check old some old & extremely rare engines I started on saturday

['73 H1 Triple]

I helped my friend Roger at the Fall Harvest Show at Rough & Tumble in Kinzers Pa ( he had surgery a month ago and isn't up to heavy pulling to start the engines )

I got to start some very rare ( and expensive ) engines today.


Started off with two hot air engines, a 4" Rider & Ericson




and a 8" made by American Machine Company ( if I remember correctly-my info pic didn't turn out clear )


I learned all the oil points including oiling the pistons before starting them. Both of these have propane burners and started quite easily once they warmed up. These engines would be used to pump water.

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Then it was onto the 10 hp White and Middleton which also runs on Propane. This is a hot tube engine.






This was a little more difficult to start but caught and started after about 6 or 7 revolutions. This was the first 10 hp I've started.

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The it was onto the Otto and Langen. This is one of the earliest engines around, it was built in 1869 This one runs on hydrogen gas and actually started quite easily. This is a very unique engine as the flame is transfered in a block to the combustion chamber where it ignites the charge. The resulting controlled explosion drives the piston / gear rack assembly up and between the weight of the assembly, the vacuum of the cooling charge and the movement of the rachet assemble, it drives the flywheel.

I was lucky enough to start this engine three times today.





The rachet assembly drops the piston as the flame pocket moves to the combustion chamber




and it drives the rack up



1868 Otto Langen - Oldest running gas engine in the USA - YouTube

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Then later in the morning we got the 10 hp Springfield running. Lots of oilers and places to oil.



Built in 1897 and it's overhead cam and fuel injected