WATTS LINKAGE BEAM ENGINE retrol  

Oh, you deserve a thumbs up Sir!

Thanks Mr. Pete, it's always a blessing to start the day with one of your videos.

You did a fantastic job explaining the linkage. Thank you.

The special parallel pliers that you have is a good example

Happy Birthday Henry, thanks Mr Pete

You always deserve a thumbs up Lyle, I'd give you two if they'd let me.

Good to show the tackle box to illustrate how far into everyday life this invention has penetrated. Your model is exquisite. You will I am sure know that in Watt type real life pumping engines that beam casting could weigh upwards of 50 tons. Mounting them in a stone building atop a Cornish sea cliff was surely a art in itself. Yes, great video Mr.Pete 👍🏼

Fascinating!! Mr pete your dad came out today from your memories . Thanks for the hard work it takes to make the video great work !!

When I was a kid I read a story by Mark Twain called “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”, about a machinist & engineer who accidentally travels back in time, and then attempts to modernize Medieval Britain. I sometimes wonder what I could practically achieve if I traveled back in time to preindustrial Britain, or even Ancient Rome, with just the clothes on my back and my knowledge and wits. Could I build a steam locomotive, for example? I understand the basic theory. But there’s all kinds of little details like this linkage and the problem of non-linear crankshaft motion that get glossed over when you read about the history of steam engines, or don’t come into play on toy models. This is good stuff. I’d be curious which steam engine design Mr. Pete would make if he were the time traveler, and wanted to make a prototype locomotive.

One of Watt's critical improvements was to inject cooling water into the cylinder at the completion of the expansion stroke. This would condense the steam at about 120-140 F, which causes a deep vacuum. This results in a powerful suction on the piston and generates power on the return motion of the piston. The piston does not rely on flywheel momentum to return the piston. The water flow is adjusted so that it is evaporated as it condenses the steam. This is a simple addition that approximately doubles the power output for no increase in steam demand for a single-action steam engine- Genius! Later, this was adapted to double acting engines, where water was injected on one side to condense steam, while pressurized steam was injected on the other. This also provided huge gains of power.

It IS difficult to explain that link motion. You nailed it if we paid attention. It's trying to keep the piston and its rod as close in line with the cylinder bore as possible. The arcing connection between the beam and the piston rod passes equally above and below the link mount keeping the piston straight in the bore. Aww shoot, i should stay my fingers. The slow motion drive and different angles of viewing helped a lot for me. You said you would and you are a man of your word as always Thank you!

Good Morning MR PETE I truly love the engineering that goes into the BEAM engines. Every time I watch one of your videos I learn something new. 👍👍 When I was in electronics class in I guess 1985 I remember hearing a story about him and back then I was more interested in other things. I actually made a folding staircase that used WATTS engineering and I didn’t even realize.I love the detail you go into on every video. Thanks for another treasure……

I like the slow motion views of that classic engine

An absolutely fascinating topic, thanks, that beam engine looks so graceful when running, just beautiful

A piston with a wrist pin has to have a skirt to keep it aligned with the bore. The cylinder has to be a little longer to accommodate the skirt at the end of the stroke. What could the advantage be with the very complicated parallel linkage? It's beautiful and mesmerizing but must have been costly. The benefit of a double acting cylinder makes the cross head system understandable. Just wondering.

Enjoyed the video a lot. The close ups really helped understand the assembly.

Thanks Mr Pete

Thanks for covering Watts… important about this mechanism .

I worked on and operated worlds largest stationary steam engine 33,000 hp (mesta steam engine) republic steel Cleveland Ohio engine was used to drive 44" rolling mill.I was also engine repairman until layoffs in 1983. 2 hi pressPistons weighed 7 tons,low press 11tons. My dad started in engine room from 1952 until 1982. We had steam duplex pumps for 600 psi H2O press for mill equipment operation, steam driven air compressor,Jack G.

You will notice that the movement of the connecting rod in the pictures of Watt’s earliest models is transmitted to the flywheel via cog wheels. At the time of his early developments, the simple crank had been patented and Watt used his ingenuity to circumvent the problem of connecting lateral motion to circular motion of the flywheel. From early days fraught with problems, Watt’s partnership with Matthew Boulton, of the Soho Works, Birmingham, allowed two geniuses to help develop efficient power for the Industrial Revolution. I recommend reading about both. Watt devised a friction drum method for working out the power of a horse (used everywhere in small manufactories to work a ‘gin’ to rotate machinery) in terms of foot pounds weight per second, (550). Cleverly, the small engines when sold, were underrated, so one replacing, say, two horses, would easily cope with the work requirements and a happy customer ensued. I’m not sure how he would look on metric units, but at least he is in unison with another famous Briton since 1 Watt = 1 Joule per second.* * Joule was an outstanding man of science who ran a brewery and worked on the mechanical equivalent of heat, and much, much more. He lived for while in 1850 in the city of Salford (near Manchester, southeast of Bolton, UK, my home town). This house is preserved. Thank you, Mr. Pete. 👍🇬🇧👍🇺🇸👍

Spiffy, Nifty cool Lyle.. That little Gear reduction drive motor makes Your stuff come to life.. Thanks Much...

