WICK FEED oiler (box)

[quinten1231]

Hello all

I have decided to try and make a wick feed oil box for my engine, specifically for all outer lubrication except crankshaft bearings (these will have drip feed oilers with sight glasses)

At first I had the though of using a mechanical lubricator, however I have decided that a wick feed will look better and less clutter.

I have a few questions regarding this type of lubrication:

1. what is the best way to make the wicks? I have read that plain simple wool works well, but how do I determine the length, amounts of strands, and the thickness of the hairs? do i just have to try until I find the right combination or is there some sort of constant rate which one strand will siphon over?

2. how sensitive are wick feed oilers to different types of oils, meaning, if I were to make all the wicks based on a certain type of bearing oil and fully adjust the amounts, will this adjustment become obsolete once a different oil is used or if there were different ambient temperatures? logically I would have to stay within a certain range of bearing oil regarding viscosity, but how does temperature affect Wick feed oilers, especially since its all so small scale?

3. Since the oil box and wicks would be used for a ST 5A it would become all rather small scale, how important is the diameter of oil tubing used, because I was thinking of using 3-4mm (1/8-5/32) copper tubing?

4. how to determine the depth of the box regarding the length of tubing where the wicks would be put into, and do the actual wicks have to be split evenly 50/50 so that half is in the tubing, and the other half in the oil box?

I have searched a lot around for pictures and info on wick feed but only found limited information.

If anybody has some pictures of wick feed oil boxes could you please post them so I can see how they look like from the inside.

Right now I just see it as a box which has all the tubing going through to the inside and the wicks are then simply put into each tube, but somehow this sounds too simple too be true.

Thank you once again for your help

Regards Quinten

[DetroiTug]

It would be difficult to regulate the amount of oil with a wick oiler, and as you have written; when the oil temperature rises, the flow is going to increase. Also, it would be difficult to shut off the flow.
The drip oilers are easier to control and they can be positively stopped and regulated.

On mine, I needed a way to oil two crossheads on each side - four lines. I found a drip oiler with two valves and outlets. To run two lines from each outlet, I used two brass 1/8" NPT pipe plugs and drilled two 1/8" holes in each, right in the end of it and soldered the lines in. It works real well. Along that same idea, a small manifold could be fashioned mounted horizontally for even more distribution.

-Ron

[dhic001]

No no no, its not difficult to regulate oil feed with a wick oiler, provided the right type of wool is used. Worsted wool out of the UK is the stuff to use, and depending on the number of strands, depends on how much oil is fed. Heritage Steam Supplies in the UK sell the stuff, and may be able to advise on the number of strands needed versus the oil supplied. Alternatively, contact one of the big UK heritage railways, who will be able to give you the info, as many British steam locos use wick oilers.

Most important thing is to remember to remove the wicks at the end of the day, otherwise they'll keep working until the oil runs out!

Daniel

[fredrosse]

Oil required for journal bearings and crossheads is really quite small, and I would think the flow required for proper lubrication is exceeded by a factor of ten or thereabouts in our typical steamboat applications. This requirement is far different from typical IC engine practice, where oil flooding is used not only for lubrication but to constantly wash the bearing surfaces, and cool the bearing as well. With so much extra feed, the large variation of oil flow between hot and cold systems is generally not a problem.

When filling a small wick oiler, I usually feed a few drops of oil "over the top" of the oil feed tubes, to flush the oil line, flush the bearing, and give extra initial feed before startup. One potential problem though is the use of steam cylinder oil in the wick feed oilers. For the wick oilers I use, the steam cylinder oil (5% compounded oil with a tackifier) has an oil feed rate that is almost nil, this is not good. I do not know the reason for this, as equal viscosity (gearbox oil without tackifier) seems to work OK in the wick oilers, perhaps it is an oil property, or the wick material issue. Of course cylinder oil is not generally to be used for bearing lubrication, it works well enough for bearing lubrication, but costs several times more than ordinary oils, but might be used if nothing else is available. In this case, apply the cylinder oil directly to the bearings, bypassing the wick oiler.

The Margaret S. has manufactured wick oiler assemblies. These are a small hinged reservoir with 1/8 inch pipe connection, and a wick that looks to be an ordinary "pipe cleaner" (for a tobacco smoking pipe). The feed works reliably, but pulling the wicks when out of service is not possible, so they continue to drip oil until exhausted. I have used a hyperdermic needle and plunger to empty them when the boat is not in service, but usually I just place a cotton cleaning towel under the bearings, and sacrifice a 1/10 ounce of oil on layup, no big deal.

[Mike Rometer]

I concur with most of the above about wick oilers.

Perhaps what we really need is an oil that will not wick when cold, but will, at a suitable rate, when warm. Now there's a thought.

[DetroiTug]

Tallow has those properties.

One of the tools I've designed over the past are wick oilers for assembly parts. Before a sensor is inserted or seal installed in an engine block the part must be lubricated, typically an O-ring or rubber seal of some type. They work very well, it is a reservoir below with a wick of F1 felting in a myriad of different arrangements depending on the part geometry. This was originally performed by devices with a gaggle of limit switches and spray nozzles, and the tools were very expensive. These are low cost, almost zero maintenance and work quite well. It was quickly copied by several others, although I doubt there was anything to patent. Wicking up works very well, however there is little means to regulate it, and the parts intermittently compressing the felt and then allowing it to relax - there is a pumping or pulsating of the fluid internally.







-Ron

[quinten1231]

Thank you all for the information so far

I have looked at the Heritage Steam Supply website and found a worsted wool kit with instructions, funny because I visited that website several times already and never clicked on the Worsted wool because I thought it was of no importance to me.
I will just go ahead and order the kit and experiment to see how it works, that alone is worth it already since i have never heard of wick feed lubrication before getting into steam engines (except for the use in oil lamps)

of course there are better ways to lubricate but I like the looks of a nicely made brass Wick feed oil box, and in my opinion it adds to the experience, for better or worse.

regarding the types of oil and temperatures, I guess time will tell what works best.

Regards Quinten

[artemis]

For ALL KINDS OF STEAM OIL I suggest you contact Green Velvet Steam Engine Lubricants: http://www.steamenginelube.com/index.htm - I've dealt with them in the past. The owner is a petroleum engineer and has developed many of his own formulas. He does work with a LOT OF STEAM RAILROADS. Everyone I know who has used him has been very impressed!

[Mike Rometer]

In the UK, Morris's Oils Of Shrewsbury are acknowledged experts, and will happily discuss your requirements by phone.

[steamboatjack]

Folks,
I have attached some scans of wick oil boxes and information, worsted is the best but I have used ordinary wool used for tapestries with success. I am afraid regulation is by trial & error. The tubes should be between 3 & 5mm diameter, care is to be taken not to over stuff the tube. The tail end length is not important so long as it reaches the bottom of the box, the tube end should ideally be pushed below the box bottom if possible. The top of the tube should be about 5mm below the box top edge but allowance should be made for a loop in the wire at the top to be able to easily extract the trimming.
An important point is that an air hole or groove should be made in a close fitting lid to ensure that the box does not become air locked. Regards Jack