Stanley Steam Car Pilot Problem

‎Billings Cooke‎ 
 
We had the Stanley out last weekend and had a pilot failure. Stopped at Lost Nation Brewery for a good beer and lost the pilot. No flame but also no dripping fuel although both pressure and fuel in the system.
I was able to get a quick pilot light, just enough to get a very wet main fire lit. We were in the car and gone. I ran the main fire as low as I could so that the burner would not cycle off. I only drove through one red light but we made it home with no issues. This was the first failure in 15 plus years.
Yesterday, the pilot came out and was completely dismantled. I found some carbon blocking the fuel passage hole in the hollow bolt holding the "H" fitting to the pilot body. All clean now.
This is a pilot from John Packard, now available from Don Bourdon. It uses a needle valve rather than a flat filed in the metering wire as Stanley did, very reliable, except for last Saturday.

Tom Laferriere Great information. Always like reading about anything Stanley

Steve Bragg I also recommend you add temperature indication. I use a thermocouple setup I came up with - takes no power and is extremely accurate. A small thermocouple gets installed near the pilot and also will read main flame temperature. As you can see it looks correct, pm me if you're interested- I have about 10 already made up. These are on my 1922.

Billings Cooke Hello Steve,have you more info on these, cost ECT. I am interested. Though I try to keep and operate my '12 as built, this is a modern advancement worth while.