So Rooster posted this on another forum thread. I have become fascinated with this thing. Does anyone have any personal knowledge of it, seen it, know anything about it or any other similar type blower.
I was looking this up too.
Fascinating little site, I wonder what it looked like when it was operating?
I dug up the patent for the âPeter L. Weimer blowing engineâ
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I am not quite wrapping my head around how this thing works. Here is what I have deduced and what I can guess but some things are not adding up. Obviously there is a steam driven engine under this thing. From pictures online I can see that it has a cylinder and steam chest as we would expect. The cylinder has the usual piston rod coming from it that attaches to a bar. That bar extends outward on each side and has an attachment point for connecting rods that then drop down to each of the âdriversâ which are properly quartered. But what are the drivers driving? Because the piston rod from the looks of it continues past the bar and goes up into the center of the blower on top which I am assuming is driving a piston or bellows of some sort to moving the air. If the piston is driving a rod up and down in the blower then what is the purpose of the âdriversâ. I realize that at some point there had to be a connection to something somewhere that turned an eccentric rod for the valve gear in the steam chest. So my only guess at this point is that the two drivers only purpose is to turn a crank shaft that has the eccentric gear on it. And that the piston rod is doing all the work up in the blower.
Any ideas or thoughts.
It took me a while looking at the patent images to figure out how the blower worked. The first page shows the blower assembly in cross-section, and the rod down to the piston on the right. The whole interior of the blower moves like a giant piston. In the second image, you can see that around the perimeter are a bunch of round valves, the mechanism for those valves in on sheet 2, top right. They are one-way valve, so an âupâ stroke pushes air, but then on the down stroke the springs close. Sheet 3 shows the detail of each valve.
Okay Bob,
So you answered one of my assumptions. The rod from the cylinder is doing the work up in the blower. Thatâs why it continues up past the bar that drives the âdriversâ and through the âbellowsâ. I can see all that. What are the âdriversâ for? They have to be turning a crank that in turn is operating an eccentric rod to operate the valve gear in the steam chest. That is the only thing I can think of.
And I just couldnât resist the temptation. . . So I present the beginnings of the Devonâs Steam Engine Co.'s version of a furnace blower.
By the way, if you look at my vertical steam engine it is manufactured by the same company. A Vanity badge.
Havenât exactly figured out why yet, but as Bruce said who really âneedsâ a why, but the Hecla Mine is going to have a furnace blower and if not the Hecla then some yet undetermined industry in Burke.
This picture Rooster posted is what just has me baffled. What I am calling the âDriversâ (because I sonât know what else to call them) are lined up so whatever shaft they are turning is directly under the cylinder. Unless I am a lot more dumb than I think, which is a distinct possibility, there is nothing that would be under that end of the cylinder that would need to be driven by a crank shaft. And those drivers are inline with the bar and quartered to each other. This means they are driven by the cylinder. On most, if not all, steam driven things with a steam chest/valve gear/cylinder combination the cylinder drives some sort of driver or flywheel that has a shaft. On that shaft is an eccentric rod that serves as the timing for the steam chest. As the driver or fly wheel is doing the work of driving what ever it is meant to drive it is also rotating the eccentric rod which in turn is reversing the valve gear in the steam chest to drive the piston in the cylinder. If this is what the âdriversâ on this thing are doing why are they in line with the cylinder and not the steam chest? Either way I will model it as I see it and if I have to Iâll imagineer the crank and eccentric rod.
I think that wheel is just a big flywheel, I dont think it drives anything.
I thought the same thing and most assuredly it is acting as such. And maybe only as such. But there are are two of them. You can see it peeking out in back in this picture. And the absence of a viable counter weight tells me its quartered. so that it provides smooth operation of what ever crank shaft its driving.
Now I am not saying that they are not just flywheels. That is in all likelihood what they are and there is a pair of them and they are quartered to give a very smooth operation. And likely somewhere that I can not see there is an eccentric rod driving the valve gear attached to it.
