# New-born Ruby leaking



## gordini (Jan 12, 2012)

Just completed my Ruby Kit and although it runs pretty well (might need some adjustments since reverse speed is slower) i noticed some leaks especially from R/H side valve which is also steaming. This is the second or third run. Also all the cylinder flanges are leaking water. In general is a dirty little boy with oil and water leaking. Is this natural or i have to use some gasket glue? Also the Banjo bolt which secures the steam valve on to the boiler is leaking because it is conical and i don't want to over tight it. Thinking of making the conical screw flat in my lathe to solve the problem. What you think?

Here is a link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYiswD-SksA 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2teVDU3CB_I


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

My first guess is that you can give each screw a quarter turn tightening. that should at least slow the leaks at the gaskets. same drill with the banjo. Obviously you should use your judgement but things should be tight. 

I would only machine that banjo bolt as a last resort, it should work fine as is with less torque required to seal the joints than a square shoulder would even provided it was cut perfectly true. 

the leaking around the valve stem is just a cost of doing buisiness, the steam oil should help somewhat.


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## gordini (Jan 12, 2012)

Well yesterday after my test and after everything cool down i gave some extra torque on all cylinder screws which unfortunately are very short. Only 2 mm is getting inside the cylinders. I haven't test it since then. As for the banjo bolt i think im done with it but ill give it some extra torque. My problem is if my lathe can be 100% true on the banjo because that is very critical. On the other hand i can use some epoxy glue to secure it. I just checking if other users have the same problems or there is something wrong with me.

Thomas


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

Nothing wrong with you...just being careful not to strip or break any screws...like I did! I think you will have fixed the problem.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

I had to replace the gaskets on mine right out of the box and they still leak a little till it gets warmend up and then one cylinder seems to drip water a lot. It still runs good though.


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## Eric M. (Jan 3, 2008)

I wouldn't use epoxy on any fittings because JB weld is the only commonly available epoxy that will hold up to the heat and if you use that you'll have a heck of a time getting things apart for service or repair. As a last resort if you have to seal things up you could try a conservative application of some silicone sealant. Regular silicone stands up to pretty high heat but you can also get fire proof silicone that will hold up to even higher temps. I have never tried this but I would imagine that you would use the smallest amount possible to do the job because you wouldnt want excess silicone to squeeze into bad places as you tightened things up.

Regards,


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## gordini (Jan 12, 2012)

Since i am working on aviation industry i have some special sealants that can hold heat, fuel, chemicals etc, and they are not too hard to remove especially in such small quantities, If i use it i will apply it with a tooth stick. I also have silicone that can hold heat. Now if you telling me that you also have leaks maybe i'll try some new gaskets. After all i bought this little loco because i like to modify and improve rather than play with it. Besides i don't even have a garden so play time on rails will be limited. 

Thomas


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

If you have tightened all the cylinder bolts then run it and you will see the longer it runs the less it leaks. Kind of normal stuff. Mine has some minor leakage but not really concerned about it. Just part of getting used to live steam. Later RJD


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## StevenJ (Apr 24, 2009)

Do not use RTV, you'll have a very hard time getting the heads off in the future. Junk the stock head gaskets and make new ones by cutting up paper money. It doesn't matter which country you use, US, Zimbabwe, Canada, etc. and when you install them just use steam oil to seal it. Trust me, it works. Andrew F has used this method before on several engines, including mine and it seals way better than whatever the factory is using.


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## Dan Pantages (Jan 2, 2008)

It does matter which country you use, some have plastic money.


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

of course the best gasket is a gold doubloon pounded flat! It is entirely corrosion resistant and looks great too.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Silicone Bathtub Caulk, applied sparingly, will seal things nicely. Aster supplies it with their kits. Use it on the mating surfaces of the banjo bolt. VERY SMALL amounts will do. 

I do recommend to NOT using it to seal the valve chest lids, use paper money with copious amounts of Steam Cylinder Oil on them.


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## StevenJ (Apr 24, 2009)

Posted By Dan Pantages on 12 Feb 2012 05:31 PM 
It does matter which country you use, some have plastic money. 
Wow, I stand corrected! Use a paper dollar that is paper and fiberous!


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## gordini (Jan 12, 2012)

Banjo Bolt leak stopped. I used some small amount of 250c silicon adhesive and manage to stop the leak. 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gordinir8/banjobolt.jpg


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## Ray Cadd (Dec 30, 2008)

Money will work, but if you don't have any peso bills to cut up, a plain brown shopping bag will do just as fine.


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## Eric M. (Jan 3, 2008)

If you cut up less than half of a US bill you can still spend it too!

Regards,


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## gordini (Jan 12, 2012)

Posted By gordini on 13 Feb 2012 02:01 PM 
Banjo Bolt leak stopped. I used some small amount of 250c silicon adhesive and manage to stop the leak. 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/gordinir8/banjobolt.jpg


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

Glad you are making progress. 

I am fiddling with my son's ruby #5 and having trouble keeping the fire alight. I have tried two jets and screen on the burner so far no Joy.


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

I made a new burner tube using brass and stainless steel. I used a mini hacksaw to make vertical slots spaced about the same but somewhat random. works great and doesnt whistle!


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## gordini (Jan 12, 2012)

Test, trying to post a picture here.


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## FHPB (Feb 25, 2011)

I recently rebuilt my venerable Ruby (s/n #085) and it steams fine, but leaks like crazy from the valve chest gaskets.

