Q. What is the first thing to do with a new engine?
A. With some cotton waste or a soft rag saturated with benzine or turpentine clean off all the bright work; then clean every bearing, box and oil hole, using a force pump with air current first, if you have a pump, and then wiping the inside out clean with an oily rag, using a wire if necessary to make the work thorough. If you do not clean the working parts of the engine thus before setting it up, grit will get into the bearings and cause them to cut. Parts that have been put together need not be taken apart; but you should clean everything you can get at, especially the oil holes and other places that may receive dirt during transportation.
After the oil holes have been well cleaned, the oil cups may be wiped off and put in place, screwing them in with a wrench.
Q. What kind of oil should you use?
A. Cylinder oil only for the cylinder; lard oil for the bearings, and hard grease if your engine is provided with hard grease cup for the cross-head and crank. The only good substitute for cylinder oil is pure beef suet tried out. Merchantable tallow should never be used, as it contains acid.
Q. Can fittings be screwed on by hand only?
A. No; all fittings should be screwed up tight with a wrench.
Q. When all fittings are in place, what must be done before the engine can be started?
A. See that the grates in the firebox are in place and all right; then fill the boiler with clean water until it shows an inch to an inch and a half in the water gauge. Start your fire, and let it burn slowly until there is a pressure in the boiler of 10 or 15 lbs. Then you can turn on the blower to get up draft. In the meantime fill all the oil cups with oil; put grease on the gears; open and close all cocks to see that they work all right; turn your engine over a few times to see that it works all right; let a little steam into the cylinder with both cylinder cocks open—just enough to show at the cocks without moving the engine—and slowly turn the engine over, stopping it on the dead centers to see if the steam comes from only one of the cylinder cocks at a time, and that the proper one; reverse the engine and make the same test. Also see that the cylinder oiler is in place and ready for operation. See that the pump is all right and in place, with the valve in the feedpipe open and also the valve in the supply pipe.
By going over the engine in this way you will notice whether everything is tight and in working order, and whether you have failed to notice any part which you do not understand. If there is any part or fitting you do not understand, know all about it before you go ahead.