REFLECTIONS

By Ch. Wendel
Published on March 1, 2002
1 / 6
37/3/7B
37/3/7B
2 / 6
37/3/7A
37/3/7A
3 / 6
37/3/11
37/3/11
4 / 6
37/3/12
37/3/12
5 / 6
37/3/9
37/3/9
6 / 6
37/3/13
37/3/13

A Brief Word

37/3/7: Help Needed

Q:See the photos of a compressor(?) that has
the head missing. There are no markings, and the nameplates are
also gone. Any help would be appreciated. Don Kerbaugh, 1315 Greg
St., Suite 112, Sparks, NV 89431.

A: You have a large compressor of the 1920s or
1930s. We’re sure we have seen this design before, but it would
take some intensive work to determine the make. It is a shame that
the front head is gone! If anyone can help, please contact Don at
the above address.

37/3/8: Bluffton Engines

‘I have a 1 HP water-cooled, horizontal Bluffton engine with
a three-inch bore and stroke and 12-inch solid flywheels. Should
the crankcase cover have any provisions for a breather? What was
the original color of the engine? I would like to correspond with
anyone who has one of these engines. It is very similar to the
small air-cooled Ideal/Bluffton engines, except for the solid
flywheels and the small water hopper for cooling.’ Jack
O’Leary, 651 Onion School Rd., Mt. Joy, PA 17552.

37/3/9: Sattley Engine

‘See the photo of a Sattley Model N2B engine marketed by
Montgomery Ward & Company, s/n 54095. We have no information on
this engine, such as when they were built, the correct color, or
operating specs. Any help with this engine would be greatly
appreciated.’ Jim and Ray Harry, 1901 Tellcamp Rd NE, Olympia,
WA 98506, or email me at: rharry@earthlink.net

37/3/10: Delco Questions

‘I have a Delco engine with no generator. It was made by
Delco Appliance Corporation, at Rochester, N.Y. I would like to
know why the points stay closed for two cycles. It seems like it
would be an awful drain on the battery. The cam is o.k. It is cut
half way around so the points are closed one full turn of the
flywheel. The engine is an upright like a Briggs & Stratton,
points are on the outside of the engine, and no magneto in the
flywheel, making it battery ignition. Any help on this engine would
be greatly appreciated.’ Jerry Lester, 645 Freedom Rd.,
Freedom, NY 14065.

37/3/11: Sachs Motor

Q: The carburetor is causing trouble on my
Sachs motor -F&S, made in Germany. It is a one-cylinder,
2-cycle air-cooled of about 1 HP. It floods. I have cleaned out the
carburetor and installed a new filter in the fuel line. If anyone
has any information on this engine I would appreciate it. Douglas
Poor, 12058 Adams, Yucaipa, CA 92399.

A: We would suggest that if there is a float
and needle, this is where it is leaking. We have found that on
small engines, especially, they can look clean and bright and still
leak. They can also be very difficult to reseat, even with the
finest of lapping compound and the greatest of care. It is also
possible for a gasketed joint to be leaking somewhere, or there
could be a tiny crack some place.

37/3/12: Fairbanks-Morse Desk Set

Q: Here is a picture of a desk set that
belonged to my father when he worked for Fairbanks-Morse in the
late 1920s. The set is apparently made of pot metal and is about
six inches long overall. There are two groves for pens or pencils
and a ‘well’ at one end for an eraser. The bottom of the
well has the F-M trademark of a scale weight, and along the front
of the base it says, ‘Model of 136 HP Diesel Marine
Engine.’ On the back edge of the base it says, ‘World’s
largest manufacturers of diesel engines.’

I was wondering if anyone has ever seen one of these before and
if anyone has any idea about which model engine is represented. I
have looked all through Wendel’s book on Fairbanks-Morse and
cannot find any model that looks like it might have been the
prototype for the model. Thank you. Jesse Livingston Troy, TN

A: It is a Model 33 FM diesel, and shown on
page 97 of my book Fairbanks-Morse 100 Years of Engine Technology.
These engines were first introduced in 1925 and were built as late
as 1958. The 33F16 was built in styles having 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10
cylinders. Cylinder sizes included 10-1/2 x 12-1/2, 12 x 15, 14 x
17 and 16 x 20 inches.

37/3/13: Canadian F-M

Q:I have a Canadian-built Fairbanks-Morse 1-1/2
HP Z engine. Unfortunately, the serial number is missing some
numbers and only shows C2 – – 78. The middle numbers are missing.
Any information on when this engine was made and the correct color
would be appreciated. At the same time I got the engine I also
bought a Fairbanks-Morse pump. Any information on the age of this
pump and especially a owners manual or other documentation would
also be a great help. Tony Gaydon, 553 Southwind Rd., Comox, BC,
Canada, or you can e-mail me at: tlgaydon@shaw.ca

A: Little is known of the Canadian
Fairbanks-Morse operation. When it was closed down it appears that
all the records were destroyed. Engines made there have a different
set of serial numbers, according to information we got at F-M
Beloit Works several years ago. The pump was built in the 1920s and
1930s, but we have no specific information as to its age.

37/2/4 Update

In the February edition we ran a photo of a
‘semi-turbine’ engine described in Dyke’s Motor
Manual
in 1915. This issue we have the description of the
engine for those interested.

‘This type of engine is in no way related to a gas producer,
but will be described in this section. It is a new principle of
engine.

‘The use of kerosene in this engine is not governed by the
ordinary carburetor, but is handled somewhat on the European plan
of injecting it into the cylinder in the shape of a heated spray by
means of an oil pump.

‘The turbine flywheel exhaust means the muffling of the
discharge on the periphery of the flywheels, and does away with the
muffler entirely, utilizing this power without undue back
pressure.

‘There are five cycles of operation, consisting of first,
the explosion; second, the exhaust -direct on turbine flywheel on
two-cycle principle; third, scavenging of the dead gases through
secondary valve – four-cycle principle; fourth, suction of new
charge; fifth, the compression.

‘By this method there are two distinct discharges, one
giving momentum or power to the flywheel, the other scavenging the
cylinders. The exhaust loss in the average internal combustion
engine amounts to 43 percent of the energy of the fuel it is
claimed, and the builders of the semi-turbine engine claim to gain
one-half of this on the flywheel muffler, thus practically doubling
the efficiency of the engine – which ordinarily is 22 percent – or
giving a thermal efficiency of about 43 percent.’

A Closing Word

The other day we ran across the little book we picked up when we
were at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The book doesn’t begin
to illustrate all the wonderful exhibits there, especially some of
the fine engines that are on display. In the same box of
miscellaneous things was a book on the Auto+Technik Museum at
Sinsheim. Now, we’ll allow there aren’t loads and loads of
engines at this place, but they make up for it in other displays
that boggle the mind! Then a couple of days back we got an e-mail
from our friends at Stuhlingen telling us that our summer tour to
Germany is welcome to stop there. This despite the recent passing
of our friend Roland Porten who assembled this grand collection.
Despite the fact that much of Germany was severely damaged or
destroyed in WW II, it is indeed amazing that so many treasures
have survived.

C.H. Wendel is a noted authority on antique engines and
tractors. His books constitute a vital reference resource for
collectors and hobbyists. If you have a query for C.H. Wendel, send
it along to Gas Engine Magazine, 1503 SW 42nd St., Topeka, KS
66609-1265.


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