Diesel/Kerosene Wick Stoves and Vaporizing Burners

[GreenTwin]

More wick stoves of various sizes.
Brand is "Beccon" on the orange stove.

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[GreenTwin]

Part of an old chandelier.

Trivia question:
William (Bill) Lear of the Learjet and 8-track tape fame, had a daughter, and named her "Shanda Lear", which was a play on the word "Chandelier".

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[GreenTwin]

Here is a "Union", which is a narrow-styled wick stove.
I think you can still purchase modern versions of this stove.

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[GreenTwin]

A modern version of the stove/heater above.
Long wick in it.

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[GreenTwin]

I think this one says "Leader".
Dual-wick style.

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[GreenTwin]

This one says "Nesco", and looks to be fairly modern.
Side-mounted fuel tank.

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[GreenTwin]

A small antique-looking wick heater.

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[GreenTwin]

This is probably a wood stove.
Probably a bit hot to stand next to one of these in the summertime, assuming the exterior was not insulated.

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[GreenTwin]

There were many white gas type ovens/stoves, which had a fuel tank that was pressurized with a built-in pump.
The burner appears to be built onto the end of this fuel tank.

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[GreenTwin]

A "Turm" stove; the style of this I call a "vaporizer-type", which may or may not be an accurate label.
The fuel is vaporized in the tube where the tube passes through the flame.
Not a pressurized tank, but rather looks like gravity feed.

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[GreenTwin]

A pressurized-tank white-gas style modern burner.

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[GreenTwin]

A modern gravity-feed burner that is a vaporizer-type.
The key to one of these units functioning is to have a solid metal displacer inside the tube that is being heated.
The displacer causes the fuel to be spread out towards the wall of the outer tube, and thus give good vaporization action.
These seem to work well with diesel, but someone mentioned that fuel can puddle in the lower tube.

It is an interesting concept; not sure if I would fully trust one of these burners, and there are fuel types that could be very dangerous to use with this style burner.
I think you would want to a fuel with a flash point in the 125F and 150F, but I am not positive, and have not tried or built this burner.

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[GreenTwin]

And finally a electric Cretors "Earnmore" peanut roaster and popcorn popper.
These were the sales photos; I will try and get a cleaner photo tomorrow.

This unit is from 1912, and the motorized mechanisms as well as the motor all function.
The burners and atomizer/vaporizer would need to be cleaned up, and the fuel tank cleaned.
The fuel pump would probably need a new gasket, but it will create some pressure in the tank.

Bob Pearson (the Cretors expert and restoration guy from Kansas) explained to me how the vaporizer worked.
There was a rectanglar block of brass (I think I have a photo of that), and fuel was fed into that block from the pressurized fuel tank.
The block had a pilot light under it to heat it and vaporize the fuel, which was white gas.
The vaporized fuel could be fed to any of the three burners on the Earnmore.

The first burner was for the peanut roaster, is a cylindrical unit high up on the back, with a chute leading down to the storage/display area below the popcorn area.
The burner is located under the peanut drum.

The second burner is under the round popcorn roasting pan.

The third burner is at the back of the popcorn storage area, and kept the popcorn warm.

Some units had a torch to produce light, but I don't think this unit had a torch.

I was able to find the instructions for operating this burner/vaporizer system, so I may clean it up and try it one day, and roast some peanuts and popcorn.
The small drum on top with the glass enclosure and the clown was filled with peanuts, and it rotates when the machine is on.
It appears as if the clown is rotating the drum.
This feature was for display interest only.

You can see what the original new Cretors machine looked like in the print.

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[GreenTwin]

This was the Cretors popcorn and peanut roaster of the same style, from a few years earlier, and instead of an electrical motor, there was a steam engine on top, with a boiler below that was about the size of the electric Earnmore fuel tank, and the same shape.

Bob Pearson was restoring this unit in his shop.

These units were used in the days before electricity was available.

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[GreenTwin]

This is the Cretors No.06 that was used on the unit in the post above that I modeled in 3D.

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[GreenTwin]

This is an original No.06 Cretors owned by Ron McBride.

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[GreenTwin]

This is the Cretors atomizer/vaporizer that was used in the Earnmore.

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[GreenTwin]

Bob Pearson made reproduction Cretors popcorn wagons of all sizes, as well as the Cretors steam engines.
Bob had the castings for the new Cretors engines made from the original Cretors paterns, so the new parts where identical and interchangeable with the old Cretors engines.

Bob also figured out how to duplicate the old Cretors chipped glass, which is an incredible artform in my opinion.

Bob also made new copper boilers for steam-powered popcorn wagons that he made.

Pictured below is a full sized original Cretors popcorn wagon, which Bob was working on.
Bob made full sized Cretors popcorn wagons for Disney, and they can be seen in Disney parks all over the world.
Bob is an extraordinarily talented person; perhaps the most talented person I have ever met.

Edit:
Looks like I got a picture of Bob in the first photo.
Bob's shop was the most elaborate place I have seen too, and it was a full-blown commercial shop that was quite large, perhaps 20,000 sq.ft.
I was lucky to be able to tour Bob's shop in 2012.
He spent an entire day letting me explore his shop and take photos, and was extremely gracious in explaining all the old Cretors technology, how it was made, and how he made modern reproductions of it all.
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[Jasonb]

If you spent less time googling and posing what you find here you would have more time to actually make something or get that full size steam engine going so it can do your generating. Fire your boiler with diesel or wood.

If you had problems getting Gas then won't you have the same problems getting Diesel?

 

[GreenTwin]

It took me years to figure out my foundry oil burner, and when I finally figured out how to tune that correctly, I was able to consistently melt and cast gray iron.
So you can bet I take burner technology very seriously, especially after so many in NC got hung out to dry recently, and were basically on their own.
That storm hit partially in this state too, and this state abuts NC, so that was a little close for comfort.

I can't get out to the shop because that requires total mental focus, and I don't have that right now, both from a standpoint of workload, and the general mayhem that is happening in this country right now.
Everyone I know of is on edge tonight due to what may be the outcome for tomorrow.
I am just killing time posting whatever until the results get posted.

Trust me, it is as frustrating for me not being able to spend any significant time in the shop as I am sure it is to others who are anticipating some serious engine work. (JasonB is a very passionate engine designer/builder, and I really appreciate that passion, annoying though it may be at times).

I will get back to it next year, but until then there is nothing I can do but blog.
Burner technology knowledge is not wasted time in my opinion.
Knowledge is power, as they say.

Edit:
I have two large diesel tanks that are full, so I am set for a long time as far as diesel.
I actually ordered a diesel generator during COVID, since we were having numerous power outages that year that were shutting down my business. I waited I guess eight months on the generator, and the supplier could never commit to a date when they may be able to assemble and ship more generators. I finally cancelled the order.
Having survived the COVID crisis, and the associated supply chain crisis, I am thinking more low-tech solutions for the next crisis, and solutions that circumvent the very vulnerable supply chain.
The probability of a new crisis in this country right now, whether real or manufacturered, I am afraid is very high.
Hope for the best, but plan for the worst, as they say.

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