Vacuum Braking (6) Testing (1)

I have to admit to being mildly excited! I'd previously been unable to include an article on Sentinel 7109's Jet Pump (Vacuum Exhauster) device itself and only realised today when I'd completed a highly sophisticated (i.e. garage based!) compressed air test of it.

So here is the little sucker:

Penberthy GL-1 Jet Pump

It's not very big as can be seen from the picture (hopefully it will be big enough!). Steam (or air) enters from the right and exits on the left. It draws a vacuum through the sideways port.

For quite some time, I've had to be satisfied with the calculations I'd done in selecting this particular Jet Pump; however, it's not a technology I've been previously familiar with and have also been at variance from others who have fitted vacuum exhausters to Sentinels before. So my R&D has not been without some risk as to its success.

My first attempt at testing the jet pump was to connect it to an air compressor. However, this produced a poor result which I put down to the narrow bore of the air feed pipe being less than the bore of the jet pump itself. Thus it was never going to be able to feed sufficient air at the required pressure (around 60 psi).

By a stroke of luck, I found a scrap air cylinder at Midsomer Norton Station that had a 1/2" bore outlet and a valve. I considered that if I could pump this up with the compressor, I could then use it to feed the jet pump from its 1/2" bore outlet, at least for a short time anyway.

So here's the test rig in all its sophistication:

Jet Pump Test Rig

The air cylinder is on the left with the compressed air inlet at the top via the orange pipe fitting. There is also a non-return valve on the inlet. The valve controlled outlet is by the black air pressure gauge. The jet pump is above with an Ex-BR vacuum gauge on its suction port. The jet pump outlet is skywards.

This time I was much more successful (which led to my excitement that what I'd calculated actually worked!).

Vacuum gauge showing 21" Hg with about 66 psi air pressure
(It's easier to read on its side!)

I'm not concerned at the 66 rather than 60 psi. Neither gauge has been calibrated so the figures cannot be relied upon absolutely; however, I'm satisfied they are good enough to show the principle.

Here it is in video form: (also on YouTube).

Jet Pump Test

Some years ago, I visited the USA when printed 'T' shirts were becoming popular. I bought one with the message: "Engineer - Individual who turns abstractions into malfunctions". Hopefully not always!