Apologies for the absence! Life has got in the way recently but now things are a bit more settled it’s time to get fettling and spend 2026 making my modest collection as good as it can be (without buying too many more stoves) Purveyors of the ‘rusty but running’ thread may remember a Valor 55 I posted - it arrived covered in a solid crust of corrosion with an unusual soldering job on the relief valve but miraculously worked. In fact it’s been a solid performer but needed a smidge tlc… so, some cleaning later one very battered Valor 55 now looks like a Valor 55 again. It’s not perfect, and never was meant to be but it’s a great solid daily runner and I love it. It’s not quite done but nearly there… some more cleaning to do but the actual fount surface is pitted so no point in trying to over polish it. I can’t find the original images alas, it check out the rusty but running thread for the original condition Note the intriguing soldering repair and for those interested the date stamp is 51 on the base - this was totally invisible before. Anyway, here she is back in her element … Chris
@Automedon Great work Chris and I applaud your enthusiasm for the Valor, which is well deserved. An excess of solder on the fuel riser tube to tank joint is a common phenomenon and I’ve had a number of Swedish stoves and not just British ones develop an air leak there. It’s an indication that a previous owner was determined to keep the Valor running in an era where DIY repair and not disposing of the item was the norm. A worthy provenance in my view. John
Well done. I will have to remember to check out that thread when I get around to working on the valor 55 I just picked up on FB.
Thanks for the positive comments - but yes, of all the British makes the Valor’s feel a tad more solid to me - maybe a different grade of brass? Ever since day 1 it’s been a great performer and deserved a rebirth. @presscall you’re absolutely right - the previous must have used it a lot - the signs of wear on the fount are very noticeable including the Valor logo etc nearly worn off in places. I had no idea of just how much solder had been used until the crud came off though - quite the amount. Anyway, it’s shown me that you can effectively fettle a most corroded stove - which is good bearing in mind what’s heading this way shortly… watch this space C
Good to hear you're finding time for some stove action @Automedon, hope life is treating you better! I love this set of photos- the kettle kicking out the steam is a great action shot. It reminds me of my early days of playing with stoves while I still lived with my parents, much to their bemusement as I was messing about in a cold garage on winter's evenings, and testing them out on the wheelie bins outdoors! Oh, and having to secrete my every increasing collection of stoves and lamps all over the place, and sneak the packaging into the bottom of the recycling bin. Hide the evidence! I always enjoy seeing other people enjoying the classic British stoves.
Well it’s prepared me for this anyway… one very depressed Monitor Regal. You can see the remains of the Monitor seal logo on the side. Some application of heat and strength meant that the burner, lighting device, filler and syringe and pump / NRV are out. Curiously the pump leather looks like new. I’m dreading getting the pressure valve out of the top - someone else has tried I think as there’s a slight scratch on it. Any hints as to how it can be safely removed without knackering it? I’m guessing the pip inside will be goosed.
Now for the next and most obvious question… how to remove deep corrosion from the fount. This is quite well set in, and the monitor logo has all but disappeared. I don’t want to oversoak in citric acid, does anyone have a better solution? Vinegar, flour and salt paste for a couple of hours ?
Morning Chris. Great save, love a Regal. Hashtag Classic British Beef I'm not the man for polishing wisdom but there is plenty here Stove restoration. Parts 1 to 4 Anything acid will cut through some of the grime if you go down that route. Just be very cautious, the reaction will be different every time and you don't want to be anywhere near the stage where you're stripping the zinc from the brass of the pressure vessel! Also I think that article refers to Brasso which as I'm sure you'll remember a lot of us are wary of due to the Ammonia content. At least one Monitor Regal has suffered stress cracks so go steady. @Remus1956 has made some excellent reproduction decals for stoves in the past, not sure if he ever did a Monitor crest? I'd love to get some printed as waterslides as per the original but that's item number 100,000,007 on the list of things to do by next Tuesday. @Automedon
Try a bath of white vinegar and hot water (50/50 or 30/70). Vinegar is less aggressive than citric acid. Gilles
@Blackdog actually when I mentioned this to the wife she said "oh I did actually have the monitor label and was working on it... But forgot. Ill work on it this week" I'll put it in the image gallery so you and anyone else can use it. She's asking if you can measure in metric across one so she can scale it for printing
@Remus1956 Thanks both, really appreciated! The others you've done so far are top notch. I'm away from my stoves at the moment but should have a chance this week if nobody else gets the ruler out first.
Small update; I've had a rethink regarding the Monitor. @Blackdog made the very good point that it would have to be either a full restoration or just get rid of the worst of the corrosion and verdigris - I agree, and having gone over it from every angle, I've come to the conclusion that that fount is too pitted for a decent revival. The 'Monitor' and 'British Made' inscriptions are all but obliterated for example, so I've cleaned it up to a point, but - apart from removing the corrosion on the legs - am going to leave as is. I'd hate to think where it's been for many years. All seals have been replaced - including an unusual white pip in the NRV - and I've replaced the pip in the valve at the base of the burner with a cut down Tilley control cock type. I've left the pressure relief valve at the top alone, and it seems to work fine. The syringe works perfectly, and the asbestos wick has been replaced with a 5mm fibreglass one from eBay. Using the paraffin lighting device is interesting, it's simple to get it going but when placing the aerated cover over the top it has a habit of stifling the flame somewhat, but when in use it's very effective. It's still burning a tad green and orange at the minute and most unusually gives off a pronounced 'chuff chuff' due to the burner valve - I may remove it to get rid of this pulsing. It's also very very loud! By far the loudest of all my roarers and with a great flame spread... pics to follow! Incidentally the stamp on the side is 3 47 - March 1947? Chris
And those pics… the preheated in action and then the Regal at full blast. Starts blue (not green now) and turns progressively orange. Having worked very closely with steam locomotives for a long time I can say that it sounds like a ‘Black 5’ starting off if that makes any sense to anyone. You can also see the depth of corrosion and pitting (try and make out the monitor stamp) and it boiling its first proper kettle! C
I like the photo the preheater in action! These regals are so much fun. That's likely a date- Like some other British manufacturers, Monitor did date stamp some stoves on a seemingly random basis, goverment contract and civillian market alike. This one will always be 'rat look' though- too far gone to be restored to 'as new' without replacing 95% of its weight, an impossibility. I like what you've done though, at least some of the original inscriptions show through and hint what it once was and the drastic neglect is the main part of the story of this stove. Nice that despite the abuse the brass has gone through, in places the tooling marks and a lot of the instruction are still visible. None of that rubbish thanks, I cut my teeth on Western Region stuff, give me an overloaded 56xx at full cut off
Hehe, you do know that Stanier was GWR before he saw the light and went across to the LMS? I’d rather have that Stanier ‘chuff’ than the GWR Swindon ‘shotgun’ bark - magnificent though that sounds with a ‘Castle’
Oh yeah the old 'ell of a mess! At least he took some of the high tech tapered boiler wisdom with him... I've had a go on an Ivatt and Jinty and that was enough ta! All good fun.
