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KLR Fox 10yr Overhaul
Topic Started: 17 Jan 2009, 11:36 PM (1,596 Views)
Allen Wiggins
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Well, Hello again

Its that time in Fox's life again where her boiler is lifted for a major overhaul every 10 years. Her boiler expiered on the 16th January 2009 and is having a full re-tube, due to 3 tubes leaking within about a 3month period. Work will also be done on the Regulator Valve to enhance her pemformance further than it already is.

Pictures also

Cheers
Allen
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Allen Wiggins
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two more pictures
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craiggluyas
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What a difference a couple of week make! I went behind it on new years day!
Craig Gluyas

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Allen Wiggins
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haha, and now its in bits
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Stuart Ross
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While Fox is having a "10 yearly" it is in fact only 6 years since she was last retubed. The leaking tubes where actually in the middle rows around the middle of the boiler - not the usual place to experience problems. On removal many of the tubes are showing hardly any wear and would still have been more than satisfactory to have continued in use. However some of the tubes are showing isolated spots of very deep pitting which is where some had started leaking. The decision was made to remove all the tubes to find out what was going on as initally there was a suspicion of sub standard materials been used. The boilermakers that last retubed Fox in 2001 were in the process of winding up the business and this was one of the last jobs they tackled so its is possible standards were slipping.

The current theory behind the leaking tube is as follows:

As built Fox's boiler has tubes very close together, when the firebox recieved repairs and restaying several years ago as a result of scaling (this was pre water treatment days) this distrubed an awful lot of scale in the boiler and it is thought some of this scale has become lodged amongst the tubes where the metal compounds in the scale have through heating and been submerged at pressure reacted with the steel of the tubes.

We are now waiting for a visit from Alan Bulmer, the KLR's boiler inspector - one of the most experienced and knowledgable boiler inspectors in the uk, and a thoroughly nice man - to inspect the boiler and we will see what he recommends and whether new tubeplates will be required. The firebox will also be inspected as this is now over twenty years old and has spent over half its life without any form of water treatment.

As Allen has said while the boiler is off some other jobs will be tackled but on the whole there is not much mechanical work to do.
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Allen Wiggins
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Stuart, when is are the new tubes due to be welded in, as I would like to get a picture or, if possible, for you to get a picture of them been welded in

Cheers
Allen
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AJcoulls
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I'm not sure that it is really a good idea to weld tubes in. They are a s*d to get out then. I'd much prefer to simply expand them.


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Jordan Leeds
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Allen Wiggins
19 Jan 2009, 08:56 PM
Stuart, when is are the new tubes due to be welded in, as I would like to get a picture or, if possible, for you to get a picture of them been welded in

Cheers
Allen
Tubes welded in sureley a new tube plate would be requiored then allen?
tubes in my experience are simply expanded and beaded into position creating a steam tight seal that can be caulked and re expanded
JORDAN ASHLEY LEEDS

Trains go into tunnels and come out but locos can go in sheds and never come out
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glastonrail
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rough-shunter
19 Jan 2009, 11:18 PM
Allen Wiggins
19 Jan 2009, 08:56 PM
Stuart, when is are the new tubes due to be welded in, as I would like to get a picture or, if possible, for you to get a picture of them been welded in

Cheers
Allen
Tubes welded in sureley a new tube plate would be requiored then allen?
tubes in my experience are simply expanded and beaded into position creating a steam tight seal that can be caulked and re expanded
It's perfectly acceptable to weld tubes into a boiler, provided the design gives an allowance for the welding process and its effects on the parent metal(s).

The previous tubes on Fox were welded in, and both tubeplates have been ground out ready to accept the new tubes, providing nothing else is wrong with the boiler and Alan Bulmer simply says "get on with it." Naturally anything else Alan finds will also have to be addressed, and I know Ian has some queries regarding the regulator/dome.

Expanding/caulking tubes is a relic process going back to when not enough of welding was known. When more was known about welding, steam in Britain was in decline, which is why it wasn't adopted, in a similar parallel to LD Porta's ideas, many of which the KLR also employ. Caulking of weeping welded tubes can be done as a temporary fix if desired, but not recommended. Better to get the boilersmith in, grind the weld out and re-weld it.

Cheers,

Dom Greenop
DMR
"There's no such thing as sanity, and that's the sanest fact" M. Knopfler, 1985
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craiggluyas
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glastonrail
19 Jan 2009, 11:47 PM
Expanding/caulking tubes is a relic process going back to when not enough of welding was known. When more was known about welding, steam in Britain was in decline, which is why it wasn't adopted,
That and the fact that most locos had Copper fireboxes, Steel doesn't weld too well to copper.....
Craig Gluyas

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AJcoulls
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And they are a major pig to get out. I have expanded the roller tubes by hand, but then, it like me is a relic! :-)


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Stuart Ross
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Yes welded tubes are a pig to get out. The KLR locos all have welded tubes not because of Porta bu because that is what Brian Taylor specified and in the case of Fox constructed - Fox boiler was built by Brian the other 3 were constructed by the now defunct William Arnold & Son of Huddersfield. The first time Fox was retubed the tubes really didn't want to come out at all and the boilersmiths even had to resort to fixing the boiler to a concrete pad and removing them with mechanical traction. Badgers proved to be equally as much trouble though man power was used for this purpose. I suspect Stephen still aches from this!

The new tubes are more than likely to be fitted on a weekday but we don't know when yet.
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Allen Wiggins
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Ok, thanks for the little bit of the laugh, having to use mechanical traction.

Lets just hope, although not very likely, Fox will be done for the gala
If it aint steaming, it a diesel, so send it to the nearest scrap yard!!!
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sdashton
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Allen I can assure you its no laugh, the problem when we did Badger, in those pre water treatment days, was that there was so much scale on the outside of the tubes that even after the welld had been completely removed from both ends the tubes didn't want to pull through the tube plate. The result was to weld a long bar to the end of each tube with and end stop on. We then had a sliding gripper that was physically rammed against the end of the bar and slowly, very slowly inch by inch they slowly came out. It was brutal, theres a photo on the friends website linked to the Badger page but its fairly dark, I have some video but couldn't possibly post it as depending upon the angle it all looks slightly dodgy! At least there aren't as many tubes in Fox's boiler!
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Allen Wiggins
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Aha, now I see what you mean, I though he had to get a the digger and pull it out like that, blimey, looks like there having to put alot of sweat on. How long did it take to get all the tubes out on badger?
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