Rough and Tumble Engineering | Page 2

is in good running order. It would not be fair to put the green boy onto an old dilapidated, worn-out engine, for he might have to learn too fast, in order to get the engine running in good shape. He might have to learn so fast that he would get the big head, or have no head at all, by the time he got through with it. And I don't know but that a boy without a head is about as good as an engineer with the big head. We will, therefore, suppose that his engine is in good running order. By good running order we mean that it is all there, and in its proper place, and that with from ten to twenty pounds of steam, the engine will start off at a good lively pace. And let us say here, (remember that we are talking of the lone engine, no load considered,) that if you are starting a new engine and it starts off nice and easy with twenty pounds, you can make up your mind that you have an engine that is going to be nice to handle and give you but little, if any, trouble. But if it should require fifty or sixty pounds to start it, you want to keep your eyes open, something is tight; but don't take it to pieces. You might get more pieces than you would know what to do with. Oil the bearings freely and put your engine in motion and run it carefully for a while and see if you don't find something getting warm. If you do, stop and loosen up a very little and start it up again. If it still heats, loosen about the same as before, and you will find that it will soon be all right. But remember to loosen but very little at a time, for a box or journal will heat from being too loose as quickly as from being too tight, and you will make trouble for yourself, for, inexperienced as you are, you don't know whether it is too loose or too tight, and if you have found a warm box, don't let that box take all of your attention, but keep an eye on all other bearings. Remember that we are not threshing yet, we just run the engine out of shed, (and for the sake of the engine and the young engineer, we hope that it did not stand out all winter) and are getting in shape for a good fall's run. In the meantime, to find out if anything heats, you can try your pumps, but to help you along, we will suppose that your pump, or injector, as the case may be, works all right.
Now suppose we go back where we started this new engine that was slow to start with less than fifty pounds, and when it did start, we watched it carefully and found after oiling thoroughly that nothing heated as far as we could see. So we conclude that the trouble must be in the cylinder. Well, what next? Must we take off the cylinder head and look for the trouble? Oh, no, not by any means. The trouble is not serious. The rings are a little tight, which is no serious fault. Keep them well oiled and in a day or two ten pounds will start the empty engine in good shape. If you are starting an engine that has been run, the above instructions are not necessary, but if it is a new one these precautions are not out of the way, and a great deal of the trouble caused in starting a new engine, can be avoided if these precautions are observed.
It is not uncommon for a hot box to be caused from a coal cinder dropping in the box in shipment, and before starting a new engine, clean out the boxes thoroughly, which can be done by taking off the caps, or top box, and wiping the journal clean with an oily rag or waste, and every engineer should supply himself with this very necessary article, especially if he is the kind of an engineer who intends to keep his engine clean.
The engine should be run slowly and carefully for a while, to give a chance to find out if anything is going to heat, before putting on any load.
Now if your engine is all right, you can run the pressure up to the point of blowing off, which is from one hundred to one hundred and ten pounds. Most new pop valves, or safety valves, are set at this pressure. I would advise you to fire to this point, to see that your safety is all right. It is not uncommon for a new pop to stick, and