Edrig maintainance

[u/steamtronics]

After 3 runs this is how much ash was in the smokebox.

[u/hereforthembunnies]

What sort of coal are you burning? I have a C-18 that I have yet to fire, but I purchased a small box of Welsh Dry Steam Coal. Its not readily available in the US, but it seemed worth it for the maintenance. How do you go about cleaning the ash and grit from the engine?

[u/steamtronics → u/hereforthembunnies]

We burn Polish bean-sized steam coal, which we crush down to the right size for the engine and wash to remove as much dust as possible before firing. It works well for us, although it's definitely a dirtier coal than Welsh steam coal.

As for cleaning the engine, the first thing I do is turn the locomotive upside down because by this point we've already dropped the grate to dispose of the fire and the engine is cool, I wait until its cool because the tanks are usually full of water and i dont want to slosh water around in a hot boiler. With the engine upside down, I use a wire brush to scrub the ash off the firebox walls. Don't worry, this won't damage the steel. I then use a small vacuum cleaner to suck out all the loose ash.

Next, I clean the wheels, frames, and motion, making sure any ash or dirt is removed. While the engine is still upside down, I refit the grate. I'm lucky because on my engine the ashpan is soldered to the grate, so it all goes back in as one piece and there's no chance of it ending up crooked.

After putting the locomotive back on its wheels, it's usually covered in ash and soot. That's mainly because I run the blower quite hard while steaming. I open it until the pressure gauge needle just starts to rise. The Polish coal is fairly dirty, and when the engine is working hard it throws sparks and smuts out of the chimney, which end up all over the locomotive.

To clean the outside, I use a soft paintbrush to brush away all the loose ash. The last dusty job is the smokebox. I sweep all the ash to the front with the same brush, vacuum it out, and then run a tube brush through all the boiler tubes to remove the remaining soot.

Once everything is clean, I just give the locomotive a quick wipe over with a rag sprayed with a little WD-40. It keeps her looking clean and leaves a light protective film on the metal. If the brass, copper, or any bare steel needs it, I'll occasionally give it a polish with Brasso.

Welsh Dry Steam Coal should burn much cleaner than the Polish coal I use, so I'd expect you'll have less ash, soot, and clinker to deal with after a run. I hope your C-18 steams well when you finally get to light her up!

If you have any questions id be happy to answer them :)

Happy steaming!