Hi,

Does anyone know where I get can get the '556' valve connector required to connect to the Schader valve on the accumulators? It's referred to in the two guides on charging accumulators with Nitrogen:

http://www.routemaster.dsl.pipex.com/Nitogen%20brake%20charging.htm
http://www.southdevonrailway.org/RouteMaster/Nitrogen-Accumulator-Charger.html

Sadly the supplier listed (Economatics) went into administration (after taking my cash but before shipping my valve!). So are there any other suppliers?

I've tried calling Schrader UK (024 7655 0880) for a list of suppliers, but the phone just seems to ring out every time...

Dave

readily otainable from stock from
CUSTOM HOSE AND FITTINGS
194 Queens Road
Watford Herts

01923 225534

cost about £28
they also supply all bottle guages
hose and fittings
and can make any pipe to pattern
for brake hoses that require swaged ends

the doc

I've used them too and have never had any problems, a good firm


Claire

...and they have a website - http://www.customhose.co.uk/

Thanks for advice so far... am 90% there now. One thing though - it appears the dust caps need a rather large spanner to remove - I believe 1+15/16" AF?

If this is the case, is the cheapest way for me just to get a big 2" adjustable? Will it fit?! A proper spanner of this size appears to be pretty expensive...

Hi All

Ours has two different sizes of dust caps fitted. An adjustable will work but to preserve their appearance you may want to use a cloth to protect the flats. The torque is very low (as they seat onto rubber if I remember correctly) so you don't really need pucker tools. We bought a set of huge open ended AF spanners from Harbor Freight, Fort Collins www.harborfreight.com for about $15 (about £8) a couple of years ago. The ones used for the dust caps are at the smaller end of the set. The quality looks OK but I have only tried them on the dust caps so far; I might find they're made of case-hardened cheese if I use them on something more demanding.

Cheers

J

Did you manage to get the part from Custom Hose David and if so can you tell us the cost please?

All RM's were built using WHITWORTH/BSF nuts and bolts so the question is, Why are you using spanners that wont fit properly and will probably slip when pressure is applied?

Why not use the correct spanner sizes and be safe, especially if you need to welt them with a club hammer.

Claire

I found this mod. on a bus in OZ last month.
Rob

1 5/16inch AF is for all practical purposes the same size hexagon as 3/4 inch Whitworth and is very nearly the same as 33 mm. Yes it's nice to have Whitworth tools, but in reality for occasional use, only 2 or 3 sizes are needed.

Hi,

Ok, looks like I made a small mistake. According to:

http://www.routemaster.dsl.pipex.com/Nitogen%20brake%20charging.htm

"Before you clamber under the bus make sure you take a lamp and a 115/16” spanner for the dust caps and an 11/16” spanner to tighten the Schrader connecting device to the valve."

I read this as meaning that a 1.15/16 spanner is needed - i.e. approx 49mm jaws! That's why all the spanners that might do this size seemed expensive. Looking at just a 1.5/16 AF spanner (i.e. 33mm), and the prices seem sane again!

As you may have gathered, I'm also shamefully ignorant of the different standards. I'd got a set of AF spanners like these:

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=62453

Is AF the right standard or should I have got something else?

Thanks,

Dave

Hi,

In response to the other question, yes, Custom Hose were brilliant and posted me out the following within 4 days:

"Schrader 2755 charge valve + 2m hose assemblyy with 7/16 JIC female end"

(Note - Might be Schrader 275S - I can't read the handwriting on the invoice)

Total cost was 45. Delivery 3. Vat 8.40, so 56.40 total.

This is actually cheaper and much less hassle than getting the Schrader 556 valve + a separate hose, as described elsewhere in the post I've referenced in this thread (I'll have to mail the author). It's also a one-stop shop - just order this single hose, and then you can get the regulator and cylinder easily over-the-counter from any BOC branch.

My total costs (all inc vat) were:

Regulator - 201.29
Hose above - 56.40
Nitrogen cylinder yearly rental (size X) - 54.05
Gas - 29.79
---
TOTAL = 341.53

Note - BOC charge rental yearly by Direct Debit. In fact the gas will also be charged to me via DD so I'm not sure on those prices yet until it appears on my account. The regulator is only rated for 5 years, so you could say that this whole setup costs £86 (gas+hose) + about £96 / year (rental + regulator depreciation) to have available.

Dave

Hi All

Size is important. AF wrenches fit the dust caps on our old girl very well. There are happy coincidences on wrench sizes and, in the end, it is the wrench that fits that is the right one to use. However, armed with Claire's helpful reminder I will get a set of BSF and Whitworth tools as well. I have found that you can never have enough tools as, when a really stubborn fitting presents itself, great care and patience is needed if it is to be removed without damage. A wide choice of tools enables gives you many more options.

A tip for moving stubborn nuts: My son's 1990 Audi V8 blew a hydraulic hose a short time ago. Because of the slant of the V block it was a real pig to get anything onto the 17mm banjo fitting that secures the hose to the pump at the engine end. After many frustrating attempts to get the thing to turn, which only resulted in the socket/OE spanner/ring spanner (or anything else we tried on it) riding up and beginning to damage the flats on the banjo fitting, the thing that worked was a stubby ring spanner (box wrench in US speak) and a dead blow hammer (a hollow plastic hammer filled with loose lead shot). If I had not seen it myself I would have found it hard to believe how much energy was transmitted to the ring spanner and therefore the banjo fitting. Space was so limited that only a short 'swing' of a few inches was possible but it did the trick and so very easily. I have not seen dead blow hammers in the UK but I am sure they are available, simply because they work so very well.

I like the mod on the OZ bus. Looks like a neat job.

Cheers!

J

"All RM's were built using WHITWORTH/BSF nuts and bolts".....The Routemasters I've worked on were mostly UNF/UNC, with some BSW/BSF.

I agree with Paul on this about the the use of UNF / UNC .which as you all know stands for

UNIFIED FINE && UNIFIED COURSE ...... basically they are American threads and very common in use here .

Just in case you didn't know .......... A/F stands for .........' ACROSS FLATS ' which is any 2 directly opposite sides on a hexagonal nut & bolt , in all other senses its meaningless

Next I suppose we should start to talk about ...... NUMBER & LETTER / jobber / tungsten tip toughened / Cobalt OR DIAMOND TIPPED drill bits ..eerrr perhaps not ..
and not forgetting the correct ' Cutting agent ' when drilling / cutting Aluminium which is --------- PARAFIN

' Grinding ' of Aluminium is another matter , so for now I'll go put the kettle on as its 11AM and I want my ' elevenses '