Hi, I am new to the group.
I was hoping that someone may know something about the engine I photoed and attached.
I cannot find a makers name on it so am unable to find out anything on line.
I have run it on compressed air and it runs really great but tried to run it on steam but the engine just won't run.
Any info would be much appreciated.
Thanking you
Regards
John
Howdy John ... and Welcome to the Forum from the Eastern Sierra!
I really don't believe that I've ever seen an engine quite like that before, and I'm having real trouble trying to picture how the valving works with that set-up. It does look like it might be crankshaft ported to feed air/steam to the cylinder, and possibly even has the pistons pushed from the crank out instead of from the cylinder head in, which is backwards from normal. But again, I haven't a clue actually, so I'd want a look inside to see what is what!
Having it run on air is a good indicator, but experience shows that is no guarantee that it will also run on steam. Were it mine, I'd be tearing it down so I could get inside and see how it is supposed to work.
Meanwhile, we'll hope more experienced steamers will come along to clarify and edify this for us. We do have plenty of deep experience on board here.
Hi John , welcome & warm greetings from St. Paul in, looks like you have a lot of aluminum there, if the pistons are made of brass or steel ...ect you would have a contrasting expansion rate & likely not have a viable "on steam" runner. it is a concealed arrangement that is quite hard to understand how it works without "cracking" it open.
Welcome from Canada, John.
As for the engine, I'm in agreement with the others; only a look inside will reveal how the valves work.
A very interesting engine, but unfortunately no info on it from this side either.
However i can offer a big...
Welcome aboard from Denmark !!!
Hi Bruce,
Here are some more pictures of the engine I manage to strip down. I have been trying most of the day to post these so I hope it works.
Regards
John
Welcome to the forum! Best of luck with your engine. Knowing very little about engineering, I would say it appears to be a one off designed and built by an individual not a “factory “
Hi,
Thank you for your kind reply, reading what others have put I was beginning to suspect the same thing.
Thank You.
Regards
John
Hi,
Thanks very much for this I think you could be about right.
Regards
John
Well, even though there is a great similarity between the engine under consideration and the overall design of the Wigzell & Halsey, there is significant differences with the actual valving as compared to the Wigzell & Halsey's coned concentric rotary valve. The engine in question appears to have a non-concentric valve system based on an eccentric disc that "wobbles" around alternately covering and exposing the ports, while the disc also has an inner relieved ring that does the same thing in the opposite timing. I would suppose that judging from the coned shape of the eccentric valve disc, that the steam pressure should come in through the backplate line that is parallel to the crankshaft and enter the ports when exposed around the outside of the disc, while the exhaust would then exit the ports into the hollow ring on the underside of the disc, and be vented upwards and out perpendicular to the crankshaft.
One thing that threw me on initially viewing this engine was the lack of obvious steam channels or lines leading to the top of the cylinders, and the clean cylindrical form of the cylinders themselves. But I did suspect the possibility of the actual cylinders being offset within the larger cylindrical bodies, with the steam channels routed up the thicker part formed by the offset, somewhat like my Cheddar Westbury cylinder is done, only different.
I rate this as a very interesting design concept, but think that the friction of the eccentric disc and the sealing of that whole portface surface would be somewhat problematic.
Not to say that it can't be made to run of course, but I can see where it might be a bit difficult getting it to do so, though most certainly worth the effort to give it a try, as success would be most gratifying indeed.
Oh yes, and I must add THANK YOU John, for going to the trouble of exposing the innards of you engine so that we might see a rather new and interesting arrangement, at least for me it is!
A big welcome to the forum and what and interesting engine you possess there.
Well I must say a big thank you for all that information. I will pursue the steam project which I am sure will work.
I must say I wish I was clever enough to have designed and built this engine but it has given me a great project to pursue.
Many thanks.
Regards.
John