Animations of Beam Engines-Newcomen, Watt and Cornish

How do Beam Engines work? Newcomen built the first commercially successful steam engine for pumping water out of mines in 1712. James Watt improved on the design 60-70 years later. And the Cornish Beam engine was a further refinement. This video carefully explains exactly how these three types of engine worked with the use of animations created by the narrator.
It is interesting that the Newcomen engines were only 0.5% efficient at converting heat energy into mechanical energy, but coal was plentiful in coal mines.
The Greek's developed a steam engine about 2000 years ago and it had similar efficiency as described in my web site www.HeroSteamEngine.com.
These animations show the water pump on the left "sucking" water up, out of the mine. This relies on atmospheric pressure in the mine, pushing the water up. The weight of 32 feet of water in a vertical pipe creates a pressure equal to atmospheric pressure. This means that atmospheric pressure cannot push water up more than 32 feet of pipe. In practice the limit is much less than 32 feet. Since many mines are much deeper than that, they had to find an alternative method. So instead of sucking water up the pipe they placed the pump underground and pushed the water up instead. In the gold mines in Thames, New Zealand they pumped water more than 1000 feet (300m) by using three pumps at 100m, 200m, and 300m.

[@PaulRietvoorn]

Finally a video that ACTUALLY shows the water being pumped out of the mine, rather than just ignoring the pump part altogether. Most videos only show the steam side of the beam. Thank you for this. I've been looking for a video like this for so long.

[@Evan-e-cent]

I'm glad you found it useful.

[@davidcyrilbrown]

Thank you so much for this video. I recently started volunteering as an engine driver for a steam operated beam engine, now when asked questions I shall refer to your explanation. The Watts Parallel motion linkage on our steam engine is fascinating to watch in motion, almost hypnotic.

[@Evan-e-cent]

That is great to hear! Where is the beam engine ypu are demonstrating? Kew?

[@walterbennie816]

In Britain from 1800 to 1900. 20,000 Water-wheels decreased in number. Windmills decreased in number. The Englishman Thomas Newcomen's 1,500 Atmospheric Pumps disappeared. The Scotsman James Watt's 500 Steam Engines and their descendants increased in number to 10,000,000 !!! For every SINGLE Water-wheel in 1800 there were now 500 Steam Engines in 1900 An increase in Power generation of between 400 and 500 times for the whole country, and consequently in production of goods or whatever. This WAS the Industrial Revolution. And it was all due to James Watt's invention of the world's first PRACTICAL Steam Powered Engine.

[@wattage-uk9zt]

If the engine or pump provides Steam Power, then it's a Steam Engine or Steam Pump, ( James Watt's machines ). If the engine or pump provides Atmospheric Power, then it's an Atmospheric Engine or Pump, ( Thomas Newcomen's machines ).

[@glyn829]

Well explained thanks often wondered how they worked

[@Evan-e-cent]

Glad you liked it. Thanks for the feedback.

[@lyedavide]

An excellent presentation! Thanks for the upload.

[@Evan-e-cent]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@mikerowe4297]

Great video. Thank you!

[@walterbennie816]

Atmospheric pressure is a friend to a Newcomen Atmospheric Pump, it's an enemy to Watt's High Pressure Steam Engine, in fact, it was a big problem for the first steam engines. Atmospheric pressure opposes a steam engine. The optional separate condenser on a Watt engine recirculates hot water and also eliminates Atmospheric Pressure.Makes Watt's High Pressure Steam Engine more efficient.

[@DECODEDVFX]

Good video, thanks.

[@Evan-e-cent]

Thanks for the complement! I did it with layers in PhotoShop. Now I am learning Blender at TheInventorCenter in Kingsport, TN. That is a steep learning curve! I see you are a big Blender fan.

[@symmachus898]

Hi. Brilliant video. Quick question, the cool water injection used to condense/create the vacuum, what was the process of injection? Was it gravity; having the cool water higher than the cylinder thus it was merely a case of knocking the cool water tap on/off in the stages of the engine cycle? Ta.

[@Evan-e-cent]

Yes. Since this part of the cycle relies on generating a "vacuum", it should not require much water pressure to inject water into the cylinder, and if necessary the water tank could be raised higher to give more pressure. Glad you liked it!

[@Evan-e-cent]

Hi. You were asking for a simple book about the history of steam engines. Sorry I am not aware of any such book but they may be available. Obviously I like the advantages of online animation. I should use animation software to do this but I did these using layers in PhotoShop.

[@symmachus898]

@@Evan-e-cent Apologies. I thought perhaps I might be giving you extra work by asking for more information, thus I deleted said question.

[@edwardcarrington3531]

@@Evan-e-cent lm

[@Evan-e-cent]

3000 views exactly one year after it was produced.

[@choss0]

What did they use to seal the pistons in the 1700s?

[@Evan-e-cent]

I don't know precisely. Piston rings were not invented until 1825. Prior to that pumps used leather. In the early days of steam engine development they had problems making cylinders round. Eventually engineers developed a boring machine for making cannons and it was also used for boring cylinders. These engines used large cylinders and the ratio of circumference divided by steam volume is reduced. This reduces the effect of air or steam loss past the piston.

