Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1912-03-13

InlS DTlDBS uS W u COulpllCdCfOn OF
circumstances not very easy to han
die, and this getting steam out of
the cylinders probably perpleXes en-
gine builders more than any other
part of tho construction of the ma
chine. for If the steam Is tardy in
its exit it will cause back pressure
in the cylinder, or an exhause pres
sure operating against the "live"
der, and this back pressure must be
overcome by increased boiler pres
sure or. else a loss must be suffered
in speed which, within reasonable
limits, means loss Of power as we'll
as wasted fuel in maintaining power
pressure than would give maximum
service from tho boiler.
Getting tho steam irto and out of
the cylinders Of piston crgines is ac-
complishcd by means OF valves and
valve gears, and i'm this field lies
about al! the improvements that have
been made In the engine proper since
Mr.. Watt first made his "walking
beam" type Of engine.
TO minimize the consumption of
steam the "CorliSs" valve is now
pretty generally in use on stationary
engines, and to simplify tho valve
gear on locomotives the old, cumbcr-
some. heavy and complicated link
motion which has been in use for so
years or more, is being supplantcd
by tho less complex Waisonacrt valve
gear. But that back and eyrth, re-
vcrsing, churning motion Of the pis-
ton, with its consequent loss Of
power, is the same to-day that ii was
in Mr.. Watts first steam engine, and
will never be improved except with
some form Of crankless engine.
One OF the first Of this form was
that known rs the Lamb" rotary
engine. which was invented about 81
years ago. 1t consisted Of motor in
the form OF an eccentric mounted on
a. central shaft and rotating within
an annular cylinder packed with wi
per valves placed $50 degrees apart
and was accommodated with inlet
ana exhaust ports corresponding to
the position OF the valves. This en-
gine, with several others that ap-
pcarcd about the same time, de-
pended to some extent upon the ex-
vclopmcnt Of its power (Which is the
correct idca), but the internal back
pressure was so great as to render
most engines built upon that and
similar plans practically valuelcss.
Then, and in quick succession,
came the steam turbine. As there
are many manufacturers at the pres
ent time building this form OF en-
gine, all Of them having some fea-
lures that appear to be good and
others that do not, will mention no
one here as being nearest correct,
but will say that all Of them are cor
rect in that all working parts travel
continuously in ono direction, and
are, Therefore, capable Of attaining
high speeds, increasing instead Of di-
minishinG the power thereby.
This form OF engine construction,
Is Nrt in the experimental stage ard
therefore yet open to many improve
monts. In my little machine, which
was built to drive a bottle washer
Tor local dairy, claim that | have
made one of these improvements by
so constructing the wanes and steam
cts rs TO make it do the same work
on less steam than other makes of
turbines. and If ! am not mistaken
we VIII see in the next few years au-
tomobilcs chcapcr and satisfactorily
"riNcn hN some form OF rotary steam
engine.