Bagley Oil Burner

The Bagley Oil Burner

by Daris A Nevil

Dick Bagley's Oil Burner

Dick Bagley contributed a great deal to the Live Steam hobby. One of his contributions was the design of a "Sheedy"-style oil burner. Dick's oil burner has been used from 1-inch scale locomotives up to 1.5" scale Pacifics. They are easy to install and control.

An article on the Bagley oil burner was published in "Live Steam" magazine, November 1981, page 16.

In addition to the oil burner article, there is another article by Dick Bagley called "Oil Firing a Miniature Locomotive" in the January 1982 issue of "Live Steam".

Availability

Will Campbell of Oakhurst, California has been manufacturing the burners for many years. On 27 June 2013 Will announced on Chaski.org that he is turning over sales of the burners to Tom & Judy Opperman. Judy is Dick Bagley's granddaughter.

You can reach Tom & Judy at 480-947-6586 or Email Judy at mrstraingod@yahoo.com.

The burners sell for $60.00 each.

Installation on #486

The summer months are too hot in Texas to run live steam, so we switch to indoor projects where we can escape the heat (yes I have an air condition in my shop!). In the summer of 2012 I determined to upgrade the oil burner in my Allen Mogul #486. It came with a Chet Peterson style round oil burner. It worked ok, but I did not like the way it was mounted. In addition, it tended to leak fuel due to the fact tat some of the threads were partially stripped.

I had ready about the Bagley burner sold by Will Campbell on Chaski.org. So I called Will to find out more information.

He was a wealth of information. He said the Bagley burners are easy to control. They are cast out of Navy Brass, which is very durable and hard. That way the steam does not "cut" the tiny orifices. There is no machining involved, it is ready to use. It requires a #8 screw to a bracket. The steam line is threaded for 3/16" and the oil line is threaded for 5/16" standard Cole's Models taper threads. The brass needle valve I was already using would be fine for oil control. We talked about air flow on the Mogul. Mine had a plat that covered a one-inch tall gap just under the cab floor that leads into the firebox. He said I should remove the plate covering the gap. This will give it enough air. I mentioned that I would often hear oscillations with the firebox door closed. Will said this means the fire is not getting enough air.

Will warned against running the fire too hot. He said this burner can run a blue (hot) flame if you run it with too much steam pressure and too lean on the oil. He said the stack exhaust should have a slight haze; if totally clear it is too hot. It could melt the boiler. He has known someone who melted their aluminum petticoat by running too hot. The firebox should be "incandescent" yellow.

References

• Details of the Southern Pacific "Sheedy" Oil Burner
• Locomotive Catechism: "Sheedy" oil burner