# Summerland Chuffer



## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Has anyone installed a Summerland Chuff enhancer in Roundhouse srrl 24 and how difficult was it. 
My not be right thread but it is for live steam.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Most are an easy install, have not heard about this one, but is sure gives good sound on my Mikado! Might write to them and ask about it. Usually they have directions.


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks jerry
I went to the Summerland site and they have the instructions or destructions as to how to install in the SRRL 24. It sure makes the engines sound good though. Looks like you did a good job on your Mikado.
Thanks again


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

I did the installation in my (formerly) SR 24. Simple and quick, after I thought to remove the stack while trying to align the joints of both exhaust tubes simultaneously. To shorted the RH exhaust tubes, get yourself on of the X-acto toothed saw blades, as you have to work within the smokebox. 
I like the sharpened exhaust, which is evident from 75 ft away on my track. Also installed one in my 4-4-0, but that did require some modifications to the stack. Excellent product, in my opinion. 

Larry


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Thank you Larry.
Did not know about the xacto blade will ick one up. Sure sounds good .


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Okay,
I reseived the Summerland Chuffers yesterday. Went to garage today and first installed one in my Gordon Watson Argyle 4-4-0 without much change in the exhaust pipe and fired her up and put little pressure on drivers to simulate weight and boy tdoes she sound good
I had ordered an exacto saw type blade and when it arrived was a ittle too big to fit intothe snmokebox. I had located one I had purchased earlier with a little smaller blade but I still had to reduce size. Took my Dremel and reduced width of the blade so I could manuver it around the exhaust pipes in the SRRL 24 and was able to remove the amount needed. I removed the Chimney after I cut the exhaust pipe as someone suggested and made the attaching of the Chuffer much easier. Fires her up and same as with the 4-4-0 the sound is great and with the little pressure on drivers , gets the betterchuff.
Looking forward to next week "Steamin at Steve's" to give them a test run. From what I have seen and heard r,really makes them sound better. Getting close to "Sparkie" sound. TEE HEE


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

Art, if you keep playing around with sound amplification devices I'm going to keep your C-62 and give you a LGB Mogul with sound instead !!!! hehe. Good to see your having fun at "Steaming at Steve's " again.


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Jeff
I have too many LGB mogul salready. Mosthave Phoenixsound now.Iam having a hard time waiting for theC-62.
We are having fun each time westeam here. Wish you had less snow.


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

Snow is gone, steaming tomorrow...


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Is the C-62 ready for a test.


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

No, 
Have one more thing to do ( fix the crank arm) on yours, then I get to try my hand at coal firing! 
Going to deliver another S-2 that I built tomorrow, I'll have to see what the weather is like Sunday, I'll let you know..


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Had to hear what the Sandy River with the Summerland chuff enhancersounded like soI set it up on rollers. When I put it front of some carsI bet itwill sound even better. Difficultto run her real slow on rollers ,at least it wasfor me. Had thefuel just a little toohigh. Was a little cool in garage.Will tone it down.


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

Sounded good Art.


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

May not be what caused it but while I was firing up the engine to get up to running speed. The little hose thatgoes from the tender to the engine popped a hole in it. I have not run the SRRL's in some time. The Chuff enhancer would not cause this to happen would it? Found out that was not the cause for the popped hose. The opening in the chuffer is larger than the exhaust pipe so no back pressure. Faulty hose I guess.


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## lotsasteam (Jan 3, 2008)

Got my chuffer today for my 2cyl shay,its so much easier to work on live steam ,my K 27 smoke project would be a lot easier if it wouldn't be a sparky! 

Manfred Diel


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

The hoses tend to get brittle after a few years. They are simple to replace. Look for some fuel tubing from the hobyshop for model car/plane fuel to replace for butane lines. The water lines from hand pumps require a stronger hose for the higher pressures. McMaster Carr has a big selection but I have been using fuel line from a Mercedes Benz Diesel. Ask for the return line from the injectors, its a 3mm ID with a wrapped outter jacket. About 20.00/Meter


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Jason. Might just try that.


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## jfrank (Jan 2, 2008)

Sounds great Art. Did you do both engines?


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Not yet. I have toget a new bogie for one of the tender's. Thing just snapped in my hands while I was puttingnew water hose on it, Willl put another chuffer on next week.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

The water lines from hand pumps require a stronger hose for the higher pressures 
Accucraft suggested auto windshield washer tubing, available at any auto parts store. It's designed for reasonable water pressure - seemed to work on my squirt bottle / check valve test. [Probably cheaper than anything with a Mercedes label!]


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Just picked up the tubing from Mercedes . Looks to betheperfect thing. Am going to ggarage right now to try it out. Shame I am retired and have so ----- much timeon my hands.

Well I went togarage and foundoutthatthe tubing for the Mercedes was a little largefor the SRRL piping. I was able to put the Roundhouse tubing inside of the Mercedes tubingand gave it a test run. It seems to be holding up okay. I just ran it on test rollers so do not know how it will fairon the tracks. Will try it out tommorow at Zube I hope.


