Riding Cuttoff Engine ID

A special section just for steam engines and boilers, as without these you may as well fit a sail.
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cyberbadger
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Riding Cuttoff Engine ID

Post by cyberbadger » Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:49 pm

There is this cute little engine on smokstak they are trying to ID.

I think, and commented, that to me it looks suitable for a launch.

Does anyone have an ID on this, or can confirm or disprove it's original purpose?

It's valve gear utilizes what looks to be a riding cutoff which I had to look up.

It has two pumps that run off the shaft with eccentrics. One feedwater, but please take a look at the other one - air pump for condensing? lubrication pump?

https://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172587

-CB
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Re: Riding Cuttoff Engine ID

Post by DetroiTug » Fri Oct 13, 2017 2:24 pm

There were so many people building little bottle engines like this as they were used for about everything before homes and businesses had electricity, that trying to identify one now unless it was a very popular company like Strelinger, Orr Sembower etc, is about impossible. My guess with that name tag on the chest cover, it was one off, built by that guy. Not too many people buy something already built and then put their name on it, doesn't seem too logical anyway.

It's original purpose, if we put ourselves in the picture at the time - late 1800's: No electricity, oil lamps or if we were lucky, piped in gas lighting, wood heat. Any sort of motive power needed, the only option was a steam engine. Look at the population numbers of that time and that will give one a rough idea, how many small engines there were and how many people were trying to make them to sell. So if you wanted to run a machine tool - drill press or power saw, or grind meat, pump water, ventilate a building, the list goes on and on for the uses of these little engines.

-Ron
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Re: Riding Cuttoff Engine ID

Post by cyberbadger » Fri Oct 13, 2017 6:17 pm

I know, I have said the same to others at times. :)

I try to look at the unique features. Why would you want a riding cutoff? Would you want that wood on the flywheel if it was at desk level or on the ground/deck?

The fact that it doesn't have a reversing mechanism. is an indication it probably wasn't used for a launch, but not a guarantee.

-CB
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Re: Riding Cuttoff Engine ID

Post by DetroiTug » Fri Oct 13, 2017 6:45 pm

Looks as though it was on some application where constant RPM was required and standard governors didn't work as well.

Copied and pasted from: http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/scientif ... art-3.html

Image

This is one great objection to the rack and gear operated by the governor, that two flat valves riding upon each other and sliding in opposite directions at times require a considerable amount of force to move them, and as only a slight change in load is required by the load, the governor cannot handle the work as delicately as it should. It is too much for the governor to do well. To overcome this difficulty the Ryder cut-off, shown in Fig. 3, was made by the Delamater people, of New York. The main slide valve is hollowed in the back and the ports cut diagonally across the valve to form almost a letter V. The expansion valve is V-shaped, and circular to fit its circular-seat. The valve rod of the expansion valve has a sector upon it and operated by a gear upon the governor stem, which rotates the valve rod, and the edge of the valve rod is brought farther over the steam port, thus practically adding lap to the valve. Little movement is found necessary to make the ordinary change in cut-off, and it is found to be much easier to move the riding valve across the valve than in a direction directly opposite.

It would require considerable force to move the upper valve by the governor faster than the lower, or in a direction opposite to that in which it is moving, but very little force applied sideways at the same time it is moving forward will give it a sideways motion. In this device the governor has only to exert this side pressure and therefore has less to do than if it were called upon to move the upper valve directly against the movement of the lower.

Something similar is the valve of the Woodbury engine, of Rochester, N.Y. The cut-off valve is cylindrical, covering diagonal ports directly opposite, and is caused to be rotated by the action of the governor that operates a rack in mesh with a segment. Very little movement will effect a considerable change in the lappage of the valve, the valve turning about one-quarter a revolution for the extremes of cut off. The cut off valve rod works through a bracket and its end terminates in a ball in a socket on the end of the eccentric rod. In this case the governor has not as much to do as in other instances.
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Re: Riding Cuttoff Engine ID

Post by cyberbadger » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:12 pm

This engine has no visible connection I can see for for governing. On this engine it appears to have been used for efficiency.

-CB
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Re: Riding Cuttoff Engine ID

Post by cyberbadger » Tue Oct 17, 2017 10:28 pm

https://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172587

Nice photos were taken of the interior of the valve.

-CB
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