I just got a used 2 cyl accucraft shay. It is an early edition of it. Runs great, however, when it is time to refuel and steam up I have a hard time getting it to ignite. My only experience is with a 2 month old plantation which fires up without any problems. I did pull the jet on the shay and make sure it was clear. HELP

It might be that jet has become futzed over the years - usual if nothing else, the first thing you are advised to do with a new ‘older’ model is to change out the jet. As a pointer, my 3-c version has had three new jets over the last twelve years I’ve had it, and on each occasion it was a real up-perker.

Jason can help you out here, for sure.

tac

Ottawa Valley GRS

Try giving it more air or less. How much of the air holes is open on the burner? Might need more air. Also make sure the fuel lines are clear as well.

Mike,

Where is the gas tank located with respect to the boiler? If it is close to the boiler in the cab, then the tank may be getting hot making it difficult to refuel and re-ignite. I have that problem on a locomotive and have to wait until the gas tank has cooled down in order to be able to refill it and run again.

Scott

Scott makes a good point. If you know somebody who has a spare piece of boiler insulation material - like the stuff we get with an Aster kit - then that is the right stuff to use here. It’s hard to imagine why this should suddenly have become a problem, unless you have never tried continuous running before. Messrs Bednarik might be handy folks to know here.

My 3-cylinder Shay does not suffer from this, but it has a double-volume gas-tank from David Bailey, and is therefore not a standard model any more.

tac

Ottawa Valley GRS

I’d put money on the jet being partially clogged. Mine got progressively more difficult to light until I cleaned the jet. I used a blood sugar test lance needle which was the perfect size!

I’ve never had an issue where the gas was too warm on mine.

I have the same loco, which seems to run trouble free for me. Other then the good ideas above, when you refuel especially when warm, there is usually a period of fussiness when the butane tank, being very full and warm, produces liquid not gas, and is difficult to light. The solution to that is open the valve for 20-30 seconds to let the full tank purge before lighting.

After you clean the jet again, of course

Regards

Jerry

Id be curious to hear what the air temperature is? I ran into a similar issue with my Climax. The gas tank and gas was too cold and would not light or if I did get it to light it would go out with the slightest movement. I used a hand warmer over the gas tank and it lite fine. Being the gas tank is close to the boiler you should only have to keep the tank warm until the pressure is up.

The gas tank needs to be warm - usually this can be done by siting it somewhere near the boiler/gas burner. Note that I wrote WARM, not HOT.

In my Garratt, a user of around half a can of butane per run - the gas tank is in the rear until remote from the warmth of the boiler, and usually needs a top-up of warm water to make the gas flow correctly.

tac

Ottawa Valley GRS