Newcomen

[collbee]

Evening all,

I am not sure if I should dive for cover ... take cover behind a rock or not.

For the last few nights I have been perusing the older topics and their content.

Some of the postings have awakened an interest in the Newcomen Atmospheric Engine. I have spent an inordinate amount of time trawling the internet for plans, pics, books etc. etc. Unfortunately I have not come up with enough info to try my hand at constructing one.

Further information, plans, dimensions, addy's, personal wisdom etc. would be much appreciated.

I will be uploading my life story in the near future so that members have an insight as to the nature of the beast.

Cheers from the Sunshine Coast in Australia ............
Collbee.

 

[Blogwitch]

I think Rick (Rake 60) is your man.

I think I showed him a few things about it when he was asking a few moons ago.

There is a kit for one, but I don't think it looks or works much like the original. Like most steam engines, you can scale the model, but you have great difficulty scaling the operation of it, most of them running much too fast.


John

 

[dvbydt]

I saw this one working a few years ago.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/lawrence.roy/cornwall/levantm.htm

What (not Watt) surprised me was how fast is was for it's size, maybe 500 rpm.

On a visit to Devon with the Grandsons (Digger World was amazing), we went to Dartmouth where Newcomen was born and they have erected one of his engines in a museum there. Google that and they may be able to supply you with details.

An interesting design in that the low pressure steam was let into the cylinder, expelling the piston, then cold water was sprayed in, condensing the steam so reducing the cylinder pressure and the power stroke was developed by the piston being sucked down.

This is another of my roundtuit jobs so, I would be very interested if you find any details.

Ian

 

[lazyman]

If you can get a copy of 'The Steam Engine of Thomas Newcomen' by LTC Rolt & JS Allen, its got some fairly decent pictures and line sketches, also the newcomen society translated Marten Triewalds short description of the atmospheric engine at the dannemora mine.

The internet archive also has a good book by John Farey called 'a treatise on the steam engine' http://www.archive.org/details/treatiseonsteame01fareuoft. If you still get stuck I can probably scan the tom rolt book.

Rich

 

[Dan Rowe]

Collbee,
The best book I have ever seen on a Newcomen engine is The Coal Viewer and Engine Builder's Practical Companion by John Curr 1797. I have a 1970 reprint but even that has become a rare book.

It has drawings and design tables for a Newcomen engine that is very detailed.
I did not find much on the web but it looks like another reprint was made see:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1170305164/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Dan

 

[Blogwitch]

http://www.sussexsteam.co.uk/Newcomen.html


John

 

[collbee]

Thankyou gentlemen

I have investigated and downloaded the Farey Treatise and visited all the links so far suggested.

I had hoped to find a full download (cough cough) for the Coal Viewer but only got a few tantilising review pages :-(

I am pretty certain that I tried to visit the Levant Complex many many many moon's ago while I was B&Bing in Taunton but it was closed for winter. It ended up that the only large atmospheric engine I got close to was one in the London Science Museum. Unfortunately all my pics of her and other stationery engines have been lost to the floods we had here a couple of years back.

Yes - I have come across the kit and Ian .... there is a walk through build of it at

http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/ftopic20905-0-asc-0.php

I came across it after I had posted here - could be of help and maybe I should say rather clever in the way it is presented ;-)

I tried to visit rakes webpage via the links in his eary posts but kept coming up with a 404 :-(

There are a few examples of the Newcomen on U-Tube as well. I was well impressed by one in particular ...... it wheezed and sneezed and banged about in a very satisfactory manner, strengthening my determination lol. I captured the movie but forgot to link it to the favourites list so have no addy.

Thanks again and much appreciated ...............

Geoff. (oi, oi, oi.)

 

[dvbydt]

Geoff and John, thanks for the links.

Ian

 

[metalmad]

Hi Geoff
where on the coast are you?
Im in Morayfield.
Pete

 

[collbee]

Hi Pete,

A bit further up the coast .... am near Gympie.

Cheers.......
Geoff.

 

[metalmad]

Hi Geoff
Next time your down this way drop in for a coffee
Pete

 

[collbee]

thanks for the invite Pete. ..... will do.

Cheers....
Geoff.