From ‘Unknown’ to C.H. & E.

By Staff
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2621 West 400 North Warsaw, Indiana 46582

In November 1998, my son Larry Holderman and I purchased an
engine with a ‘Mud Pump.’ This was at an auction sale at a
local marina. During the sale, several interested persons were
speculating as to what make this single flywheel engine was. There
were several suggestions as to its origin, but no one knew what to
call it. The only tag on the pump was tin and badly rusted and
unreadable.

After the purchase, the engine with the attached pump, and what
appeared to be the original cart, was loaded and transferred to my
pole building for further study. The usual ‘before’ photos
were taken and we then began carefully checking the engine for
numbers, letters, symbols, or anything else to identify the engine
and pump. Nothing was gained at that time. My son put a photo of
the engine on his web page on the Internet and waited for a
response. Several replies were received, but no one could make an
identification. This went on until the 1999 Portland Show, where we
found a gentleman from Virginia who had an identical engine without
the pump and cart. He stated that his was a C.H. & E. engine
and had been manufactured in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A few days
later, my son also received an e-mail from a man by the name of Joe
Pringle from Wisconsin. He advised that the engine was a C.H. &
E. and that he had a couple of double flywheel types. He also
advised that the company was still in business.

Up to this point, we had not started the restoration as we had
been working on the restoration of a 1946 Chevrolet two ton truck.
When we got the engine and pump unit into the shop, we found that
someone, as a probable field expedient, had installed a Bosch DU4
magneto on the engine and had simply grounded out three terminals
and operated the engine on the remaining terminal.

I then contacted the C.H. & E. Company, in particular Chief
Engineer Thomas Frost, who was most helpful in the full restoration
of the unit. He sent us complete machinist drawings of the engine,
pump and cart. Also received were copies of the parts and operating
manuals and a host of other valuable information. I can’t thank
him enough for his help in the restoration of this unit.

During the restoration, an Eiseman magneto was obtained from
‘Ed Strain Magnetos,’ to match one of the three types of
magnetos that was used as original equipment. Also, ironically, the
diaphragm on the pump unit is the same that is available today from
C.H. & E. The entire unit was completely dismantled,
sandblasted, and repainted the same shade of gray that was found
under the rusty tag on the pump.

Although I do not have an actual date of manufacture, the
drawings we received from Mr. Frost were dated 1915-1916. The
advertising flyer shows the engine to be a 2 HP with a 4′ inlet
and a pumping capacity of 6,000 gallons per hour. According to the
brass tag on the wood cart, the unit was apparently sold by the
Channon Machine Company of Chicago. The cart needed the wood
replaced and was also completely restored.

The unit is now in operating condition and what makes this one
special to me is the wealth of information that was obtained from
C.H. & E. Company. My son and I have over forty restored
engines of various makes and we and our families enjoy showing them
at many shows each year. This one, which started as an
‘unknown,’ has become a fully restored C.H. and E. Direct
Connected Bilge Pump and is a great addition to our display.

  • Published on Apr 1, 2000
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