First run of a 2nd hand Live Steam loco

[aramand]

Hi,

I've just bought a 2nd hand Live Steam which has been run before but not for a while apparently. Just wondering on any advice on how best to run it for the first few times ?

Should I add the normal recommended amount of oil or is there

a way to check if there is already oil in there ? I see in the manual it says do not over oil it but I've no idea when the last oil was added.

I have a rolling road so will definitely start on that to get the feel of it.

Thanks!

[Brightstar]

Hi Aramand,

Assuming that the original owners had oiled the loco before running it. I would put 0.1 ml of oil into the oil chest as a precaution. You will soon find out if the loco has been over oiled as it will drip onto the rolling road from the

cylinders. You must not over oil the locomotive.

Take a look at http://www.00livesteam.com for advise on running you locomotive

Do not try to run it on a track until you have learned how you locomotive reacts to the controller. Every locomotive

is different, just like the real 12" to the foot models.

aramand said:

Hi,

I've just bought a 2nd hand Live Steam which has been run before but not for a while apparently. Just wondering on any advice on how best to run it for the

first few times ?

Should I add the normal recommended amount of oil or is there a way to check if there is already oil in there ? I see in the manual it says do not over oil it but I've no idea when the last oil was added.

I have a rolling road

so will definitely start on that to get the feel of it.

Thanks!

[aramand]

Thanks, I've had a look on the OOLiveSteam site also.

Loco appears to be running OK although the lights are a little odd - as soon as the power comes on it seems to be green and sometimes there are both green and red lights. Even when I do stop

it and managed to find a single red it usually seems to start at green when I power up again.

[Brightstar]

Hi aramand,

The lights are only an indication of the position of the stream regulator. The red light indicates that the regulator is closed and the green light that it is open. You need the red light to show (or no light) when you are building up

steam pressure. You should therefore move the control lever until the light is either red or not on,as leaving it on green will let steam escape into the superheater and the safety valve will not pop to indicate that there is enough pressure to power the pistons.

Do not worry about the lack of light or both red and green lights showing at the same time. What you need is either a red light or no lights showing when starting the locomotive after filling or re-filling the boiler and a green light when you want it to move,

forwards or reverse.

[Go_West]

[reply]aramand
As has been said the lights are not that important if moving the control lever from the whistle position as soon as this stops sounding let the control lever return to the neutral position and you should then be in stop mode and full

steam pressure will be reached.
As for oiling if too much oil is put into the oil tank then it will blow out over the engine and track which will not damage the engine but be a waste. A good engine driver would listen to his engine and if things start to

sound rough he would reoil up. These engine are like the real thing and are a total loss system so what goes into the engine must come out.
I have found that engines that are running out of oil tend to run slow as if things are running dry. This can be

corrected by stopping and reoiling after this you will find the engine is much smoother and runs faster. Lack of oil will damage the port face of the valve assemble and cylinders.