American Power: Flywheel Technology

Those engines are machines of beauty which I love. We have several venders who come to local art fairs etc who have some of the late 1800/ early 1900 era gasoline engines (very slow speed--back fires occasionally) large flywheel engines to belt drive their machines. These specific type are called "hit or miss engines". Another example are a few remaining natural gas (from the well) powered flywheel oil pumps, with the large counter weights. (Pump jack--Donkey head--derivation of the Walking Beam steam engines) (many of these have been converted to electric/diesel or gasoline engines, but every once in a while you will see a very old natural gas, flywheel engine).
 
I'm not sure where that engine is running, but it looks like the Vista Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum in Vista, Ca. A great place to visit and walk through. They have tractors, gas engines such in the video, an old Holt tractor (forerunner of the Caterpillar, thrashers and a lot of goodies. They will have a Spring Tractor Show June 18th &19th. The steam traction engines will be running, along with a radial diesel developed for airplanes. Loudest thing I ever heard.

I have a 5 hp 1926 Fuller Johnston engine. Runs at 500 rpm. It was used to run a saw on the ranch. Got it running a couple of years ago and took it to the Vista show. Judy wondered why people would buy such a thing, and I mentioned that was the electric motor of 100 years ago.

Boris
 
These engines are at the Florida Flywheelers Antique Engine and Tractor Show in Fort Meade, Florida. Held November, January, and February every year.

Did find this info:

Found this: (turns out a company called Arrow Engines is manufacturing updated engines for the gas fields.)

Continuous Duty:

Arrow engines are designed for continuous duty 24 hours a day, day after day.

Economical Operation:

Studies performed in the U.S. have shown that operating costs for Arrow engines can be as low as half the cost for equivalent HP electric motors. Since every area is different, you owe it to yourself to compare the costs in your area.

From the Arrow website - turns out they are making them again:

http://www.arrowengine.com (you might have to Google Arrow Flywheel Engines)
 
Some form of that type of engine could probably be run off the methane gas scavenged from "sanitary fill" dump sites, and probably on the methane available at sewage plants as well. Cheap electricity for the grid. I have a small Jack Russell terrier mix that could run one pretty well himself if the engine could be made small enough! (Though I know it's not all methane.) :lol:

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Very interesting to me seeing these old flywheel engines in action. My Grandfather and his brother as young men worked maintaining these engines in the Southern California oil fields as young men. He was born in 1881. They were making big money for the times up until my Grandfather's brother his best friend lost his arm and then his life when the arm was caught in either the flywheel or belting can't remember just which now. Grandfather would talk endlessly about the engines and loved maintaining them, but the loss of his brother ended his work with them.

Jay
 
Very interesting old engines, but the commentator once mentions getting "free electricity" by using one as a generator. Tanstaafl (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch; Robert A. Heinlein); a flywheel may conserve energy between strokes, but it doesn't add any.
 
The power of initia.....

Several years back, as I recall, there was an alternative UPS system that would provide 250KVA power ( or more) long enough to allow a generator enough time to come on line. These Flywheel UPS units are more expensive on the front end but seemed to be cheaper for the long haul when compare to battery replacements in the inverter types. They can run for extended times with less battery power than direct battery power and still have the smoothness of the battery powered inverters.

Art
 
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