Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines
The Regular Stuff: Chat, Buy, Sell, Off Topic, etc. => General Discussion - Model & Toy Steam Engines – Stirling Cycle – Flame Lickers – Small Antique Originals => Topic started by: Junkologist on May 27, 2022, 04:28:23 pm
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Thanks, Gil! I felt like I went back in time when I got this engine.
The heater in this one is marked 550 watts and it makes plenty of steam.
One of my other Big Power Plants is even earlier than this one, but unfortunately, the original heater was gone when I got it.
Mike, I can barely believe the ink is so clear and crisp where it says 550 watts. Just amazing. As you suggested, must have been steamed very little.
Gil
When I got the engine, the sight glass was assembled without any packings and the packing nuts were screwed down tight as if they would seal it up by some miracle. I suspect this was done a long time ago and the engine was given up on at that point, but it’s really anyone’s guess as to why this engine survived so long with so little use.
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Thanks, Gil! I felt like I went back in time when I got this engine.
The heater in this one is marked 550 watts and it makes plenty of steam.
One of my other Big Power Plants is even earlier than this one, but unfortunately, the original heater was gone when I got it.
Mike, I can barely believe the ink is so clear and crisp where it says 550 watts. Just amazing. As you suggested, must have been steamed very little.
Gil
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Nothing like finding a near NOS engine. Congratulations!
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Thanks, Gil! I felt like I went back in time when I got this engine.
The heater in this one is marked 550 watts and it makes plenty of steam.
One of my other Big Power Plants is even earlier than this one, but unfortunately, the original heater was gone when I got it.
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A huge Congratulations....!!!
Well done, Mike... Very well done...!!!
This is an absolutely superb example.
The handles look nice, even too nice. The originals are pretty crude looking.
If you get a chance, please check the heater wattage. Many were 400-450 watts and our friend Bill has one here with a 600 watt cartridge heater. It is very early like yours.
What an awesome find!
Gil
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they look pretty good to me Mike.
Thanks, Bruce. It’s just vinyl tube from a Roundup spray jug. Lol
I wish someone knew the process that Tom Jensen used for the original handles.
Given the era in which these were made they were probably bakelite plastic. I looked into making these last year and found some pearl "esk" plastic rid that I thought might make good handle material...I think I found it on Etsy , didn't buy any though.
The only info I’ve ever found is that he made the handles using “boiler paste”, which I assume was some kind of refractory material.
I was just looking around the net & found "fire putty" refractory cement, that kind of thing makes perfect sense Mike, Tom Sr. probably just got tired of rolling putty (to messy) & waiting for it to harden was probably why he found wood dowels quickly more suitable.
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they look pretty good to me Mike.
Thanks, Bruce. It’s just vinyl tube from a Roundup spray jug. Lol
I wish someone knew the process that Tom Jensen used for the original handles.
Given the era in which these were made they were probably bakelite plastic. I looked into making these last year and found some pearl "esk" plastic rid that I thought might make good handle material...I think I found it on Etsy , didn't buy any though.
The only info I’ve ever found is that he made the handles using “boiler paste”, which I assume was some kind of refractory material.
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they look pretty good to me Mike.
Thanks, Bruce. It’s just vinyl tube from a Roundup spray jug. Lol
I wish someone knew the process that Tom Jensen used for the original handles.
Given the era in which these were made they were probably bakelite plastic. I looked into making these last year and found some pearl "esk" plastic rod that I thought might make good handle material...I think I found it on Etsy , didn't buy any though.
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they look pretty good to me Mike.
Thanks, Bruce. It’s just vinyl tube from a Roundup spray jug. Lol
I wish someone knew the process that Tom Jensen used for the original handles.
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they look pretty good to me Mike.
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Thanks, everyone!
I tried to reproduce the look of the original handles. What do you think?
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Certainly the nicest one of its kind that I have ever seen!
Agreed!
What a find.
Congratulations Mike.
👏👏👏👏
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Certainly the nicest one of its kind that I have ever seen!
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Oh Wow :o That is too nice!! 😍
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That definitely sounds and looks like a bargain!
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Beautiful engine and like new - wow
Congrats, Arnold
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Amazing buy Mike , looks nearly brand new , I wouldn't have been surprised if they had the box as well. Some people really take care of their toys. Absolutely pristine.
Thanks, Bruce. I sure do wish it still had the box. If it did, I probably wouldn’t have even needed to clean it! Lol. I have an early post war riveted boiler model 5 in the original box and it is absolutely like new in all respects. It’s amazing how much protection just a box can provide.
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Great engine in beautiful original condition. Congratulations!
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Amazing buy Mike , looks nearly brand new , I wouldn't have been surprised if they had the box as well. Some people really take care of their toys. Absolutely pristine.
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The condition of that engine is absolutely amazing! Especially considering it's 85 years old. I wonder if it was ever fired.
I’m sure it was fired at least a few times. The ceramic insert heater does show signs of use. I was absolutely amazed that there are no lime deposits in the boiler. The sight glass was clean too. It’s just amazing how nice the nickel is on this engine. I have others that I thought were pretty nice until I got this one. Lol
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The condition of that engine is absolutely amazing! Especially considering it's 85 years old. I wonder if it was ever fired.
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Great find. Awesomeness
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I snagged this circa 1935 Jensen Big Power Plant on eBay last week. It was a BIN or make offer listing. I really didn’t need to be spending more money, so I made an offer considerably lower than the BIN and figured someone else would get it. About ten minutes later I got the notification to “pay now”. The listing had only been up for about 49 minutes.
The engine arrived today after me worrying about it for four days. The seller packed it very well and it was quite a job getting it unpacked! No damage this time.
This engine appears to be near new. I think the sight glass packings gave out on it years ago and it was never run again. Has virtually no wear. Doesn’t even have the oil stains by the bearings that are usually impossible to remove. The nickel is flawless. The paint on the firebox and chimney stand is perfect. The blue paint on the engine is also near perfect. Decal is near perfect. The lamp post still has the original 1930s Mazda bulb in it! The only things missing are the throttle and whistle “boiler paste” handles. Those never survive. The wood base is in great shape. The edges are still sharp and not all beat up. The cord is perfect also.
I am so thrilled to have this engine in my collection.