Blog

A blog about my the history, acquisition and operation of my 1911 Model 62 Stanley Steamer.

I'm back at it!

Well it’s been the better part of a year since I’ve been working on the Stanley. My focus was pulled to the other major project in the garage which is a Mercer 22-70 Sporting Four. I needed to get it back on the road and then prep it for 2,600 mile journey around the pacific northwest. All that is now completed and having been successful I can shift my energy back to Stanley.

Here is a look ahead at upcoming projects:

  • Epoxy & Paint New Rear Wheels

  • Finish Polishing and Cleaning New Pilot Fuel Tank

  • Mount & Plumb New Pilot Tank

  • Mount & Plumb Steam Whistle

As things come to together I’m sure there will be more items to add.

Happy Steaming!

All wrapped up

I'm happy to say that I have successfully re-insulated the boiler with modern ceramic insulation. It was a big job but well worth the effort. I also replaced the main and pilot fuel lines with small 3/16" and 1/8" stainless lines well I had the smoke bonnet off. A substantial reduction from the 5/16" and 1/4" copper lines that I had been running. I had assumed that these changes would have decreased the operating pressure that my steamer would be running at. My thought pattern is as follows. If you decrease the line diameter and length, when the steam automatic cycles off there should be less fuel in the lines to clear out and thus shut the burner down down sooner. This should lower the operating pressure of the automatic.

In practice this is not the case. The main burner cycled off at much the same pressure as always. However there was an interesting side effect to re-insulating the boiler. After the main burner cycles off the insulation actually holds the heat so well it increases my steam pressure by an additional 50psi. A welcome surprise if I do say so myself.


Original Stanley Pictures

I couldn't help myself and I had to purchase these photos off of E-bay. What peeked my interest was the tilted back windshield, not exactly common on early Stanleys. Other  features to note are the fender braces that are mounted on top of the front fenders and the large acetylene or pilot fuel tank mounted on the driver side frame.  The rear folding seat is also clearly visible in the last photo. All three photos are of the same car taken over a four year period.

On the back of the picture was written "1914".

On the back of the photo was written " Pinkham Notch, N.H. at Glen House Route 16. 1916"

On the back of the photo was written "One of the woes of automobile travel Francania Notch, N.H. Aug. 20 1917"

I did some research on the internet and this is a picture of the Glen House off of Route 16 in the 1910's.