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(DIR) Return to: Restorations
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#Post#: 49139--------------------------------------------------
Quality Brand (Empire) Gets A Facelift
By: Paula Date: February 9, 2022, 2:24 pm
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This engine is an eBay find from early last year. It was in
pretty nice shape when I acquired it:
[attachimg=1]
It is actually an Empire B-30 model which was made for the Great
Northern Mfg. Co. under the Quality Brand name. The
single-acting cylinder has a 5/8” bore x 7/8” stroke, and drives
a 3” diameter solid-web flywheel. The electrically-heated brass
boiler is approximately 2-3/8” diameter x 7” long. The boiler is
mounted on a cast iron base, while the cylinder, slide valve,
and crankshaft bearings are incorporated into a one-piece brass
casting, mounted atop the boiler.
The boiler filler port and safety valve are cleverly built into
the 2-1/2” tall dummy stack. A separate brass casting encloses
the left end of the boiler, and provides mounting points for
both the dummy stack and a 1/4” OD sight glass. A throttle valve
is incorporated into the engine frame, and a whistle is mounted
directly behind it. A 3/4” diameter power takeoff pulley is
mounted to the crankshaft at the rear of the engine.
[attachimg=2]
The engine was sold as “untested”, but from what I could see,
was worth the selling price, even if the heater was bad. I could
see that the whistle cap was broken off (quite common) but
otherwise the engine looked to be in quite decent shape. Also,
there was no cord supplied, so I would need to get one for it.
After receiving the engine, I was quite pleased to find that the
heater worked fine, but there was a serious problem with the
lower sight glass fitting. The design of this style of boiler is
unusual in that the lower sight glass spigot comprises an
elbow-shaped extension of the boiler end casting. This offers
the advantage of extending the range of the sight glass tube at
the bottom end. The disadvantage is that it also provides a
place for water to collect, as it is the lowest point within the
boiler. Unless the boiler is thoroughly drained after each
steaming, water will collect in this “elbow”, and over time will
lead to corrosion of the lower sight glass fitting. This is
apparently what happened with this engine. I noticed that this
lower fitting was kind of loose, and as soon as I touched it, it
basically broke off in my hand.
(to be continued…)
#Post#: 49140--------------------------------------------------
Re: Quality Brand (Empire) Gets A Facelift
By: txlabman Date: February 9, 2022, 3:51 pm
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Thank you Paula for the detailed description of the engine.
Looking forward to how you tackled the lower sight glass.
If you decide to repaint it the matching Empire Red Paint is
Krylon Number RTA 9230 Cherry Red.
#Post#: 49141--------------------------------------------------
Re: Quality Brand (Empire) Gets A Facelift
By: komet163b Date: February 9, 2022, 4:42 pm
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Good description of your new engine. The working heater is a
blessing.
The lower sight glass gave me troubles with mineral deposits. I
used
diluted citric acid to start it to crumbling and finished
clearing it
with a wooden skewer (won't scratch metal). Thankfully, mine
did not
fall off. The heater on mine was also good, so I added water,
plugged
in, and off it went.
To be honest, I try not to run the Empires with original
heaters too
often. So far, I've had one Empire go incandescent before
failing, and
two others with burned out heaters I replaced with cartridge
heaters.
Be careful and avoid water dripping down the sides and running
down into
the heater area. The water fillup and using the whistle are two
culprits.
Good Luck,
Wayne
#Post#: 49142--------------------------------------------------
Re: Quality Brand (Empire) Gets A Facelift
By: Paula Date: February 9, 2022, 5:13 pm
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Charlie, thanks for the tip on the paint. Not knowing any
better, I repainted this one with Rustoleum red engine paint. It
looked good at first, but now seems to have lost some of its
original gloss. The color looks ok to me, though my bright LED
shop lights give an orangish cast. I will try the Krylon next
time.
Wayne, thanks for your input. I agree with you about the
original heater, so I don't steam this one very often. And I
always keep a paper towel handy to mop up any stray drippings.
Of the three Empire engines I've acquired, only one had a
working heater, and one had no heater at all!
The sight glass fittings on this engine consist of a spherical
“elbow” with a compression fitting for the sight glass on the
top side, and a 1/4-40 threaded hole in the side. A 1/4” OD x
1/2” long nipple, threaded 1/4-40 at each end connects the
fitting to the boiler:
[attachimg=1]
I have found that (2) 1/4” ID x 3/8” OD O-rings do a nice job of
sealing the sight glass tube to the fitting.