[@walterbennie816]

Newcomen and Savery dumped High Pressure Steam Power for Atmospheric Power. Newcomen's Atmospheric Pump supplied Atmospheric Power, so, Atmospheric Pump. James Watt dumped Newcomen's Atmospheric Power and Arkwright's Water-Power for High Pressure Steam Power. He had to invent a new engine to achieve this, the world's first PRACTICAL High Pressure Steam Engine. This was the one and only invention that kicked of the Industrial Revolution. Watt's engine supplied High Pressure Steam Power, so, Steam Engine. Like a Water-Wheel supplies Water Power and a Windmill supplies Wind Power. If you want Rotary Motion or Steam power you definitely don't want a Newcomen Atmospheric Pump! You Need a Watt High Pressure Steam engine! Even a 100% efficient Newcomen pump will only give 14.7psi of Atmospheric power, and we know that's impossible! In practice it would be 10psi. Max .and no rotary power. It couldn't be improved, even by James Watt.

[@wattage-uk9zt]

The difference between Newcomen's Atmospheric Pump and Watt's High Pressure Steam engine is nothing to do with efficiency. It was all to with James Watt's dumping of Thomas Newcomen's Atmospheric Power and Arkwright's Water-Power for High Pressure Steam Power. Pretty Simple really, but I guess it must be a secret, nobody wants to mention it! To achieve that he had to INVENT a new engine, the world's first PRACTICAL High Pressure Steam Engine. It was the one and only invention that kicked of the Industrial Revolution. It was a power revolution. For the first time in human history we could replace the 2000 years or more old Water-wheel with something better.

[@user-ey6oi4xw8r]

In Newcomen's Atmospheric Pump, Atmospheric Pressure does the work. In Watt's Steam Engine, Steam Pressure does work, just like a Locomotive! Take away James Watt's Steam Power and you've got no Industrial Revolution! No millions more Steam Powered Factories, Steamships, Locomotives etc.etc.etc. Just Newcomen Atmospheric Pumps and Arkwright's 2000 or more years old Water-Power.

[@frederickbowdler8169]

always confusing should have been called vacuum engine as vacuum comes before atmosphere.

[@frederickbowdler8169]

no it doesn't work as you say your diagram is misleading chambers were separated

[@Evan-e-cent]

The later engines are shown with a hot steam source and a separate cold condensing chamber with the working piston between. So two chambers are shown, although your definition of 'it' is not clear.

[@frederickbowdler8169]

I think I understand it now it is a clever engine when one considers the poor materials then available.

[@walterbennie816]

Watt's engine doesn't use atmospheric pressure, it uses steam pressure and supplies steam power. He said in his patent, if there's no water to cool a condenser, release used steam directly to the atmosphere. It works without a condenser. An atmospheric engine can't, it basically is a condenser. Watt's engine can use one to recirculate hot water and at the same time eliminate atmospheric pressure, which opposes a steam engine. Some manufacturers thought Watt's tolerances impossible to achieve, they had to improve their engineering. Some thought it too complicated to work. It's easy to create and condense steam, not so easy to keep it hanging around, outside the boiler long enough to move it around an engine and drive massive slow moving machinery without it condensing. Using high pressure steam, a new engine, and his own ideas on how to make it work, Watt invented the first practical steam engine. They'd built cylinders for atmospheric engines for 70 years but still didn't come up with a steam engine in all that time! Watt didn't have a factory or money and had to make a living at the same time. I don't see the difference between high and low pressure steam engines, they're all steam engines. Naturally the first ones will have lower pressures. It took another 70 years to get pressure high enough for a locomotive, Watt being long gone by then! Also don't know how they got a patent for a crank, they've been around since biblical times. But it shows the opposition he had in his work.

[@Evan-e-cent]

I respectfully beg to differ. To my mind a steam engine can use high-pressure steam, low-pressure steam, or steam induced vacuum. All three types are "steam engines". therefore Newcomen's was the first commercially successful steam engine.

[@walterbennie816]

The truth. For a change. All the bluster about heating and cooling cylinders, steam at atmospheric pressure, substitution of suction power for steam power,Watt not inventing the steam engine, doesn't change the fact that the Thomas Newcomen atmospheric pump was not a steam engine and Watt's was. James Watt didn't improve Newcomen's pump. It couldn't be improved, it was a 70 year long deadend. Even Arkwright had to make do with a remote water wheel. Watt invented a new engine,a steam powered engine (one that actually worked). A new beginning. It was the one and only invention that created the industrial revolution. Before him,no steam engines, after him, steam engines everywhere, thousands more factories, utilities and more, steamboats, locomotives, etc.etc.etc. The industrial revolution.

[@Evan-e-cent]

Hi Walter, Thank you for your input. Your interpretation fits with the view of many people who feel that Watt is responsible for the invention of the steam engine. That is certainly a valid point of view, and I would not strongly argue against it, and you brought up some good points about the importance of the developments. But I feel that it depends on your definition of a "steam engine". There were so many people involved in the process, developing various aspects of the technology, that I don't see any one person as THE inventor of the steam engine. In fact nearly all the components that Watt put together to build his steam had been invented by others - starting with Papin's development of the piston and cylinder. Watt came along at a time when the engineering technology was reaching the point where it was making it all possible. This includes the development of the boring machine for boring cannon, which could be used to bore cylinders.