The Steamboating Forum

Hi steamboaters
I am looking to make a ejector for the bilge water. Does anyone describe one how to make one with sizes. I seen a couple of discribtions of how they work but missing out on the sizes. Some photos/ clear drawings would be very nice too.

Thanks
Mike

Mike, Edited, I posted in the wrong place, or the forum posted to the wrong thread?. I had to do a repair install to Windows a few days ago and it has been doing all sorts of weird things.


An ejector should be pretty simple to make. Just use a pipe T and use a brass pipe fitting drilled out to accept an internal nozzle on one of the straight thru ports. The nozzle could be silver soldered or threaded in. I had the 3/4" Penberthy ejector apart and the nozzle drops down to about .170" internal diameter, And protrudes to where it just entered the pipe on the other side. The bullhead of the T would be the suction port.

These work really good for pumping the bilge and will pick water up a few feet no problem. The really nice thing about them: If the strainer gets plugged, have a valve on the discharge side that can be closed, open the steam and it flushes everything out.

-Ron

I could be wrong but I think he's asking about a unit that sucks out the bilge water and shoots it overboard. Nothing going near the firebox.

There are some great cross sections of ejectors and even injectors from penberthy on the web and in their literature. You can make quite an efficient ejector scaleing off their cross sections for the ports/jets.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O3hpFa5CSj0/U ... jector.jpg

That being sad, a simple tee fitting with the steam inlet having a silver soldered jet inside makes a pretty damn good ejector that you'll likely not notice the lack of efficiency. My last boat had one of these to clear the bilge and it worked like a champ.

I agree that ejectors can fairly simple and still work. I ha built a few using a reamer intended for taper pins. Probably too shallow a taper but they worked. Oddly enough they will work when driving them with water. My grandmother had a small pot metal one she used for emptying out washtubs and such. A short hose on the suction side and the garden hose on the pressure side.

Injectors are a different breed. I had a full sized locomotive unit stop working due to a small bit of baling wire that somehow came in from the tender. This on an injector big enough to have a central passage that you could pass your finger through.

Thanks all, yes it is a bilge ejector that I want to make, I have also abeen sent a scan of Funnel articail ( thanks Graham), with diagram and sizes, so I am now sorted

Mike

An ejector is an easy device. A good ejector needs a bit of precision work but using a proven and calculated design (such as the one in the Funnel) is the best way to go.