Mr. William S. Estler bought this Novo engine outfit in the early 1920s from the Goulds Pump Co. It was attached originally to a Gould Pyramid pump. Engine No. 58709 was built in 1920. It must have sat around for a year or so before being sold to William. It was fitted for natural gas with no fuel pump. Late in 1929, the cylinder froze and cracked. Novo engines were guaranteed for life from frost damage and William was sent a new cylinder. The casting date on the new cylinder is December 11, 1929. It was last used in 1940 for pumping water.
Carl I. Estler obtained his father’s engine and got it running again with a makeshift carburetor and fuel tank. He displayed it at the 1967 Saginaw Valley Live Steam Association Show, where I met and got to know Carl. I was 13 years old at the time. In 1991, Carl told me he wanted me to have his daddy’s engine. Since owning it, I have installed an original carburetor and fuel pump, but it is too bad Carl had scrapped the pump outfit in the 1980s. He said it was too heavy for him. After almost 30 years, I finally got to it, and it runs great.
