Before running an engine, you must make sure that the clutch shoes are properly adjusted. Great care must be taken to be sure that both shoes will come in contact with the friction wheel at the same instant; for if one shoe touches the wheel before the other the clutch will probably slip.
The shoes should be so set as to make it a trifle difficult to draw the lever clear back.
To regulate the shoes on the Rumely engine, for example, first throw the friction in. The nut on the top of the toggle connecting the sleeve of the friction with the shoe must then be loosened, and the nut below the shoe tightened up, forcing the shoe toward the wheel. Both shoes should be carefully adjusted so that they will engage the band wheel equally and at exactly the same time.
To use the friction clutch, first start the engine, throwing the throttle gradually wide open. When the engine is running at its usual speed, slowly bring up the clutch until the gearing is fully engaged, letting the engine start slowly and smoothly, without any jar.
Traction engines having the friction clutch are also provided with a pin for securing a rigid connection, to be used in cases of necessity, as when the clutch gets broken or something about it gives out, or you have difficulty in making it hold when climbing hills. This pin is a simple round or square pin that can be placed through a hole in one of the spokes of the band wheel until it comes into a similar opening in the friction wheel. When the pin is taken out, so as to disconnect the wheels, it must be entirely removed, not left sticking in the hole, as it is liable to catch in some other part of the machinery.
AULTMAN & TAYLOR FRICTION CLUTCH.
MISCELLANEOUS SUGGESTIONS.
Be careful not to open the throttle valve too quickly, or you may throw off the driving belt. You may also stir up the water and cause it to pass over with the steam, starting what is called “priming.”
Always open your cylinder cocks when you stop, to make sure all water has been drained out of the cylinder; and see that they are open when you start, of course closing them as soon as the steam is let in.