Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1875-06-18
THE KEEIX MOTEik-NEaAC Is
CLsIMEp FOX IT.
twenty Thousand Pounds Of W.
pOr 10 tIe square Inch ssOs the
1nV.nti.sn - k&esardsd by AngiH-
eers-Alr and ss.tor EfarncssUd.


Correspondence o, the New York Tim~s.I
PHILADELPHIA, Thursday, June 10
The mechanical and scientific world
has been greatly excited OF late By the
discovery Of a Lew motive power by ii
Mr.. john w. Keeiy. of this city.
The lately discovered lnoter is gene
rated, AS the gentleman claims, from
cold water and air, and envolves iuto
a vapor more powerful than steam,
It is proposed by this new invention
to revolutlonlZe the world, and turn
machinery topsy-turvy. Steam will
be timing of the past, and tue Won
derful power of this new creation viii
supply ali the needs OF men for the
uses to which steam is applied. Just
what this vapor is and how it IS made
the disceverer frefuses to make plain
or divulge his hidden secret until he
has letters patent taken out in all the
countries of the globe which issue
patent rights. This service alone will
cost about $50, 900, and will not be com
pleted until three or four months hence.
MIR. Keely is very reticent on the sub
ject OF his discovery, and referred
your correspondent to his attorney,
Charles B. Collier, Esq. The latter
gentleman said that private view of the
moter had been made ON the 10Th OF
November, 1874, before number of
capitalists, and only three weeks since
another exhibition had been given
before number of gentlemen from
the New England States. These lat
ter were SO well pleased with the
nlOdus Opera1ldi, and believing so
firmly in the ultimate superscdure of
of steam by the new power, that they
formed a stock company, purchased
tho patent right for the New England
States, and paid $4,000 cash imme
diateiy Tor their share in the invention,
and are ready to forward 500, 0GO
more as soon as called upon. They
will organize Il company with a capital
of So, 600, 600, and De ready to manu-
facture the engines and necessary ap-
paratus as soon as the proper patents
are secured.
HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY.
Mr.. Keely alleges that the discovery
of this power was purely accidental.
Up to within short time he was d
poor man. but having q wonderful de-
gree of natural mechanical skill, lie
devoted all his time for the past four
teen years to experiments with water
with Il view of procuring ID motive
power from it. He was engaged upon
an idea of his own regarding the force
of columns Of water one day when he
accidentally discovered the vapor
which he has harnessed. He studied
the subject, ascertalned how 1t was
generated, learned its power, and
thencefOrth applied himself solely to
the perfection of this idea, working
night aud day for a number of years,
until his efforts Were crowned with
success. The apparatus by which this
power Is made Is termed q generate"
or ''multipllcatoK, and the yapor is
then passed into a receiver" and
from thence to the cylinder box of the
engine, where it drives the pisterns
and sets the engine III motion. The
generator" is about three feet high,
made OF Austrian gun metal, in one
SOLID piece, and will hold about twelve
gallons OF water. 1t Is four or five
inches thick, and made to stand the
heavy pressure Of 1000 to 80, 0O0
pounds OF vapOr to the square iucu.
The inside is composed of plumber
of cylindrical chambers, connected
by pipes, and furnished with cocks aud
valves. The "reservOir" Is ab0us ak
inches III diameter and forty inches
long, and Is connected with the ''gen-
orator by Il pipe which is about one
inch IN circumference GA tho outside,
with byre OF about one-eighth OF an
inch. Connected with both genera
tor" and receiver" is '.stand-plpe"
OF BRASS about two and half inches
IN diameter and three feet high, hay
ing a spherical chamber at the bottom,
made n two parts by hnnges, and CON
nected to the pipe uniting the ''gener-
ator" and reservoir. The vapor
generated in the mnltiplicator is con-
veyed to the reservoir, which contains
numerous pipes, and from there, by
'feed-pipe, to the engine. The ell
CINE is Of peculiar construction, but
the inventor claims that the vapor can
be attached to any ordinary engine
now in use with very slight alterations
CLAIMS OF THE INVENTOR.
Mr.. Keely claims that this apparel
us will generate co d vapor from water
by mechanical appliances without the
use of chemicals. The water used is
common river, spring, or we'll, and
undergoes no previous preparation,
rubber hose from an ordinary hydraut
to the generator being used as
means OF conveying the liquid. The
peculiarity Of this vapor i. that it can
be used to the best advantage at
pressure of 20, 900 to $4,000 pounds to
the square inch. To the mechanical
mind this seems impossible. Yet
such is the claim of Mr.. K ely, and II
has been attested that such is the fact
by gentlemen who are held to be me-
chanical experts Of the highest grade.
Yet with all this immense pressure at
his command the inventor is enabled
to control his engine and run it with
the same ease and facility as engines
are now run by steam. He has tried |
the "mctor" upon a 2O-horse power |
engine and 1t defied the efforts of all |
the gentlemen present to stop the fly |
wheel. The water used, after it ha. |
passed through the "multiplicator,
has no perceptible smell or taste, and |
seems as pure az when it first entered, |
thus showing conclusively that no Sc
cret chemical process is employed TO |
carry out the object designed. The |
parts of the generator and multiple
Gator are made of welded iron of great
thickness and strength. The connect
ing pipes are also small and of great
and ere oxidized and plan
ished, so as to prevent to force of the
vapor from escaping through the
pores. Steam could not pass through
the connecting pipes which are used
on this apparatus, since the bore is
only about the dimensions of a knit
ting-needle.
DANGER OF EXPLOSION
With this immense power at hand
one would naturally fear an explosion
most disastrous in its results. But
such, it is claimed, cannot be the case,
since when the vapor comes in contact
with the atmosphere it ceases to ex-
pand, and instantly goes back to its
original states-namely, air and
water. Therefore, in this regard.
It is less dangerous than either
or steam. Tie va
por is thinner than air, and will not
cut the metal in escaping or passing