Seeing what the valve timing looks like by driving the sleeve without the crank assembly. Looking closer to standard, certainly enough to run the engine. 😁😁 #chopper #engine #enginebuild #bigsingle #engineering
I've never seen that before. Very interesting. These old engines being aero engines must have a long service life but I know you said to me last week I think that the sleeve is lubed by slash but it's got a huge surface area and runs steel against ally. I would have thought there would be a lot of wear as the sleeve saws it's way up and down. Nowadays we have nikasil and other coatings for friction but this is just bare. It must be ok because that's how it was done so I think I've got a bit more learning to do about this engine.
remembering that radial engines by dint of the crank rotating sling oil outward against the periphery of the crankcase so while if the sleeves were splash lubed, it would have been a somewhat highly forceful splash
Fun fact: The British sleeve valve engines were totally unreliable (drinking up all their oil then seizing) but then they found one cylinder on a prototype Hercules that was good and also "immortal". They checked all the production records and a sloppy worker went to grind a cylinder on an American Sunnen Centreless Grinder and didn't "dress" the grind stone at all and because of the machine's automated function (worked off metal removal and not time) the dull stone took 10 hours to do the job supposed to be done in 50 minutes. The dull stone produced a beautiful "smeared metal" mirror finish with enhanced surface properties (grinding grit liquified and blended/embedded in the base metal). So the sleeve valve engine makers cried to Churchill who cried to Roosevelt and America put AN ENTIRE YEAR'S PRODUCTION OF SUNNEN CENTRELESS GRINDERS on a ship and sent them all to them. I live in Kansas City and we build a vast Government Facility to manufacture our all-new World Beating C-Series Pratt & Whitney R-2800 under contract with Chevrolet. But they could not make wrist pins, valve stems and myriad other hardened and ground part because - No Centreless Grinders. USA had to finish out WWII with A and B Series R-2800s. A very few C's were built and installed in P-47N-models which fought in the Pacific. How much better was a C-Series versus the older engines? Well my Dad was on the throttle in a test cell where a C-Series prototype screamed out FOUR THOUSAND HORSEPOWER with water injection and 130 inches of boost FOR 24 FULL HOURS.
A lot less, though I don't have any figures to support that. The drive is very smooth in comparison, there's no cam so there's no 'snatch' as the cam goes over the top. Sleeve valves tend to be a lot quieter in operation for the same reason.
Sleeve valve engines were a dead end. If you make $100,000 dollar engines that perform a little better versus a bunch of $10,000 dollar engines that are 95% as good - you have shot yourself in the foot before you even started the race.
It has nothing to do with building a better engine. It's about showing us something they tried 100+ years ago. I'm 69 and till a few days ago had never heard of a Sleeve valve engine. I've worked on just about every type of engine out there from Steam, flat heads, 2 & 4 stroke and rotary. The last few days I've learned so much. Just wish this man had been my High School Teacher.
@@patrickshaw8595 I don't think you can make a sweeping statement like that. There are a lot of other factors to consider..Sleeve valve engines like the Hercules and Centaurs were widely used in aviation to great success, included a big part of the war effort. Only the jet age put an end to them. For automotive use the poppet valve became established and the manufacturers were very risk adverse. Do some reading up, it's quite interesting.
People like you with little understanding of grate ideas and good engineering are the reason we are still stuck with inefficient poppet valve engines , sleeve valves are and were well ahead of their time , now materials and methods have been able to catch up, think outside the box , do some research and don't be a sheep be a Shepard ! Good work guys on a worthy principal ,
