Old Iron Motor for Tony in SC

[Old River]

Don't know much about this old motor. Just know that once it was used a boat motor on a skiff.

 

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[Bigcypresshunter]

A pic of that manufacturers plate will help us ID it. First glance looks like a hit and miss type.

 

[Okie Hillbillies]

Looks kind of like the Fairbanks motor that I have. not the same but kinda like it. the water jug on top is similliar.



OkieHillBillie.

 

[Tony in SC]

That is an unusual engine!! There is not an exact match in any of my books or logs. The closest I can find is a "Witte from the late 20's" but I really don't think so. It does look like a hit&miss, there were also throtle governed (fired every other stroke). The magneto is a Wico EK which came out in 1924. The solid flywheels (not spokes) were from the 30's on. It is not a marine engine, although looks like it may have been an anchor at one time . It is a farm engine. The strip of metal hanging on the side is the band for the Mag. It should have some numbers on it. If you can get anything off the tag It would help. I have seen worse restored. There were over three thousand patents issued for early engines. Only a few hundred actually went into production. Only a few dozen lasted 5 years. Tony

 

[NOLA_Ken]

looks like it ran a belt for a sawmill or some other piece of equipment when it was new.

 

[Broken knee]

That is an unusual engine!! There is not an exact match in any of my books or logs. The closest I can find is a "Witte from the late 20's" but I really don't think so. It does look like a hit&miss, there were also throtle governed (fired every other stroke). The magneto is a Wico EK which came out in 1924. The solid flywheels (not spokes) were from the 30's on. It is not a marine engine, although looks like it may have been an anchor at one time . It is a farm engine. The strip of metal hanging on the side is the band for the Mag. It should have some numbers on it. If you can get anything off the tag It would help. I have seen worse restored. There were over three thousand patents issued for early engines. Only a few hundred actually went into production. Only a few dozen lasted 5 years. Tony

Would that also be called a one lung or lunger engine? And is the timing/firing based on the flywheel speed or load applied?
Broken Knee

 

[Tony in SC]

That is an unusual engine!! There is not an exact match in any of my books or logs. The closest I can find is a "Witte from the late 20's" but I really don't think so. It does look like a hit&miss, there were also throtle governed (fired every other stroke). The magneto is a Wico EK which came out in 1924. The solid flywheels (not spokes) were from the 30's on. It is not a marine engine, although looks like it may have been an anchor at one time . It is a farm engine. The strip of metal hanging on the side is the band for the Mag. It should have some numbers on it. If you can get anything off the tag It would help. I have seen worse restored. There were over three thousand patents issued for early engines. Only a few hundred actually went into production. Only a few dozen lasted 5 years. Tony

Would that also be called a one lung or lunger engine? And is the timing/firing based on the flywheel speed or load applied?
Broken Knee

Yes they are sometimes called one lungers. On the hit & miss engines a fly weight governor determines when it will fire. Under no load some will spin the flywheel 30 times or more before it fires. Under a load it will fire more often. Tony

 

[Old River]

I know that the old man that owned this on had it rigged up to run a skiff with. Probably like I say a rig job. He would run his skiff up, and down the river, and then take the motor out, and hook it up to some kind of generaton, and run a light in his house with it. Yes it does have the belt pulley on it. Thanks for all the info, I will look at the tag on it to see if I can make it out. The old guy I got it from said it was an old Hit and Miss.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I think it used a leather belt.

 

[RickyD]

Looks like an old one lunger to me, the name coming from the fact that it only had one piston. But that one piston was huge. Only saw one in action way back when I was a kid. If I remember right, the piston only came to high center and fired back down about once every second or so. They were an amazing piece of machinery.

 

[trixie charger]

Just a thought, but it could have been a rig job for pulling up a type of Crab pot, or trap type item. Also like a boom lifter
My Wife's Uncle is a Crab Potter in VA, and he rigged a similar type motor on his boat.

 

[Old River]

Very interesting post replys. Thank guys for all the comments...

 

[Gunny71]

Cool motor.

One lungers are still popular in the oil and gas industry and are used for pumping units and gas compressors. You can here em running for miles away.

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