A pantagraph, one for drawing and one to collect the current for an electric loco. Jolly good show!

I'm near 70 yr old now but as a kid growing up in the rural south . Once chores were done I would grab a volume of Encyclopaedia Britannica book's of knowledge that where printed over 20 yrs ago at that point and would read them from cover to cover . I learned to read at 5 yrs old of course much of it I didn't understand at the time . I was destined to be a mechanic, as stuff like this just fascinated me . Was always getting myself in trouble trying to build or recreate things , like once when I was around 9 yrs old I ruined Moms tea kettle trying to adapt it to a steam engine I was building. Man that was whipping I've never forgotten 🙄🤣🤣. Or when I was like 7 an decided to disassemble a Scott's Outboard engine Dad had in the shed , yep another trip to the Woodshed for me 😮.

Very interesting topic, such a nice but simple mechanism. Kind of funny, but I paused and drew a pic of your tackle box, as just yesterday, I was trying to draw such a thing to make a pull down tool shelf for the shop. Thank you.

Great job. Thank you 😊

Nice photography Mr. Pete! Thanks! (repaying your compliment to me)

Bobcat skid steers offer a parallel lift mechanism, confusing to talk or describe but brilliant in simplicity. As always Mr Pete your vid provide many lessons. Thank you

Good stuff. ...and a proud Grampa too !!

I have an old 1967 Case payloader I use for snow removal and farm chores. There is a linkage on the bucket and lift cylinders that reminds me of this. As you raise and lower the bucket it doesn't tip upward or downward it remains level. Keeping the cutting edge level was a probably a big deal when cutting in a basement or foundation. It helps me prevent scalping the driveway when pushing snow. I wonder if it isn't a Watt variant...

Thank you for your edutainment efforts. I truly love your videos.

The engine was scrapped😂. My Dads picture is in Smithsonian in D.C. showing him operating engine in pulpit along with the roller and the manipulater. Great videos Thnx. I will follow them.

James watt lived in my town (Bo’ness) for a while where he developed the condensing steam engine. His cottage and cast iron boiler is still there today

Excellent explanation!!

Mrpete you deserve a big thumbs up 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Thank you, an interesting talk, I have in the past been fortunate to operate an Easton & Anderson pumping engine, to see one of these massive engines operate on live steam is awe inspiring. I never got tired of watching the parallel motion & the 25 ton flywheel.

Always enjoy your content and very clear concise explanations. The older Bobcat loaders would raise the arms and bucket in a similar arcing motion. The newer ones have a more sophisticated linkage similar to your parallel beam pump which would cause the loader bucket to raise straight up versus in an arcing motion like the old ones. Hope that helps, keep up the good work old timer there’s still much to be learned by those still willing to listen

Whilst James Watt had many great inventions he also held back the steam engine with his objections to the ue higher pressure steam, Mr Pete you made reference to Scottish coal but Tin mining in Cornwall was in the early day's where the money was.

Super ! thank you, that is the most interesting part of the model ! best regards Steve

Thank you Mr Pete.

Lyle - Well Happy Birthday to Henry. I'm late viewing this as an early start to go to my granddaughter's science fair presentation - she'll be 14 next month. A good video. Those of us who are mechanical engineers of the slide rule and steam table vintage remember linkages well. Kinematics course junior year, 1968. Studied the four bar linkage to death in starting before Watt's parallel design using 6 bars. No matter the complexity of the mechanism it can be broken down into smaller parts and analyzed. Watts was a genius who contributed much to the practical application of steam power - and the principles still work even today. Now we can go into the thermodynamics and heat/mass transfer of the steam supply - LOL. Have a good weekend.

The 4 bar linkage is common on many cars to keep the tires at 90 degrees to the road. The old VW beetles had rear axles which swung in an arc horizontally and the car could roll over in a sharp turn. The Nukan design is what is used on oil well pump jacks. The curved end of the beam describes a straight line motion for the cable. The Watt linkage is something to consider on a scroll saw so the blade doesn't move horizontally when it is moving up and down. Just a thought. Thanks for the demo of that beautiful engine.

That was a very good video

This was a very interesting subject. I will be looking up a bit on this.

Watt the heck that was a good one. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.

this is a wonderful video, and description of this very nice engine, The inventor was a genius in his day. Thanks for sharing this. Makes me want to build one.:0)

Well done! With this video I finally understand it. Now if only someone do the same for the pratt & whitney R4360 valve and cam mechanism.

Watts Links work nicely in vehicle suspension-systems. They tend to track well, and are very rigid.

Hi MrPete. You should have a google at the ‘crofton beam engines’ and their history. They were pumping engines on a UK canal which essentially allowed for the passage of boats over a hill with locks either side so the top pound would not run dry. They are up there as right at the beginning when it came to James Watt and Matthew Boulton

Eliminating the arc to produce true linear reciprocating motion. Very clever.

