The Steamboating Forum

I have had some trouble with the rigid connection between the boiler and the engine. What are some flexible implementations to overcome this. I had a rubber tube with over fiber sleeve but i worried about the hose clamps. I removed a section of the 3/4 copper pipe and have soldered male pipe fitting each end. I was going to buy a SS flex tube with couplings on each end but I thought to ask on the forum what others have done. What is the SOP?

Yes there are SS flex pipes, corrugated on the inside and braided outside, available in many sizes and lengths. I know people use them in Stanleys which run 600psi. Only bad thing is the corrugations; they are really bad for flow, use the next size up to help out there rp

Check out mcmaster carr steam hose. They have several good options.
You won't be disappointed.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#general-purpose-hose/=126n62w

-CB

I will second Ron's nomination of the stainless flex pipes. We have an 18" section of 1.5" on the "Persistence"

Been using the stainless flex hose with stainless braid for years. Comes with pipe threads or unions on the ends. I buy from Graingers. Be sure to have at least a 30 degree turn in the flex piece, 90 degrees is ideal. The objective here is to make sure the flex hose can move at least an inch in any direction without excessive force. If the hose is straight it can under some circumstances overload adjacent rigid piping, not so with a significant bend.

Insulating the hose (and pipe) with wrapped rope or cloth (pure cotton, no synthetic fabrics) works OK. I often wrap with 1/2 inch ordinary fiberglass insulation, plus a couple of layers of aluminum foil, then wrap with cotton. Plaster of Paris soaked into the cloth layer sets up rigid in a few minutes, and can make a good looking insulation job with some practice.

Rubber steam rated hose works too, but I wonder how long it will last?

I got a 60$, 12 inch piece of 3/4 flexible SS braided hose with couplings on each end. That feels safer.
The biggest fix of the day was welding those infernal shift arms to the shifter shaft. The play I had in the pins was killing my timing. After the welding, the engine would start forward and reverse. That was great. If I need to change the shaft or disassemble it, I can cut the weld. Probably not kosher operating proceedure but I have been plagued with this problem too long. Nothing I put in would keep the shift arms from rocking.