The way the holes are drilled in that âdriverâ I do think it is just a pair of flywheels that have been drilled for balance.
Though I have all but abandon FacelessBook, I do still have an account so that I can lurk on various groups. I just asked to join the âFriends of Carrickâ Facebook group in hopes of seeing if anyone has more information and/or better pictures of the lower workings of this thing. I am rather fascinated by it.
Carrick shows up about 7:30, as do other types of blowers like that.
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Thatâs what I would say too. And there is one on each side to keep the engine balanced.
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See what Rooster started!!! Yes, Devon I have seen it and I have more pictures if you want me to add some to this thread. Also did you print out the furnace coloring page in the other thread??
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Not yet but I will surely do so.
I would love for you to add to this thread. I love all things steam engine anyways and this is a new gadget to me. I am 100% convinced Bob is right after watching the video he posted that those are flywheels and there are two for balance and smooth operation. Okay I am sold. But still have the pesky problem of moving the valve gear. So if you have any pictures of the steam chest and valve rod and what is driving the valve rod so that the steam chest and alternate positions and drive the piston.
BUT WAIT. As I write this, someone chime in. I am used to the âmodernâ steam locomotiveâs version of a steam chest and cylinder. They had a valve gear that alternated which side of the piston was having steam applied and conversely exhausted. It was the modern day equivalent of a dual action hydraulic cylinder. They are more efficient because they are being powered in both directions. But if memory serves me correctly, early steam engines (not necessarily the locomotive type), especially industrial engines had single action cylinders. It is one of the main reasons for a flywheel. The weight of the flywheel used inertia to keep the cylinder moving back and forth so that it would return without the aid of applying steam to alternating sides. Steam was applied on once side and then when it reached near its max travel it exhausted and the flywheelâs inertia brought it back to the bottom of its stroke to repeat the process.
I now am thinking, especially 1876 industrial engine, with two large flywheels that seemingly have no other purpose, that they are connected to the piston rod to return the cylinder piston to the bottom of the stroke to be charged again. There is probably no eccentric rod and likely not much of a real steam chest with a valve gear. Not sure how these single action steam cylinders sis what they do but I think this is a lot closer to what is really going on than what I was thinking needed to happen.
Iâm pretty sure I just solved my own mystery.
There is still a need for an eccentric rod. Ans I am sure there is one, likely on the side we canât see. But a single action steam cylinder HAS to be what is going on here. The flywheel alignment under the cylinder makes perfect sense now. On a single action steam cylinder there is no need for a steam chest and valve gear timing. Steam isnât brought into a steam chest to then be determined which side of the piston it is applied too. Steam always enters the same side of the piston, in our case it would be the bottom. The flywheels return the piston to the bottom of the stroke not steam. An eccentric rod is most likely operating a simple rocker valve or something similar that opens the steam inlet at the bottom of the stroke and then closes it and opens the exhaust outlet at the top of the stroke. Once the flywheels carry the piston back to the bottom you rinse and repeat.
I have no doubt this is what is happening in some sort or fashion and explains my missing parts.
Flip this cylinder 180 degrees so the piston rod is facing up and it all makes sense. Steam would be piped to the bottom of the cylinder. Then the piston is powered up. When it reaches the top the flywheels take over and return it. The center alignment of the Flywheels are likely driving a crank shat that does have a short eccentric valve rod that is opening and closing the steam inlet valve show at what is the top of the picture above but would be located just above the crank in our case.
Nice analysisâŚhave you started on the 3D model yet? 
Scroll up Bruce. I already let the cat out of the bag. Its made by Devonâs Steam Engine Co.
I have terrible bouts of insomnia. . . my wife will tell you, and she is spot on, that I lay awake at night and analyze stupid crap like this. She says the pressure in my head is from an overload of useless infomation that is stored in there and I need to delete some files.
I think the tinfoil hat is holding things in âŚ
Another option might be to get a hole in your head to drain out all that information?