Fuel question

[Barnbikes]

Try to model a engine from Patent drawings.

Original 1890s drawings used city gas as fuel. What is comparable now? I read online that propane is to powerful and that Acetylene is more comparable.

Any thoughts?

 

[stevehuckss396]

Propane would be close wouldn't it? There is alot of info available for running on propane. I have never seen an engine running on acetylene.

 

[dave-in-england]

Try to model a engine from Patent drawings.

Original 1890s drawings used city gas as fuel. What is comparable now? I read online that propane is to powerful and that Acetylene is more comparable.

Any thoughts?

--------------------------------------

You can see at the bottom of this chart that both Propane and Acetylene
have much higher Kilo-Joules per cubic metre energy output than city coal gas.

http://www.thecartech.com/subjects/engine/fuel_calorific_value.htm

You could try Propane because it is easily available, and cheap, but you would need to use a needle valve control on the inlet venturi carefully to mix down the propane percentage with air in the inlet tube or you might melt your model with too much energy going in !!

.

 

[deverett]

The Schoenner / Parallax(?) engine of the late 19th C used town gas as fuel. Polly Models do a reproduction engine called the Atmospheric Gas Engine. It is possible to run this engine on propane with considerable mods to the ignitor, or acetylene. Problem with acetylene (in Europe at least) is that of obtaining small quantities of the gas at economic prices.

The designer of the AGE, Bruce Davey, suggests using 'carburetted propane' to mimic the approximate ignition range of town gas. Googling for carburetted propane produces no results, but it is basically propane bubbled through petrol with all air excluded.

Apparently, acetylene has an explosive ratio of between 4:1 and 14:1 and propane has an explosive ratio of 4:1. By using carburetted propane, the explosive range is widened to about 7:1, which, it is claimed is good enough to run the AGE.

Dave
The Emerald Isle

 

[Barnbikes]

Here is the patent drawing of the city gas carb.

 

[OrangeAlpine]

You might want to read this before using acetylene fuel.

http://douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/POWER/acetylene-eng/acetyleneeng.htm

By the way, how in the world can a fuel be too powerful??

Bill