# Accucraft Smoke Box Temp



## ChaoticRambo (Nov 20, 2010)

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone knew how hot the Accucraft Smoke Boxes get on their single burner locomotives? The reason I ask is because we have to make a quick fix with some solder and need to know what temp it should be rated for.

Thanks,

Patrick


----------



## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

You should probably use some high temp stuff. Accucraft used regular tin-lead (melts somewhere around 375-425 if memory serves) on their 4-4-0 number boards and they fell off. Also some of the stacks came apart - again because of using regular solder. Much also depends upon how strong you run your fire.


----------



## ChaoticRambo (Nov 20, 2010)

Yea,

We got an Accucraft 3 cylinder shay and today was its first run. The number board on the front of the smokebox fell off during the initial warm up. (hope that was the only thing soldered incorrectly)


----------



## StevenJ (Apr 24, 2009)

On my roundhouse engine, I've had good luck using jb weld to glue builders plates and hand rail stanchions onto the jacket and smoke box areas. I ran them several times and they have not come apart yet.


----------



## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

A freind used normal solder to attach a brass number to his (modified) Rubies number plate...slid right off the first time out.


----------



## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

You can get silver bearing solder in varying percentages of silver with different melting and flow points. Probably something that melts around 600* or so would do fine. Try to get something that comes in 1/32 diameter so it doesn't make a globby mess when you try and feed in a small amount. A trick I use is to cut a small piece of solder 1/16-1/8 long and lay it on the fluxed joint with a pair of tweezers. Apply heat and when the right temp is reached it will flow into the joint, making a nice clean job of it with no globs.


----------



## GaugeOneLines (Feb 23, 2008)

If parts are falling off your smokebox/front end, this indicates to me that you have your flame in the smokebox rather than allowing it to pop back on to the burner. I doubt it is "incorrect soldering". 
David M-K 
Ottawa


----------



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

quick fix with some solder and need to know what temp it should be rated for 
Patrick, 

I tried the ca-550 deg 'silver solder' from MicroMark on a steam pipe and it melted - same for the number on the smokebox door. You'll need the 1100 degree proper silver solder.


----------



## ChaoticRambo (Nov 20, 2010)

Posted By GaugeOneLines on 19 May 2012 06:21 AM 
If parts are falling off your smokebox/front end, this indicates to me that you have your flame in the smokebox rather than allowing it to pop back on to the burner. I doubt it is "incorrect soldering". 
David M-K 
Ottawa 
No, I am 100% sure it popped back in. I do have experience running our Ruby and Mogul (neither of which have had any problems at all).


Thanks for all the replies guys, guess we are just going to have to try a few things and see what works. We have some solder here, and we are going to try that - if it doesn't hold, we will just have to shop around a bit. Luckily this is nothing that prevents us from running the locomotive.


----------



## DR.STEAM (Dec 11, 2010)

I have a temp. probe and checked the Accucraft smoke box temp. on my NG 2-6-0. Coming out of the burner tube it was about 850 deg. F. and going up the stack was about 750 deg F. My stack fell off and the number board also with high firing. I talked with the guy who repairs this problem fro Accucraft and he said that he uses Rifrigeration solder. The Stacks should be silver soldered and the number plate to. Silver solder comes in the temp. ranges, low, med and high. It can be bought from OTTO-FRY in Oakland, Ca. I have found the best way to fire up the engine is with the front door open until steam is up then close the door and run the engine with a fire that just does the job. Be carefull not to let the fire burn in the smoke box and see that it burns inside the burner tube where it belongs. 
David Passard 
Licensed Steam Operating Engineer, 50 years experance.


----------



## ChaoticRambo (Nov 20, 2010)

Posted By DR.STEAM on 19 May 2012 10:17 AM 
I have a temp. probe and checked the Accucraft smoke box temp. on my NG 2-6-0. Coming out of the burner tube it was about 850 deg. F. and going up the stack was about 750 deg F. My stack fell off and the number board also with high firing. I talked with the guy who repairs this problem fro Accucraft and he said that he uses Rifrigeration solder. The Stacks should be silver soldered and the number plate to. Silver solder comes in the temp. ranges, low, med and high. It can be bought from OTTO-FRY in Oakland, Ca. I have found the best way to fire up the engine is with the front door open until steam is up then close the door and run the engine with a fire that just does the job. Be carefull not to let the fire burn in the smoke box and see that it burns inside the burner tube where it belongs. 
David Passard 
Licensed Steam Operating Engineer, 50 years experance. 
David, thanks for the info! And also - welcome to the forums.

We attempted a fix with 450 degree solder and running the locomotive again today it fell off. No biggy, as I said before - you can still run (and run it good!) the locomotive without it.

Thanks again for all the info guys.


----------



## DR.STEAM (Dec 11, 2010)

Something else. The brass disk attached to the back of the smoke box door acts as a heat sink and passes the heat through to the number plate. I remove it and made a short brass tube to fit over the threaded rod from the number plate about 1/8" and cut a piece of high temp.cloth to fit just inside the round edge and then a piece of steel screen the same size. Made a hole in the middle to fit over the number plate bolt and put the nut back on. It has worked will for me and I don't have the high temp. at the smoke box door any more. 
I also made a design to get a great chuff sound from the exhaust and will post it for "Steam In The Garden Magazine" in about two months. I will try to post it to YouTube soon. 
Dave


----------



## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

You can alkso get high temp silver solder from McMaster-Carr, though not - unfortunately - in the 1/32 diameter I prefer. 

Additionally, if you try using high temp stuff on something you've already used low temp stuff on, you may have a problem unless you first clean/file off the low temp solder. That's what people have told me at any rate.


----------



## Reg Stocking (Sep 29, 2010)

Puhleeze! That's Otto Frei in Oakland. www.ofrei.com


----------



## ChaoticRambo (Nov 20, 2010)

Well, we (and by we, I mean my dad) completely alleviated the need for solder. My dad drilled and tapped a hole into the back of the number board so it screws onto the bolt.

For what it is worth, I posted a video of it running on another one of my topics:

http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/11/aft/124657/afv/topic/Default.aspx

Thanks again for all the suggestions and advice guys!


----------



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

My dad drilled and tapped a hole into the back of the number board 
Well, most of the muber boards come with a threaded rod already on them - which breaks! 

Some of us change the number on our locos - I used a Trackside Details disk and one of their brass numbers.


----------



## Shay Gear Head (Jan 3, 2008)

Now that the number board is permanently fixed you can watch the track for pieces off the truck or even melted axle insulation as much of the heat goes out the bottom hole of the smokebox.

Ask me how I know. After the many Shay-Ups at DH I would survey the track and usually find bits and pieces of locomotives. The problem here is that when lighting 30 locomotives in close proximity makes it real hard to hear or see how you fire is going.


----------



## s-4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Shay Gear Head on 22 May 2012 05:23 AM 

Ask me how I know. After the many Shay-Ups at DH I would survey the track and usually find bits and pieces of locomotives. The problem here is that when lighting 30 locomotives in close proximity makes it real hard to hear or see how you fire is going.
So true!


----------



## steamupdad (Aug 19, 2008)

Alcohol, boys. Alcohol !!!!!! That's all I'm gonna say.......;-) .....Cheers!


----------



## HampshireCountyNarrowGage (Apr 4, 2012)

Dave, 

"and cut a piece of high temp.cloth to fit just inside the round edge and then a piece of steel screen the same size." 

What kind of cloth did you use and were did you get it. 

Chester Louis SA #64 
Hampshire County Narrow Gauge


----------