In the case of this engine, the nipple for the lower sight glass
fitting had corroded to such an extent that it broke off,
leaving the male end of the nipple in the spherical elbow. By
using a small Dremel cutter, I was able to cut the broken
portion in the elbow into several pieces to remove them. Here is
the busted nipple with one of the removed pieces of the threaded
end:
[attachimg=2]
I made a new nipple from a piece of 1/4” OD brass pipe (from PM
Research), threading the ends with a 1/4-40 die. The threaded
joints are best sealed with Loctite 542. Allow the Loctite to
set up overnight before steaming. Here is a view of the repaired
lower sight glass fitting (the strong solvents used to
disassemble the corroded parts removed most of the nickel
plating, so I just polished the remaining brass):
[attachimg=3]
The whistle cap used on these engines is a fragile affair,
consisting of .010” drawn brass. It seems that few of these
survive any kind of rough or careless handling, and this engine
was no exception. I was able to remove the broken stub of the
whistle cap by slitting it up one side with a Dremel cutter.
Here is what was left:
[attachimg=4]
I made a new cap from 9/32” OD stainless, drilled out to fit the
existing whistle base, and guessing at the height. A file was
used to cut the notch in the side. It’s important to locate the
notch directly above the flat on the whistle valve base. I
polished the outside to resemble the nickel plating on the rest
of the engine:
[attachimg=5]
(to be continued…)
#Post#: 49144--------------------------------------------------
Re: Quality Brand (Empire) Gets A Facelift
By: St Paul Steam Date: February 9, 2022, 7:22 pm
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Some really nice work Paula , the whistle's especially creative
(I think it looks better than the original)
#Post#: 49145--------------------------------------------------
Re: Quality Brand (Empire) Gets A Facelift
By: Paula Date: February 9, 2022, 8:10 pm
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Thanks, Bruce!
Another thing I worked on was the method for insulating the
heater terminals. The original insulators consisted of stacks of
very thin mica washers, fitted to the counterbores surrounding
the terminal holes in the base. Many of the washers were cracked
and bent, and I just didn’t have a lot of confidence in
this method. I decided to make some insulators from Garolite G7
rod. This is a high-temp insulating material often used in
industry for just such applications. Here is a side sectional
view of what I was planning:
[attachimg=1]
The G7 material is hard and powdery and not very pleasant to
machine, but I feel it serves as a more positive insulator than
the stacked mica washers. Here is what the finished insulators
look like:
[attachimg=2]
And here is how they look with the terminals installed in the
base:
[attachimg=3]
Here is a view from the underside, with the heater re-installed:
[attachimg=4]
Here are some pictures of the finished engine. Note the throttle
and whistle handles. These originally had cracks and badly
flaking paint. I originally thought that they were made of wood,
but they are some kind of plastic. I removed the paint and
filled the cracks with epoxy. I decided not to repaint them, as
they are already red (dark red), so I just gave them a light
polishing, and re-installed them.
[attachimg=5]
The pressure gauge was an afterthought, though I’m not
certain if I’m going to keep it.
[attachimg=6]
(to be continued...)
#Post#: 49146--------------------------------------------------
Re: Quality Brand (Empire) Gets A Facelift
By: Nick Date: February 9, 2022, 8:23 pm
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Some very impressive work 👍 I do like the look of these
with the solid flywheel vs the normal spoked Empires 8) I have
it’s vertical brother, but not as nice looking as yours :D
Looking forward to more of your restoration posts ;)
#Post#: 49149--------------------------------------------------
Re: Quality Brand (Empire) Gets A Facelift
By: Paula Date: February 9, 2022, 9:11 pm
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Thank you for the comments, Nick. I also have one of the
vertical Empires. It's the one with the missing heater (one of
many projects waiting to be completed!)
Here are some more shots of the Quality Brand:
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
Here is a video of the 2nd steaming. Since the engine is not
under load, it runs very happily on 80 volts:
(HTM) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_CEtQdWm80
#Post#: 49153--------------------------------------------------
Re: Quality Brand (Empire) Gets A Facelift
By: St Paul Steam Date: February 10, 2022, 6:48 am
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the insulators look very professional, much better than the
stacks of Mica sheets, you have done a beautiful job of it & I
think the pressure gauge looks fine on there.
#Post#: 49154--------------------------------------------------
Re: Quality Brand (Empire) Gets A Facelift
By: Quickj Date: February 10, 2022, 7:11 am
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Paula,
Really beautiful job on the repairs/restoration of this engine.
You have a great eye for detail.
Looking forward to seeing more of your work and would love to
see some shots of your workshop.
Jim in Minnesota
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