The engine was a single cylinder, 4-stroke-cycle "hot-tube" ignition
type. The cylinder, of cast iron quite finely and completely finned
for its day, was air-cooled, or rather, air-radiated, as there was no
forced circulation of air over it, the atmosphere surrounding the
engine simply soaking up the dissipated heat. Although this was
possibly a desirable adjunct in winter, inside the small shop in
Dayton, the temperature there in summer must have been quite high at
times. The operating fuel was city illuminating gas, which was also
utilized to heat, by means of a burner, the ignition tube. This part
was of copper, with one completely closed end positioned directly in
the burner flame; the other end was open and connected the interior of
the tube to the combustion chamber. The inlet valve was of the usual
automatic type while the exhaust valve was mechanically operated. The
fuel gas flow was controlled by a separate valve mechanically
connected to the inlet valve so that the opening of the inlet valve
also opened the gas valve, and gas and air were carried into the
cylinder together.
[Illustration: _Figure 16._--Shop engine, 1901, showing governor and
exhaust valve cam. (Photo courtesy R. V. Kerley.)]
The engine was of normal stationary powerplant design, having a heavy
base and two heavy flywheels, one on each side of the crank. These
were necessary to ensure reasonably uniform rotational speed, as, in
addition to having only one cylinder, the governing was of the
hit-and-miss type. It had a 6×7-in. bore and stroke and would develop
slightly over 3 hp at what was apparently its normal operating speed
of 447 rpm, which gives an MEP of 27 psi.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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