THE AUGUSTINE ROTARY ENGINE

By Staff
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In the past several years the public has been introduced to a
seemingly new concept in engine power – The Rotary Engine. The
Rotary is no youngster, however, and has been on the scene for
almost 60 years. Its major flaw seems to have been that it arrived
before its time. An innovation too radical to be taken seriously.
The Rotary concept was worked on by many, but it was Benjamin F.
Augustine who built the first practical engine. A company was
formed to manufacture the Rotary. One of our subscribers, William
C. Luss, 44-50 S. Buffalo St., Hamburg, New York 14075, once worked
for the Augustine Automatic Rotary Engine Company. He submitted a
catalog for our use in this article. As for what happened to the
Augustine Company, perhaps the letter from Mr. Luss sums it up
best:

Enclosed is the catalog I mentioned to you some time ago. I hope
you will find it interesting, as I worked for this company many
years ago. This company went on the rocks because they could not
get financial backing, because it was thought that the inventor was
crazy.

There were several of these engines built for both gasoline and
steam and they worked very well as shown in some of the pictures in
the catalog.

Mr. Ben Augustine was a fine man to work for and was very good
to his employees. A lot more could be said about this firm, but the
catalog can tell the story much better than I can.

Please do not lose it because I don’t think there is another
catalog like it anywhere around.’

The New Power Producer

There has been a growing realization among the many
manufacturers of engines that a Rotary Engine would be the most
successful if one could be designed that would work and show
economy. Thousands of unsuccessful attempts have been made by the
world’s greatest geniuses and millions of dollars have been
spent.

It remained for Benjamin F. Augustine of Buffalo, New York, to
discover the true rotary principles and give to the world this most
compact, simple, economical and highly efficient Rotary Engine.

This wonderful Engine solves the cheap power problem and is the
greatest labor-saving device of modern times, and now within reach
of the masses of the people. From two to four of these engines can
be manufactured from the same amount of material now required for
one reciprocating engine of equal horsepower.

The Augustine Automatic Rotary Engine Company is the Parent
Holding Company, and is the owner of basic patents on both the
Augustine Rotary Steam and Gas Engines in the United States and ten
leading foreign countries.

The Company is offering no stock for sale, but is prepared to
grant licenses on a royalty basis for the manufacture of these
engines for various lines of industries where power is used.

Is a successful rotary internal combustion Engine built to
comply with all the natural law principles. It is a recognized fact
that the nearer we stay to that law, the greater the results.

In the Augustine Rotary Engine the power is all applied on
leverage, which means more power and greater economy, the reduction
of friction, and the elimination of all mechanism, thus reducing
the cost of operation as well as the cost of manufacturing, which
means greater profit and a saving of practically all the
B.T.U’s.

It is a well-known fact that the engineering world has spent
millions of dollars in trying to build engines of constant torque,
without real success. They have built from one to twelve-cylinder
reciprocating engines, some of which involve thousands of little
delicate parts and much mechanism, such as gears, cams, cam-shafts,
poppet valves, springs and adjustments, which are most confusing to
the average automobile owner, and he does not attempt to adjust or
repair the engine himself; neither can he get it repaired outside
of the company which built it, and with the many thousands of
little parts it requires an expert to operate it at all times.
There are also many other disadvantages, such as the radiator
freezing and leaking, loose connections, waste of water, besides an
enormous amount of heat units absorbed in the water, causing a
waste of about sixty per cent of the fuel and requiring a lot of
care. Also, the fan for cooling system is always causing trouble
and needing repairs, and in addition to this, there is the
complicated ignition set with a large bundle of wires that requires
timing and careful connecting.

One great problem in all the present two and four-cycle motors
is the scavenging. All kinds of methods have been adopted to expel
the burnt gases from the cylinders, but none can get better than
thirty per cent; and with the remainder of smoke left in the
cylinders, the incoming gas combines with the smoke and causes a
great waste of fuel, besides creating carbon which soon causes
trouble and has to be removed.

The Augustine Rotary Gas Engine has solved the problem from
every standpoint. It is ‘fool-proof,’ it is rotary and
applies six impulses on the periphery of the motor per revolution,
or more if desired. The frequency of impulse and momentum gives a
softer, smoother action than any other kind of motor. At all speeds
the result is comparable to the action of a steam turbine. This is
especially noticeable when the engine is installed in a car and is
throttled down to two miles per hour; then with the slightest touch
to the throttle the engine responds and the car moves along at a
high rate of speed without the slightest jar or vibration.

The Engine is so compact and powerful that it can be installed
in any car or truck. It can be used in summer or winter as it
requires no water, radiator or fan. There is nothing to freeze and
no power is wasted; the heat from the exhaust is all consumed in
vaporizing the fuel. The exhaust pipe on the engine is cool enough
at all times not to burn the most tender hand. The atmospheric
conditions cannot change the mixture as it does in other motors. It
will vaporize any kind of fuel that will expand or explode.

The Rotary Gas Engine is more flexible than any other motor on
the market, and can be used for all purposes.

This 7-passenger car has a new Augustine Rotary Internal
Combustion Engine installed and has made some remarkable records,
showing as high as 45 mpg of gallon. Mr. William C. Luss is
passenger to the far right

  • Published on Sep 1, 1976
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