I am the owner of a stationary engine
There. I’ve said it. It’s now out and in the public domain. Shameful, isn’t it? I have no recollection of when I first discovered such things, but start one up, sit me alongside it and watch me fall into a trancelike stupour for as long as the petrol lasts! When I was a much younger man in the late 60’s, it would take any amount of questionable chemicals to induce the same effect, so I suppose that’s progress of a sort.
I’ll leave it with you to decide whether it’s for the better.
So … for those who might have even a passing interest, stationary engines were made in their thousands by several companies from the very early days of the petrol engine as a mobile means of powering other, larger machines with no engine power of their own. The heavy round wheel on the side would drive the other machine by connecting the two together with a belt. No guards, no means of instantly switching it off and perfectly capable of inflicting terrible damage to a hand or arm caught between the belt and flywheel!
This one was made by Ruston Hornsby Ltd. of Lincoln, England in July 1939. The original owner was H. Morris and Son. I have no idea who they were and have had no luck tracking them down. This engine is the PB6 model, 1.5 – 2 BHP at 700 to 1000 RPM. The flywheel magneto ignition is by Villiers.
Come on. Wakey wakey you there at the back!
The story goes that the original Ruston Hornsby factory was quite a landmark in Lincoln for many years and went on to make all sorts of heavy machinery, like cranes for instance. When the company eventually folded, overtaken by advances in technology, the factory stood empty and increasingly derelict until someone bought the site and started to demolish the old works. On surveying the buildings first, all the original factory records were found in the upstairs offices and some thoughful person rescued the lot. As a result, I have been able to send the serial number of this engine off and get it’s manufacturing record plus original engineering drawings and copy of the original owners manual.
At some point, when the fancy takes me, I’ll post a video of it running.
Cardicwtch 
“HUZZAH!” Is it Hit and Miss or constant running/governed? I nearly bought a Lister one a few years ago, (it was an absolute bargain from an old boy in Builth) but I thought about it for a bit and to be honest, it would have ended up just gathering dust in the garage like most of my projects, SWMBO wasn’t overly keen either 😉 so I passed on it. Come armageddon, I reckon a steam powered one is more practical, perhaps I might have to build a medium sized one, LOL! pipe dreams, pipe dreams. 🙂 XXXX
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It’s a constant runner, but if you get the revs right down it develops a randomness that sends my mind down a wormhole 😂
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Fab! You are a lucky chap, I look forwards to seeing and hearing it when all of this is over,,,,, hopefully! 🙂 XXXX
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🙂
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