Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Belted out

With Al away Del was up early as always with the frost on the roof.. and with belts in hand was keen to get started. The belts were off before 8.00am and the engine was ready to run..
They were a bit tight and didn't seem to line up correctly but they did fit.. Things were fine for about an hour and then they started to whine.. As the pulley's had warmed up they had expanded, making the belts too tight.. Covers off again and they were loosened off but then started to rattle and squeak.. Del couldn't get a happy medium between the two options. Every time the engine had to be run from cold to hot to check them but still it wasn't right.. In the end Del took off and disregarded the adjusting jockey wheel and made a straight adjusting bracket. He really needed a longer bolt but managed to get by with what he had by getting half a nut on the bolt he had....This made it a tight fit inside the engine cover casing but it did fit.. After a test it seemed to be working so we now need a longer bolt to finish the job.. The belts on Derwent6 have been a nightmare and this is mainly due to the poor alignment from build.. Del knew this as the engine failed it's test at Beta by throwing a belt then, it has been a problem ever since.. We think the problem is that the hole on the generator has not been drilled square and is throwing everything out of line. It really needs a new casing with the hole drilled correctly.. maybe when brushes are needed we will get it done..  Al's dad's operation went ok and she was going to stay with him the night and come back in the morning.... To make matters worse they have decided to dig up the road we are moored along side and dust is going everywhere. so Del had to clean off Derwent6 and even had some time in the evening to do some brasses..

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