Finally, A Working Mechanical Lubricator

A Mechanical Lubricator is a device used in Steam Engines to force lubricating oil into the cylinder(s) against the prevailing steam pressure.

I've spent almost two years and tried about 7 different designs. But most of the designs I've tried had the same basic flaw. That is, The pressure they could deliver was proportional to the speed at which they were operated.

This is serious problem since the higher steam pressures are generally seen at the lower speeds. If the steam pressure at the valves exceeds the pressure the lubricator can deliver - You get NO oil.

The design shown in this video clip is quite different. Sure it uses pistons and cylinders like any other. But other designs use a cam to apply pressure to the pistons and return springs to pull the piston back out of the cylinders.

This design uses springs to apply pressure to the pistons and a lever and cam to pull the pistons back. But, the cam releases the pistons instantly, making the delivery pressure totally independent of the axle speed.

In this clip, you can see the levers being released by the cam. You can see that the piston hits the load (the oil pressure) which stops it. But not being a perfect fit, you see it "leak down" after already delivering it's load.

The gauges are not very readable in the clip. The left cylinder is showing about 120 PSI and the right, about 110 PSI. Most of the difference is in the gauges. By design, the pressure is limited by the spring force.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• live
• steam
• oiler
• backyard
• railroad
• train
• mikado

[islandpondrr]

@steved0689

No. This was built from scratch. -- Bill

[steved0689]

That is so Cool.  I need to get one started, was this from Railroad Warehouse?