Tug Boat Whistle

henrym · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:23 am Post subject: Tug Boat Whistle

If you are interested in a boat whistle and want one a fraction of the cost of a Kahlenberg (they won't
even mention prices on their web site), Acme Whistle (made in England) makes a: "Three tone, tug boat
sound effect - Makes the true steam whistle sound. Solid Brass organ pipe construction with plastic
mouthpiece. 7" long whistle."

It may not be as loud as a Kahlenberg, but its cost is only $29.95.
Acme's sound demonstration does not do the whistle justice.
Go to:

http://www.drumsonsale.com/acmetripletoneboatwhistlesmall-p-1062.html

Henry

Captains Cat · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:43 am Post subject:

That'd be great for the 21 but I think the 25's need THIS ONE

BTW, your boat should be BIG TOOT!!

Charlie

henrym · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:13 pm Post subject:

The larger Acme whistle sounds too much like a locomotive whistle. Steam tug boat whistles
used a higher pitch as they were the main source of communication between one another
while pulling or pushing a ship.

"Little Toot" was the title of a book published in 1939, written and illustrated by Hardie Gramatky,
telling the story about the escapades of a little tug boat in New York Harbor. (one of my first books)

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Toot-Hardie-Gramatky/dp/0399247130/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203007868&sr=1-1

Henry

patrick and linda · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:22 pm Post subject:

I KEPT LOOKING AT THE WEB SITE AND COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW THE WHISTLE WAS SUPPLIED WITH AIR, WHERE AND HOW DID YOU CONNECT THE POWER SOURCE. DA! THEN IT DAWNED ON ME, MOUTHPIECE!
I'M PROBABLY NOT THE SHARPEST KNIFE IN THE DRAWER TODAY.
LATER
PAT

SEA3PO · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:38 pm Post subject:

I have a brass steam whistle on my tug..... powered by air... I have a small air tank (about 3 gallon size) and a small 12 volt compressor... the system usually has about 35 pounds of pressure in it.... then I use a blow gun as the trigger....and pipe the air to the whistle.... it works, but not nearly as loud as I would like.... I also power up a large yacht air horn... thats really loud... I think I will try using a dump valve to get more air flow to the whistle...
I agree that a tug whistle and a train whistle have two different sounds....the tug is much higher and shrill.... I use it quite a bit for signals...

Joel
SEA3PO

Captains Cat · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:18 pm Post subject:

I remember "Little Toot" quite well, I used to have it read to me when I was a kid! Wish I still had that copy!

Charlie

thataway · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:19 pm Post subject:

This topic came up last summer:
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=6491&highlight=air+whistle. There were several links to air powered whistles, which were really loud and could be heard over a mile away. The whistle magazine seems to be still around and the PVC whistles are on the second page of the ads.

My father had a similar sounding plastic whistle--but not real loud. He also had a brass reed "fog horn"--just a little louder...

Steamboat_Willie · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 2:27 pm Post subject:

As I anxiously await the delivery of our R21EC that we've ordered from our local Ranger dealer here in NJ, I've been considering intstalling a steam whistle on our 21 as well. After seeing the inside of an actual 21 the available space to hide a 12V air compressor and tank will be the biggest challenge at hand. Not really knowing much about steam whistles at all I did some searching on the internet to see what information and resources are out there to help me out. I am happy to share the links that I found and hope that it will be of some use to others. I apologize if this info is already common knowledge to most. I'm a newbie at whistles and happy to share. I think all ranger tugs should come with a steam whistle from the factory! Ya' think?
If anyone out there does have some experience with powering a steam whistle with a smaller size tank, please post what you've found. I'd be interested to hear what the smallest size tank that could be used. (I know it depends on the size of the steam whistle as well)
Thanks.
Ed
===============================
Some things that I've learned thus far:

1. I've read that those replica steam whistles made out of PVC pipe, though inexpensive, are rather fragile and can burst if you blast too much pressure into them. (someone wrote to me and said that actually happened to them.) Also, I've found that PVC if left outside seems to become fragile from UV effects. I think the extra cost of a brass whistle whether acquired new or on eBay is probably worth it in the long run. (you get what you pay for)

2. Use of steam vs air? Apparently, from what I've read, the difference is in the density between steam and air which changes the pitch of the whistle. (steam has a lower pitch) My understanding is that both will power the whistle.