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

I thought I might as well add the Gordon Watson Argyle 4-4-0 to thevideo list. This video was made with the little key chain camera. It does a pretty good job of videoing when you have it in focus.
Disregard the date on the video. I have not found the way to change it.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Here's my Accucraft C-19 with a Summerlands SCAC8 Chuffer before and after modifications. The SCAC8 is slightly short for a C-19 (it's for the C-21) but my stack is modified anyway, so I figured I'd make it work instead of waiting for them to produce the SCAC10 for the C-19. Which they promptly did anyway! 




Here's comments from Chris in the UK:
That sounds great! the SCAC10 for the C-19 is a half inch longer than the SCAC8 so should﻿ give the same sound you got. It just shows how important the positioning is. It will be good to hear it out on the track with a heavy load on!
Cheers
Chris


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## Shay Gear Head (Jan 3, 2008)

Does anybody know if they are making a chuffer for the Accucraft Forney? Never got a reply to my inquiry to NGT.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

making a chuffer for the Accucraft Forney 
Bruce, 

As it is basically a Ruby, I would think they already have one. Zoe is pretty good about emailing me - can't think why you haven't had a reply. 
I use NGTmodels (at) aim.com.


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## Shay Gear Head (Jan 3, 2008)

The Forney is not "basically" a Ruby other than it is a steam locomotive. The boiler is a different diameter (bigger), the cylinders are a different diameter (bigger), and so on. Pete you need to take a good long look at a Forney in person. It is the best deal going out there for the money right now, in my opinion. Comes with pressure gauge and a sight glass for about the same money as a Ruby II. The loco is about a foot long! Just the green one is a hideous color - NYC Jade green.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Ok so where does one find more info about this? Website reffered to but not posted? I've missed other posts on this topic and a cursory websearch does me no good? 

Chas


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

If you are referring to the "Chuffer" go to NGTMODELS.com


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## Jim Schulz (Aug 10, 2009)

I've got a chuffer in my black forney. It's the same as the one designed for the Ruby. Sounds OK. I've had an issue with getting my Forney to run at slow speeds so I'm not getting as distinctive a chuff as I would like, but I think with some adjusting it should be OK.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

The Forney is not "basically" a Ruby other than it is a steam locomotive 
Sorry, Bruce. I haven't compared them - but it sure looks like a Ruby with a tail ! 

From what Zoe, (the US distributor,) tells me, the main issue is to get the chuff aperture roughly in the center of the stack. My video shows what happens when it is a bit low - I could hardly tell the difference in the volume after I lengthened the pipe. Therefore I imagine the Ruby chuffer will work fine. 

Send the dimensions to Zoe and he'll tell you which chuffer to use. He needs lthe ength of current chuff pipe, height of chimney bottom above the threads on the chuff pipe, length of stack (internal height) and internal diameter. I found it easiest to mark the chuff pipe where it entered the stack base, then I removed it and measured the stack. 

I made a tool for removing the existing pipe by cutting a slot across the end of an old piece of plastic tube (it came out of one of my wife's shoes, I think.) It went down the stack over the crimp in the end of the Accu pipe and easily allowed me to remove it.


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## NGTmodels (Feb 16, 2008)

Bruce, I'm sorry you never got my reply, I show it being answered here. Sometimes they do go missing. As to fitting a Cuffer to any engine, the first step is finding out the dimensions of the Smokebox and Chimney. You can download a 'Fitting Chart' at here, http://ngtmodels.com/roundhouse-acc.htm The 'fitting chart' is on the LH column and downloads as a zipped file of a BitMap image. Save it someplace and open in PAINT. Mark it up and Email it back to me. Please notice the SCGP series of Chuffers, which are made to fit fixed exhaust pipes.Zoë


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## Chris B (Oct 18, 2009)

Chas - as has been said, Zoe has lots of information on her site at ngtmodels.com and she is your agent in the US. For information and background you can also go to www.summerlands-chuffer.co.uk 
We have loads of details and fitting instructions on the site, contributed by enthusiasts all around the world, as well as videos of locos in action etc. 

Zoe's fitting chart is really useful if you have an unusual loco, or one that we haven't sorted yet. More locos are being sorted all the time - thanks to helpful owners - but if in doubt please ask. 
Cheers 
Chris


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## Jim Schulz (Aug 10, 2009)

Here's a few clips of a Summerlands Chuffer in my Accucraft Forney. It's the standard SCAC1 for the Ruby. I shot these clips on a Canon Powershot SD400 5.0 digital camera. The first clip is forward, the second in reverse and the third is what often happens at slow speeds. The wheels bind and I've either got to push the wheels to get them going again or quickly open the throttle as seen in the clip, but that's another issue not related to the Chuffer, I think.


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## NGTmodels (Feb 16, 2008)

Jim, 
That looks suspiciously like a binding rod. Have you taken down the Main Rods and seen if it rolls without a hitch? If not, then the connecting rods may not be fitted correctly, or there may be a bend in one of the pins. If it does roll smoothly, then I'd look into the timing, as that's a pretty noticeable catch in the running. 
Zoë


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## emartin187 (Jan 19, 2008)

Hey Guys 
You can see Summerlands Chuffers in four different locos: a C-21, C-19, 2 Cyl Shay, and a Ruby 11, in my video "Chuffer Parade. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsKNOoA6chE 

Earl


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

*You can see/hear my Live Stem mikado with it' chuffer and my steam whistle. Also the safety pop offs on top that I got from Larry Herget.*


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