Before I spend the time laboriously cutting new ones with an X-acto knife, has anyone drawn up a CAD design for them that can be used to laser cut them? A club member has one if those A4 size cutters that should do the job nicely.


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## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

FHPB said:


> I recently rebuilt my venerable Ruby (s/n #085) and it steams fine, but leaks like crazy from the valve chest gaskets.
> 
> Before I spend the time laboriously cutting new ones with an X-acto knife, has anyone drawn up a CAD design for them that can be used to laser cut them? A club member has one if those A4 size cutters that should do the job nicely.


I do


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Jason at The Train Dept suggested using auto sealant on my Aster loco which came (30 years old kit) without gaskets. The high temp gasket sealant is working fine (although I confess I have only tested it on air so far.) Your local auto dealer has the stuff - Permatex red high-temp gasket maker.
https://www.permatex.com/products/g...s/permatex-high-temp-red-rtv-silicone-gasket/


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## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

Permatex seals well at steam temperatures. But if you have to take an assembly apart, you wish you had used gaskets, at least for larger sealing areas. How do I know ?


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

HMeinhold said:


> Permatex seals well at steam temperatures. But if you have to take an assembly apart, you wish you had used gaskets, at least for larger sealing areas. How do I know ?


I concur completely.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

HMeinhold said:


> Permatex seals well at steam temperatures. But if you have to take an assembly apart, you wish you had used gaskets, at least for larger sealing areas. How do I know ?


Well, sorta. I have had to take the cylinders apart a couple of times, but as it hasn't been steamed yet, the 'gaskets' were easy to scrape off and re-make.


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## lotsasteam (Jan 3, 2008)

Ask you dentist for a couple sheets of :rubber dam , its a silicone sheet he uses over your tooth (poke a hole in the sheet) to protect grinding debris getting in your whistle tube!! Fantastic material you print out a copy of your 1: 1 gaskets and use elmers glue to sticky to the gaskets (don't let it dry) cut the gaskets and wash the glue of! Don't overtighten the screws !


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## FHPB (Feb 25, 2011)

quote=HMeinhold;1090346]I do[/quote]

Got it! Danke tausendmal, Henner!


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## GaugeOneLines (Feb 23, 2008)

Ray Cadd said:


> Money will work, but if you don't have any peso bills to cut up, a plain brown shopping bag will do just as fine.


You are absolutely dead-on as regards brown heavy duty paper grocery bags. I don't know where the silly dollar bill idea came from in the '80s, but grocery bag gaskets once soaked with steam oil are perfect. Likewise GE silicone bathtub sealer, and every steamer should have a small roll of plumber's Teflon tape in their arsenal. You can disagree with me, I only speak from G1 steam experience that started in 1961. All the theory in the world from armchair experts means nothing versus experience.
Just my 2 cents worth.
David M-K
Ottawa


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## StackTalk (May 16, 2014)

GaugeOneLines said:


> You are absolutely dead-on as regards brown heavy duty paper grocery bags. I don't know where the silly dollar bill idea came from in the '80s, but grocery bag gaskets once soaked with steam oil are perfect. Likewise GE silicone bathtub sealer, and every steamer should have a small roll of plumber's Teflon tape in their arsenal. You can disagree with me, I only speak from G1 steam experience that started in 1961. All the theory in the world from armchair experts means nothing versus experience.
> Just my 2 cents worth.
> David M-K
> Ottawa


On behalf of the "silly dollar bill idea" crowd, I'd like to suggest that US currency simply has a higher rag content than typical kraft paper as used in brown paper bags. So the higher rag content is likely a bit more durable and perhaps performs a bit better under compression? Mere speculation. 

I've always understood that oils evaporate, but at a very slow rate when compared with many other liquids. Only the exposed edges of our tiny compressed gaskets will remain in contact with the atmosphere so perhaps this alleged evaporation I refer to, if it happens at all, will take a few lifetimes to dry out such a gasket. 

That said, I am more than happy to defer to the many decades of experience resulting in your suggestion that to use US currency over brown paper is completely unnecessary - and perhaps even silly.

Since the advent of new silicone gasket materials, many auto parts assemblers do not use paper gaskets at all.

I renewed (bead-blasted, primed and repainted) the valve cover on my Austin Healey BJ8 recently and over at British Car Forum, I read a discussion concerning the virtues of cork gaskets over newer silicone with some insisting that the newer silicone gaskets are far superior, while the other camp mentioned one cements the cork gasket to the cover itself while greasing the lower edge of the gasket. <shrug> I expect that success may be achieved with either approach.

Horses for courses.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

As I remember (and I don't trust my memory very much) the "dollar bill" idea came along about the time that the environmental PC crowd was decrying the horrible destruction of forests so the grocery store could bag your purchases to carry them home in your gas guzzling Sherman Tank SUV. 

To relieve the fear of protests at the cash register the grocery stores switched to the (now even more environmentally horrible) crude oil based plastic bags and the paper kind became hard to find.

You could buy one gasket for a dollar or you could make a dozen of them from that very same dollar bill.

And I can attest that gaskets made from a U.S. One Dollar bill work just fine, but if I ever need one for one of my Aster engines, I am sure I would need to use a $20 or $50 to match the quality of my favourite engines! (Just to be extra snooty, I think I might use a $100!)


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## steamboatmodel (Jan 2, 2008)

I heard that if you have both of the serial numbers the treasury will replace it.
Took half of a five dollar bill Canadian to a bank once and they would not replace it of give me $2.50.
Gerald.


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