There is a HUGE example of a WATTS engine used for pumping water to Hamilton ONtario . It is presently housed in the Steam Museum. I believe it has a 14' dia Flywheel. Very impressive to watch. It is operated by Air Pressure. Thanks.

Thanks again

...and James Watt established the unit of the "HORSEPOWER"-(!)

Thanks for all this information - I would like to build an engine to use at the farm. Henry is a handsome young guy !! John

Double compound ,recipicating,condensing Engine, it had a small vertical steam cylinder to open main throttle steam valve which was operated bye engine in pulpit ,it also had a reversing engine to change positions of 6 eccentric rods to change running from over to under in a few seconds.

The Watts linkage is a simple parallelogram with hinged corners.

I believe that some letterpresses which used cylinder type vacuum pumps to generate suction for feeding paper into the press and then out, they had some of this linkage. In fact many of the old paper feeding systems had this kind of link ups. They stack of paper had to be fed in parallel to the plain of the feeding table that introduced the sheet into the printing head.

Watts linkage is also used in car suspension

thanks tube, great information. keep it coming. not told to learn. 79.

My great great great grandfather James watt 😊

Mr. Pete the motion of tackle box trays and car suspensions are not Watt in that the arc is still there and while parallel the parallel moves sideways. The genius of Watt was converting a limited arc into linear motion in a FIXED PLANE. Do you have a pantograph tucked away somewhere? A facinating device to explorer parallel, scaling and lineal v, arc motion.

Did Watt invent that style of governer? That alone is an amazing advance, in its simplicity and functionality... Somehow, it reminds me of the bi-metallic strip that Harrison invemted- a peripheral component that, in its simplicity, reliability, etc, is genius and really contributed to the engines functionality - a self correcting component!

The fixed pivot constrains the non-piston side of the parallelogram to follow an arc that compensates for the off axis motion of the beam… neat.

Back when design was more about the best rather than the cheapest. 🙂

Love the steam engine videos. The low speed motor you're using to run the engine is interesting. Wondering what it was used on? Drive motor for a mig welder? Thanks for another great video with all the great photos and explanations.

Morning Lyle

Good morning

The Land rover discovery 2 has a Watts linkage on the rear axel to keep the axel's lateral alignment to the chassis.

Is there a story on the little electric Moter you used?

Most of Watt's developments and improvements were made during his stay in Cornwall, in fact just two miles from my home. A business collaboration with Mathew Boulton lead to a rapid expansion in the use of their engines. The downside was the crippling patent attatched to the designs, and the court cases that ensued when anyone sought o improve their design. This in turn actually hindered further development by independent engineers.

She's pretty! They don't make em like that anymore.❤

I use a vertical fall perpendicular to gravity fall system to pump my water. In other words I use rain water from my gutter.

👍

Could you have shown how the governor is connected to the steam engine. I could see it there motionless behind the linkage.

Hello MrPete, Thanks for the great videos on this Retrol engine, I just got one and have it together but before I run it I have a question. What kind of oil is put in the piston? Also, where would dI get it? Thank you sir

As I understand Watt's linkage was invented to enforce straight line movement of piston rod before accurate metal planers and shapers were made. If you want to see beam engines in action with Watt's linkage search for Crossness Pumping Station - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Zlp1aG1VJRI.html (grasshopper linkage) or Papplewick - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ERzWRQL_2kc.html

I have a watts link suspension under my v8 s10.

I'm surprised he lived till 83 years old in that time period.

I just bought the retol steam engine. Any idea what is the best oil (spmething avaliable locally) that I can use for cylinder lubrication? Can I use WD-40 to lubricate the piston?

A scissor lift uses the linkage.

Thanks again Mr. Pete for an excellent explanation of James Watt's important invention in 1784, which allowed doubling of the piston power over a single acting design, which has only a pull stroke. While his "parallel linkage" generates true straight-line motion but only over a limited range, it's very close. A linkage invented in 1864, however, provides perfect rotary-to-straight line motion. It was invented by two men working independently , a Frenchman named Charles Peaucellier and a Lithuanian, Yom Lipkin. This llinkage is more complex to build but provides perfect transfer motion. Both linkages can be seen at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ey-EvvKhHlk.html&ab_channel=Blackfoxsteam.

Although it's taboo to speak about, but the peoples of Western and Northern Europe pretty much invented everything.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pWek9ikgjzM.htmlfeature=shared CROSSNESS pumping station beam engine (beam 47 tons)

Give me a thumbs up but only if I deserve it is such an adorable old man thing to say, and I will find a way to give you 8 thumbs up.

Not interested in bought machine demonstrations

It would make sense for the piston to go directly up and down, and not pivot on the piston rod that would cause more resistance friction, the sides of the cylinder, and the piston somewhat,,, you explained it OK

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight-line_mechanism