Eldrig/Caradoc gas fill - how long?

[Old Tom]

Can you experienced Eldrig/Caradoc steamers please tell me how long it takes to fill the gas tank? 2 seconds? 10 seconds? 30 seconds?

I won't go into details until I have some idea from the replies (I have a very wierd problem with my loco :wits: )

I'll add a tiny bit of detail - I'm using standard butane 'Swan gas lighter refill' 200ml cans (that I get for 50p so I'm not thinking of going to the larger blow lamp size canisters until I've run out)

Sits back with bated breath waiting for the influx of replies....

 

[Rosco]

I'd say 10 secs from a fresh Go Gas can then a bit longer as the can emptys.

 

[Doug]

20 seconds from a full gas can, up to 30 seconds when the can gets 1/4 full. The filler can freeze up if using butane/propane mix gas. Can sometimes take longer to fill if you haven't got everything lined up properly.

 

[New Haven Neil]

I don't have an Edrig, but Mortimer takes 20 - 30 seconds, but it always seems a lot longer!

 

[MRail]

takes 20 - 30 seconds, but it always seems a lot longer!

My Edrig's just the same.
Wrekin & Lawley, a little bigger, take a little longer.
But whatever, it just seems longer when holding a canister against the valve spring.

 

[New Haven Neil]

Yeah - my VoR has the optional big tank, and it takes absolutely ages to fill. Your hand goes numb!

 

[Neil Robinson]

Yeah - my VoR has the optional big tank, and it takes absolutely ages to fill. Your hand goes numb!

It might seem a long time but filling prototypes with coal (or oil, especially via a hand pump) seems to take much longer !

 

[Old Tom]

Thanks for the replies everyone

It seems that anything from 10 to 30 seconds is the norm, depending on the amount remaining in the gas canister.... hmmmm... not what I wanted to hear, really! :crying:

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin:

First steaming took about 5 seconds to fill before the liquid spurted out. Loco ran for a full 20 mins.

Second steaming, same again (about a 5 second fill before it spurted) but this time it barley heated the water before the gas pressure dropped and the tank was empty :wits:

Third steaming (new gas canister in case old one was playing up), it took a good 20 - 30 seconds to fill and I got the full steaming time.

The 30 second fill time worked for every subsequent steaming until last night...

I put partly used canister to gas valve, pressed down and after 5 seconds got the spurting again. I thought 'Hmm, that's not filled properly, I'll open the valve, let it empty and do it again'. I then tried again - same results! Now I'm thinking that the valve has a problem but this time I decided not to waste the gas and carried on and lit it to see how long it would be before it ran out.

Guess what?

Yep, I got the full 20 minute run out of it.

After it cooled down I unscrewed the valve and had a look at the needle but nothing seems amiss. My next step would be to take the actual filler valve off and have a look for any swarf/dirt clogging the mechanism but I'd like to know if it's just a case of unscrewing the top?

The loco is still under warranty but I'd like to fix it myself to save all the hassle of packaging it up and sending it back.

Any help gratefully received!

 

[bobg]

Tom,

I experienced some problems gas filling, till I got used to holding the canister "just right". I find the angle of the feed tube very critical, wander off a degree, or even push a bit sideways, and it leaks, making it look full when it isn't. There is a difference in the way it 'spits' when it's full, once you know.

Other than that is there a posibility that it's not a filling problem but an 'emptying' one? i.e. is the tank truely empty or perhaps the burner jet blocking? I would have expected that to have stayed though.

 

[Rosco]

Most running problems i've encountered have always been a blocked gas jet, so unscrew it from its holder and give it a blast of butane to clear any grit. I have had a gas filler valve vent gas before which i replaced by one sent by Accucraft. You can unscrew it using a flat blade screwdriver with a slot cut out of it in the middle, a tip i got of this forum.

 

[400Parker]

This has come up before and I had the same problem with my Edrig. If you search the various threads I think you'll find someone recommended leaving the gas valve open as you start to fill the tank and then closing it. I think the problem is because the tank is too hot when you try to fill it. If you leave it a while and allow the tank to cool down you should have no problem, which is what you experienced, though you didn't wait deliberately. I can't comment on my Edrig now because I had it converted to use a Roundhouse gas tank and now it's laid up awaiting conversion to coal firing.
Steve

 

[New Haven Neil]

The temperature (and hence the pressure, gas laws) of the gas can will make a difference too - if the can is pretty warm, the pressure will be much greater, and therefore fill the empty tank faster.

Regardless, there's nothing wrong with your loco, you are just learning the idiosyncracies of engineering!

 

[New Haven Neil]

Tom,

I experienced some problems gas filling, till I got used to holding the canister "just right". I find the angle of the feed tube very critical, wander off a degree, or even push a bit sideways, and it leaks, making it look full when it isn't. There is a difference in the way it 'spits' when it's full, once you know. <snip

Spot on, I'd say, Bob!

 

[Old Tom]

Tom,

I experienced some problems gas filling, till I got used to holding the canister "just right". I find the angle of the feed tube very critical, wander off a degree, or even push a bit sideways, and it leaks, making it look full when it isn't. There is a difference in the way it 'spits' when it's full, once you know. <snip

Spot on, I'd say, Bob!

And I'd have said the same thing a couple of nights ago. But I still can't understand why a 5 second fill gave me a full 20 mins steaming?

Anyway, I think I'll put it down to 'one of those things' and hope it all gets back to normal the next time I steam.......

 

[New Haven Neil]

I can opnly presume the tank wasn't completely empty - or it was a grey moment and you had previously filled it.....and yes, I am!!!!