Generator plans?

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Hi Everybody,

I've found another couple of pictures !

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This one is on display in the Enginuity, a museum in Iron Bridge, Telford. Just a few hundred meters away from the Iron bridge itself. There isn't a description plaque, so I don't know if this is a generator or a motor. Either way it appears to be self exited with an adjustable brush gear. The rotor/armature is about 5 feet long.

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This one is in the Blists Hill town museum, again in Telford. I couldn't get close enough to clean and read the label on it. It appears to have three stationary electromagnets and an armature with a row of four brushes in three sets of very heavy duty brushes set at 120 degree intervals around the commutator. Again one set of four brushes seems to be adjustable. This machine is only about four feet long, the round housing is about 2 feet in diameter. The base about 20 inches wide.

Next time I go there I will ask if I can be allowed into the area to take some more pictures. Because I think that this one is particularly interesting.

If I find any more pictures I will add them.
 
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Hi Guys,

I promised that I would add any more pictures that I found of old motors and generators here.

This one is another self exited generator and can be found in the Black Country Museum, near Birmingham, UK.

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Notice that someone has put a shorting link across the coils. I bet someone got a tingle from that.

Its also on mounting rails so the belt tension can be adjusted, though I suspect that the drive pulley is not the original one.

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All this style machine seem to have adjustable take off brushes. These are very large carbon ones with heavy spring loaded arms pressing them on to the commutator, a pair on either side.

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I do like the oil drain tap and oil box on the top. There is one at both ends of the machine, the armature shaft running in bronze bearings.

I think that this machine would be a good candidate for a model, simply because of its simplicity. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any information as to who made it or when, or to its output.
 
Nice.

What does the lettering cast into the base say?

Good Lord, I had to go and study the pictures ! I totally completely missed that . When I next go down there I will make a point of photographing that part of the machine.

My sincere apologies. At the time of taking the picture it never occurred to me to look on the base there.

Thank you for pointing it out !
 
Cool Pic's . Is that a motorcycle in the background in post 66 ?
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The old book "The Boy Electrician" by Alfred Powell Morgan included plans for a small 10 Watt model dynamo somewhat similar to the Edison unit in post #16. The book is old enough to be in the public domain so you can find PDF's of it on the web. I have an old hardcover edition around here someplace. The plans call for castings, but I expect the clever types around here could come up with workarounds for that.

I'm pretty sure I have seen similar model dynamo plans in similar old books.
 

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