will be your best option I sat my boiler with the smoke box end down and moved it around on a sack truck until i had painted it.

I haven't built on a trolley as am fortunate enough to have a space to build without moving the engine around, at least not till I had the wheels on it.
I put the horn plate assembly on first using a hoist from the garage roof and the boiler stood on its smoke box end, then turned it the other way up to put the smoke box assembly on with it stood on the horn plates and on an old square of carpet to stop the paint getting scratched
After that a lay the entire thing horizontal and with the rear axle in place stood it on axle stands at the back under the axle and used a 250mm thick lump of wood under the front fork bracket.
I did most if not all the above on my own apart from my boiler being delivered by a big yellow lorry! its not light weight so take your time and don't wear flip flops.
Hope this Helps

Simon

Hi Simon,

Car has no step across the bed, so slide and manual work it is. I doubt I can get a engine crane into it anyways, on a van it might work, but not enough room on a station wagon
Of course I will put some plywood into boot area, the plastic foil I talked about was only to go between mat in car and plywood to ease moving the boiler forward and back on the plywood.
Unfortunatley my building area (aka garage) does not allow the boiler to be stationary, I have to be able to move it back and forth, hence the trolley. I plan to put on the smoke box and then set up the boiler into final position, sliding in the horn plates sub-assembly from the rear.

Elwood

Your boiler should sit quite comfortably in an estate car, just take a couple of pieces of wood to rest it on - about 50mm x 75mm x 350mm long - so there is a gap underneath for your fingers when you come to lift it out.
I got mine out of the car on my jack jones, used two scaffold boards about 1,5m long with some packing underneath.
Slide it out firebox end first then stand it up with the front end uppermost, you can then get a sack barrow under it and wheel around to your hearts content.

Just take your time, two people should manage just don't try to lift it completely off the floor.

Hi Capricorn1,
sorry for the delay & thanks for your explanations. Will try to follow your suggestions.

Question though: what do you mean by "jack jones"; looked it up and came to clothes. Sorry, might be a stupid one, but just do not get it

Elwood

Hi Elwood,
Jack Jones is an English saying meaning on your own.

Barry

Hi Barry,

Thanks, have not come across that, but you never stop learning.

Elwood

Hi,

Just to let you know (and possibly those wo still have to do). Picked up my boiler the other day at STW. With the help of the forklift and balancing the boiler at the tip of the forks we could put it into boot of my station car. VW must be a fan of STW as the boiler fit with only 5 mm to spare side to side, laying across with the top of the boiler resting against the rear seats. I put it onto a piece of wood (95x40 cm or 37,4“ x 15,75“ - you get the picture ). Under the plate I put a plastic bag, better a piece of sturdy plastic foil which made the boiler slide easily on the boot carpet for removal.

Securing it with straps I drove all the way back home and had my son and some of his friends help me to lift it out of the car.  With the plastic I was able to slide it from behind the rear seats where it had rested for the journey all the way to the luggage compartment door and then in one „lift“ out of the car and onto a trolley. Two at the firebox end and one grabbing a strap I put around the boiler barrell did the trick.

Unfortunately I am still struggling with pictures, since photobucket turned against us, so I cannot post a picture right now. As soon as I find out how I wll do

Cheers

Elwood

Don't forget to stand it on it's firebox end (before painting) and give it a good beating with a bit of 2"x1" and then use a telescopic magnet to get as much swarf out as possible from the wash out plugs. You'll be surprised how much comes out, all those threaded holes create a lot of swarf!

Hi Steve,
very good idea, was planning to heat water in the boiler several times before adding the cylinder and raising pressure, just to wash out the boiler.

Today I played with my endoscope and used it to look into the boiler via the washout plugs and was trying to get a idea of what the boiler looks like inside and where to find the accumulated dirt and swarf. But although I was looking along the whole of the boiler and into the corners, I did not find anything that should not be there. A bit of surface rust was all, really impressing and much better than hoped for .

Will stick to my original plan just the same.

Cheers

Elwood

On the first engine I built I didn't get the swarf out and ended up for the first couple of years pulling bits of swarf out of the clack valves & the gauge glass taps (a right pain). On the second year I used an endoscope to look inside the boiler and I could see what looked like curly stalactites hanging from inside the boiler. They had rusted to the side of the boiler sticking out at all angles. After a couple more years they had all gone, just rusted away I guess. There is no long term harm from them just the inconvenience when they get in the wrong place.

Yes, heard such too. This is why I wanted to look into the boiler. But although it seems like there is nothing in there, at least I did not see anything, I will still follow your suggestion to try and dislodge and catch any loose stuff with a magnet and, as Lynn reported, do several heatings with subsequent washouts of the still hot water before proceeding to close the boiler and really raise steam. Better be safe than sorry.

Cheers

Elwood