20601 Old State Road Haubstadt, Indiana 47639
One of the most elusive styles of the Hercules/Economy engines
are the tank cooled versions. They were only made in 1914 and 1915.
They were all half base engines that came standard on a straight
framed cart. If a saw was desired, an extended frame was provided
so a sliding table saw could be bolted to the rear on the frame.
The accompanying illustration shows such a unit. Without the saw,
the frame stopped just past the cooling tank.
In general, the tank cooled version was very similar to the half
base hopper cooled. However, the tank cooled has several
modifications. A cover bolted to the top of the cylinder where the
hopper normally was. The cylinder cover has a lid bolted on top to
cover an opening in it. This second opening was so that it provided
access to the inside to bolt the cylinder cover on. The
second cover was then fastened on top with cap screws. Since the
oiler pipe now passed through the water jacket, it became necessary
to have packing around the oiler pipe to prevent water leakage.
Being screen cooled, some means was necessary to make the water
circulate. A small gear pump, as illustrated, was bolted to the
rear of the engine base toward the off side. A pulley (A41) was
provided to drive the pump by a small belt (A21) and it was located
on the crankshaft just inside the off side flywheel. The wrench
(097) was not a part for the pump, but rather, a tool that came
with the engine. There will be more on Hercules/Economy tools and
accessories sometime later.
This kind of unit was only available in the 6, 8 and 10 HP D
model and the 7, 9 and 12 HP size E model. Since the Elkhart
magneto was an option on these, the magneto drive gear, if used,
and the water pump drive pulley both had to be squeezed inside
between the off side flywheel and the engine base.
So far, yours truly has seen one such unit and has heard about
two more, these last two being bare engines without the original
equipment. The unit shown here has the common J type fuel mixer;
however, the 6 HP D model observed had a Lukenheimer mixer.
In the spring 1915 Sears catalog, the 7 HP hopper cooled half
base engine on the straight cart with Elkhart magneto was priced at
$142.75. A comparable tank cooled was priced at $167.75.
Apparently, there weren’t many farmers, at that time, willing
to pay an additional $25 for the tank cooled style-thus the rarity
today.
