Here is a 1930s Big Power Plant, a recent (February) eBay auction win by our friend Bill for $1,525.
This style is incorrectly identified in the Jensen online museum and archives as a #10. It is not.
It is a Jensen Big Power Plant as described in early Jensen literature. The larger #20 cylinder is used and the cast iron base is extended to accommodate the Bakelite brush holder for the direct drive DC generator. The #10 utilizes the smaller #25 cylinder. In addition these engines were never assigned style numbers in the 1930s. These designations were backward assigned to 1930s engines based on post-war pieces that do have factory assigned style/model numbers.
It also has a 3"x 6" riveted boiler while 10s and 25s have a 2.5" diameter boiler.
A previous owner soldered a steel slug over the cartridge heater tube entrance and proceeded to build fires under the boiler and managed to turn that part of the wood base into charcoal. There are also several cigarette burns on the wood base. These indignities will remain after the clean-up as they are part of this engine's character.
It is a very interesting piece with a few oddities. The original blue paint is correct for mid to late 1930s. The large thick steam chest is early 1930s as is the round disc instead of a crank arm. Curiosity makes one ask why is that early 30s big cylinder and crank disc doing on the mid to late 30s cast iron base with mounting tabs instead of the early bases with screw holes drilled through the top surface of the base? Best answer is Tom Jensen Sr. wasted nothing.
I will add more photos and explanations as time allows.
Gil
Here are some as arrived (before deep cleaning) pictures.
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