# SUCTION FAN WIRING



## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Jeff Young had an article on Coal firing in the recent issue of Garden Railways where he added a third battery to his Aster suction fan. I dont know anything about wiring in series. Is ther a slide switch that provides enough connections to wire three c batteries in seiries. Or what can I use to accomplish the connections.


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## PortageFlyer (Jan 2, 2008)

Just cut the wire between goes between the slide switch and the battery terminal to splice in the third battery. The single "C" battery holder is from Radio Shack and comes with positive and negative leads. Solder in the new wires such that the batteries are negative of one to positive of the next.


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By PortageFlyer on 05 Jul 2012 12:08 PM 
Just cut the wire between goes between the slide switch and the battery terminal to splice in the third battery. The single "C" battery holder is from Radio Shack and comes with positive and negative leads. Solder in the new wires such that the batteries are negative of one to positive of the next. 
Jefff
I think you left out some of the instructions. My suction fan has three terminals on slide switch.Di I splice into the second set of wires before the end of switch.

Ive got it now. Thanks for your help, We will see how much difference it makes.
Who says you cant teach an old dog new tricks. Sounds much stronger.


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## Jim Overland (Jan 3, 2008)

The third battery makes a big difference. 
I dropped out of electricity in college ( thus the live steam fetish) 

But Peter C assures me that the wiring with one added battery more than double the power 

jim o


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jim Overland on 06 Jul 2012 08:54 AM 
The third battery makes a big difference. 
I dropped out of electricity in college ( thus the live steam fetish) 

But Peter C assures me that the wiring with one added battery more than double the power 

jim o 
I fired the C-62 up this morning. The fan makes a big difference and even more so if operator remembers to put engine into gear and out of neytral. 
I am uploading video now on youtube and unedited to show how we in live steam and coal firing in particular can be confused. It makes the hobby for me all the more enjoyable because i seem to learn something each time I fire her up. I will have the video later aand you can watch whatecer amount of it you want. 
I will probably start a new thread for it.
You can hear the fan with the extra baterry.


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

I decided to put the video of the firing of the C-62n this thread. It is 12 minutes long and shows that you need a check list when you are running different egines.By that I mean sometimes I leave the engine in neutral when it is not being used and this time I forgot to put it in gear to run at about minute 5 or so. I also used lamp oil for my starter charcoal that has the mosquito repellant in it so when I run at Steve's again this summer we can ward off the mosquitos.

It took just about 5 munutes to have her ready torun as you can see by my trying to move the wheels. Thats whenn I was movig throttle with no success.

As David Clement said, Art does not mind being emarrassed when he is running his engines to show that there is quite a bit goin on when firing ,coal, alcohol and gas.



It was at the ten minute mark when I fianl realized I did not have her in forward gear.


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## David_DK (Oct 24, 2008)

Hello Art
Well must say that I really admire your work, and the films. Your free "translation" of my danish statement is a bit fresh. But the bottom line is right. No-one runs their trains like you, and show the rest of us what the can do. Too manny asters are living a life as an "investment", and this attitude will probably kill the hobby, since fewer and fewer have the skills to run in the end...
But it is a hard one. I dont run all my engines as hard as the C62, and Lottes (=the wife) SNCF U1 is almost never on the track. I simply just dont have the nerve to run her beutifull engine. And it is a shame. The U1 is one of the best performers Aster have ever made. (my opinion of course)
ANYWAY
We had a GTG here at Krogen the other sunday. There were only 5 drivers, so lots of time and space on the track. I joined the fun and took out my C62. The first run was not so great. Was a bit to flimsy, and lost the fire after 20 mins. The next start was perfect and I had a good switch to antracite. The loco ended running for somewhere between 1½ and 2 hours. (I used almost 3 liters of water) 
Here is 2 photos from the day. (From left to right: John Jackson, David (me), Klaus Lytzhøft, Ole Holm, Mogens Hjelesen) All busy firing up!









Here is one of the C62. I always start without the tender, to have more room. Though it is a bit fiddly to but them together. (You will get burned!)










Anyway I use a freq. regulator for my fan, so I can regulate the speed. Ill take a close-up photo next time.

Regards

David


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Went back and read Jeff's article again on coal firing. He had said he used lock vise grip plyers to break up coal . I went to Lowe's today and got the smallest pair I could find and used them a little to test them and they do work great. No cutting fingers with garden shears and no great amount of dust with hammer. 
Just set opening to abou 3/8 inch and crunch, there it is.


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## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By David_DK on 09 Jul 2012 03:16 PM
Hello Art
Well must say that I really admire your work, and the films. Your free "translation" of my danish statement is a bit fresh. But the bottom line is right. No-one runs their trains like you, and show the rest of us what the can do. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*That is so true. Having the pleasure of watching Art run his magnificent engines for several years I can say that nobody enjoys the hobby more then him. He truly owns his engines, they do not own him. In that I mean that so many people are so scared to get a scratch on their prized possession, that they never really have any fun with it. It ends up owning them. I have some of that in me,







but I am trying to get more like Art in that regard every time I run. *


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## David_DK (Oct 24, 2008)

Dear Art 

Yes breaking the coal to the right seize is half the trick. Mine come in "grains"-seize, but too big for a succesfull run with the C62. For breaking up I use an old cast iron "clothes roll". The recepie is simpel: Pour the coal out between 2 peices of plywood. Each side has an extra 8mm. When you roll is through the rolers is breaks (crush) everything down to 8mm. After that I use a colander to get rid of all the small pieces. 
I spend hours before breaking and sorting coal. Now it just take 2 mins, and I dont get dirty. 

\David


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By David_DK on 11 Jul 2012 01:56 PM 
Dear Art 

Yes breaking the coal to the right seize is half the trick. Mine come in "grains"-seize, but too big for a succesfull run with the C62. For breaking up I use an old cast iron "clothes roll". The recepie is simpel: Pour the coal out between 2 peices of plywood. Each side has an extra 8mm. When you roll is through the rolers is breaks (crush) everything down to 8mm. After that I use a colander to get rid of all the small pieces. 
I spend hours before breaking and sorting coal. Now it just take 2 mins, and I dont get dirty. 

\David 
David
Trick here in this country would be to find a Clothes roller. If I remeber correctly, that was what our old washing machune had to ring the water out of clothes aftr wahing.
If I reall though the rollers were real hard rubber if I recall.. Only been about 70 years since i saw one of them.
What did you mean that the plywood had an extra 8mm. 


No trick here at all. Went to Ebay and they have several of the old wringers for sale. Trick would be to find one that works properly. Gues I could go into business crushing coal for people. LOL


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

My wife says I am dysfuntional. If two pieces of plywood rolled thru a clothes wringer, why would not two pieces of plywood with the coal in between and run over by pickup. It works but a little too much distruction of coal. oh well back to vise grips or whatever.


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