3. Loudness: I bought an aluminum 5-chime whistle about 3 years ago from a fellow in Ohio (?) JAF Products just before the he went out of business. The air plenum at the base of the whistle is about 2.5 inches wide and the overall height is about 10 inches tall. Would mount nicely on top of a 21. 10 PSI is the max pressure that can be applied to it but it isn't very loud. (I want an air whistle that has... you know what....) So these smaller, cute whistles that you can blow into and get an authentic sound don't seem like they'll be all that loud should you mount them on top of a boat.

4. Air supplies: I've written to one website that sells new steam whistles and have asked what's the minimum sized air tank that COULD be used since space is an issue for me on my 21. I haven't heard back yet from the fellow but my hope is that I can get away with a 1.5 gallon tank connected to a small 12V compressor which would at least allow me to release one or two nice LOUD blasts on the whistle inbetween air pressure recovery time. Not knowing what was available in the way of tanks and compressors, I found this site to be a good starting point for reference on air compressors: http://www.hornblasters.com/products/category.php?class=15

List of websites I found informative:
http://www.whistleman.com (good site to start with)
http://www.hornblasters.com/products/category.php?class=15
http://www.hornwhistleboard.com/index.php
http://www.airhornsoftexas.com/compressors/compressor.html
http://www.sandiegoairhorns.com/catalog/item/1342949/917782.htm
http://www.rizzolilocomotiveworks.com/
http://www.crosby-steam.com/
http://www.steamboats.org/
http://www.hornandwhistle.net/
http://westernlocomotivesupply.com/
http://www.gottrains.com/steamwhistles/faq.html
http://www.airchime.com/steam.asp
http://www.fonema.se/whistle/hotwhiz.html
http://www.railserve.com/jump/jump.cgi?ID=20603
http://rjweisen.50megs.com/fluepipe1_001.htm (info on pipe resonance, pitch, etc.)
http://livesteamcalibration.ieasysite.com/
http://www.kahlenberg.com/airsteam.html
http://www.boothmanandjohnson.com/products.htm
http://www.multipowerinternational.com/steamwhistle.html
http://www.xs4all.nl/~meijersf/whistles.htm

SEA3PO · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 3:55 pm Post subject:

The tanks and 12 volt compressors are available at Harbor Freight ....and are on sale quite often.. I looked at their compressor and it looked pretty stout...and should work just fine... the mistake I made when I installed mine was to use pipe that was to small...I think 5/16 would be much better than 1/4" that I used... Ya need volume ..

Joel
SEA3PO

SEA3PO · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 3:56 pm Post subject:

I also bought my whistle from EBAY... it was listed as a steam train whistle.... and has an adjustable bell so you can tune it..

Joel
SEA3PO

Steamboat_Willie · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 5:36 pm Post subject:

Joel,
I looked at the HF website and found a couple of 12v compressors but the smallest tank I saw was 5 gallons. Do you happen to have the HF stock numbers of the tank & compressor that you bought? Also what kind of recovery time do you have once you blast a couple of toots on the whistle? Is it a lengthy wait?
Ed

SEA3PO · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:16 pm Post subject:

I don't think my tank is 5 gallon size...more like 3 gallon... and the compressor I am using right now is one of those small ones that folks use to fill up a flat tire on the road...pretty small .....so it takes 3 or 4 minutes to recover from 20lb to 35lb (what I have it set for)....the HF compressor is much larger...and I think I would run the tank up to 60 psi....I bet that will make that little sucker howl !! I will try to run over to HF (main office is here in Camarillo) and look the stuff over closer this week...

Joel
SEA3PO

journey on · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:51 pm Post subject:

I bought one of those !@#$ Harbor Freight 12 volt air horns, for the truck. Didn't make any more noise that the damn horn that came with the truck.

Boris

Steamboat_Willie · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:18 pm Post subject:

Looks like an Amazon.com seller offers a 1.5 gallon/12V setup for $140 ($5 shipping)
http://www.amazon.com/1-5-Gallon-Source-Viair-20003/dp/B000X9JRGG

Same compressor at hornblasters is $180 plus shipping:
http://www.hornblasters.com/products/details.php?item=VA20003

The dimensions listed are 15"x6"x13"H and draws 18 amps. (wow!) I just think this is going to be an awfully tight squeeze to fit undercover somewhere on a 21, but we'll see. I'll wait until I get the boat and then do some onboard measurements and decide.