Large Scale Central

Oil Bunker

General Discussion
#1

Where can I find an oil bunker for a new 2 truck Shay I have coming Monday or Tuesday? I want to replace the coal load with an oil bunker.

#2

Joe

oil bunkers are very easy to build out of styrene sheet and some wire

I have built a couple for my Bachmann tenders.

only took an hour or so.

I’m not at home but will post a pic when I get there

Bill

#3

I think some of the shays came with both coal and oil bunkers maybe you will luck out and find one in the bottom of the box? Finding one might be a bit tough and it would be easier to build one like Bill suggested.

#4

The technical aspect of these oil burners interest me , particularly the Shay because I don’t know anything about how they feed the oil .

Do they , for example , light a log fire to get heat to warm the oil and pump it ? I know it’s nothing to do with how to get a Shay Oil Tank , but it struck me as interesting .

Bill’s suggestion of making your own is a good one , it is not very difficult . You must use the right thickness of plastic which will encompass strength and flexibility (obvious now I said it) .

If you use sheet plastic from Squadron , you will find that 0.05" will be flexible enough and strong enough after bending . Putting the plastic in very hot water helps keep the tube shape . I use cotton gloves with rubber gloves over them to give “feel” without burning . One trick is to get a piece of plumbing tube and shove the tube you’ve made inside it to cool into shape .

Before you start , have rubber bands ready to help you shape it .

I find that if you make the sheet wrap over itself , you can size it afterwards making a butt joint or even a half tube if you want a tank sat through a deck without the problem of cutting a hole in the deck , just plonk half a tank on top .

No doubt Bill will describe his method—I hope so , it may well be better than mine .

Mike Brit

#5

Oil Bunker on 'Annie" tender

oil Bunker on

(http://www.largescalecentral.com/application/modules/Freightshed/externals/images/mime/page_white_picture.png)

#6

I bought bunkers from Bachmann, if memory serves me. I may be wrong as it has been a few years since I made my 3 Shays into oil burners.

#7

Bill , I can’t get the pictures up .

Have I missed something , I just double clicked and it said “not found” ?

#8

Im not good at pics on this site still having troubles getting them to post

they are in my freight shed tho

at top of the page click on freight sheds

http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users//bill_ewing/bottom%20side.jpg
bill_ewing

http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users//bill_ewing/oilBunker3.jpg

http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users//bill_ewing/oilBunker2.jpg

#9

Well , your’e better at it than me then , I can’t even get them to my freight shed .

Mike Brit

#10

#11

and this one

#12

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users//bill_ewing/bottom%20side.jpg)

#13

thanks Joe !

#14

Joe

Here are some pics of the oil tank that I built on my 2 truck shay. The water tank is full with the Revo receiver, Phoenix sound and speaker. The oil tank is sized to hold the 4 cell LiOn battery.

If you would like I can get some more detailed pictures

Ron

#15

Now why did I assume that the oil tank was round ?

Too much into Beyer-Garratts I expect .

Mike Brit

#16

Mike, on the 10 wheeler I rode on down in Texas, the oil tank looked like it was built to just drop into the coal bunker. It even had 4 lift tabs on it, like it could just be lifted right back out of the bunker.

#17

That sounds like a good idea , I would imagine it would be handy to swap it when oil gets too costly .

I wonder if the burners are quick release?

Mike

#18

I suspect that the burner and any firebox modification would be a bit more difficult to undo.

#19

The conversion burners I have seen were actually part of a modified firebox door. Seems to me it would be fairly easy to reverse.

#20

Joe , a very useful picture .

Mike Brit