Trouble Shooting ACCUCRAFT's RUBY
Into every life a little rain must fall, so to help you through these 'Wet Seasons' I've collected some hints for getting your Ruby the rails again.
OIL
For general lubrication, use a lite machine oil, such as 3-IN-ONE Motor Oil. Before you run your Ruby, lubricate it. This includes the eccentrics, the rockers, bushings, rods, etc. If it moves, lubricate it!
For the lubricator, use ONLY STEAM OIL. This oil is formulated to take the heat, pressure and moisture found in a steam locomotive. Other oils will either fail in this environment or their additives will cause damage to your engine. It is not expensive and can be found at many hobby shops or mail-order houses. Fill your lubricator just to the point where the steam line intersects the lubricator. This should leave a small air space above the oil level.
WATER
Use only true distilled water in you live steamer. Other types of water, such as tap water, will create deposits in your boiler and steam line and will eventually get to a point where your engine will no longer run. You may want to avoid de-ionized water, as some have suggested that it will pull ions from the boiler and cause weaknesses to develop. Fill the boiler to the top, then remove about 20ml +/-. This is a bit more art than science. The aim is to have as much as possible without having too much. Remember that as the water warms up, it will expand. It you put in too much, you will get water in your steam line and it will get shot out all over you and everything else around you! In addition, too much water can cause a 'hydraulic lock' which is caused by water's inability to be compressed and makes working the cylinders through very difficult.
FUEL
Butane can be found in various places. TARGET carries it as stove fuel under the name GREAT OUTDOORS, some smoking shops will carry it, and some ethnic food stores will as well. You will just have to ask around until you find a source. You will want to find a cannister with a ronson valve (The small tube that fits over the nibble the ruby's gas tank), else you will have to find an adapter such as Silver Springs sells. Butane contains a higher caloric content than propane, therefore there is more energy in Butane than in an equal amount of Propane. If you can not find pure butane, a butane/propane mix is acceptable. (Should have a major percentage as butane.) In colder conditions, some people prefer a butane/propane mix as butane needs a higher temperature to vaporize. Since Propane will vaporize at a much lower temperature, it will allow you to lite your burner and keep it going until the warmth warms the butane to the point it will also vaporize.