sleeve valve engine ports and sleeve 3of3

[@smallenginedude71]

i dont think people appreciate the amount of machining and work involved to make this. beautiful craftsmanship mate. awesome work.

[@ChargerMiles007]

You are indeed correct, we built it as a team for a university senior project. I estimate it took us novice machinists 400 hours to make this, modifying existing components, and machining new ones, like the junk head (cylinder head).

[@smallenginedude71]

ChargerMiles007 400 hours, that does not surprise me. does this still run?

[@ChargerMiles007]

It could still run, but I took it apart about 5 years ago to make some as built drawings of the parts, so it is still sitting in a box. Though this isn't all bad, since I can view the various parts now.

[@TheHarryMann]

Are you aware that Bristol Aero Engines spent over £1 million with Firth Brown steels in the 1930s finding a solution to the sleeve material and manufacturing process to allow good low oil consumption and to minimise sleeve distortion. This technology was passed to Napier during the war after their own troubles, at Government request, although I imagine money changed hands. Are you aware also of a recent book on wartime aero'engine development called "The Secret Horsepower Race" by Callum Douglas ?

[@JimiHendrix998]

A labour of love. Great piece of machining. I would like to see the sleeve drive uncovered and working too! Thank you for uploading this.

[@ChargerMiles007]

I can show the sleeve drive, but showing it driving the sleeve is difficult to do, as the crankcase cover would hide it. I will see if I can make a vid.

[@ChargerMiles007]

Hey, thanks for the nice comment. I think this probably is the only sleeve valve lawnmower engine in the world. It was actually built in 1990, and started and ran on the first pull!!!! A group of 6 of us at university designed it and 3 of us built it, as our senior project. It took us inexperienced machinists about 400 hours to build it. We then ran it on a dyno for numerous hours to test the torque & hp, modifying the engine, increasing compression, different intake manifolds etc.

[@gilbertdavies]

Excellent work, you Chaps. Machining, maths working out lag & lead plus refining same. Well done

[@tileajb1]

All things mechanical interest me and I have to say to have built something like this yourself is no mean achievement. I cannot even begin to imagine the machining skills required to produce this engine, something to be proud of, well done!

[@ChargerMiles007]

Thanks, a group of us built it at university, so we were all just learning, you can see some scars on the outside of the sleeve from gauling during machining, but we got it done in the end. A machinist friend made this block and sleeve drive for me, it is much tighter than the original, using ball bearings instead of bushings. Steam engines are cool also, they sure made some monsters for trains! I think the Titanic's low pressure pistons were 8 feet acrossed!

[@TheCannonofMohammed]

Who thinks this kind of stuff up? The intelligence of some engineers amazes me. Maybe they burn a lot of oil but the operation was positively awesome.

[@ChargerMiles007]

They solved the oil burning problem on the supercharged airplane engines, they consumed about the same amount of oil as a regular poppet valve engine. I agree, some people are very gifted at dreaming new machines up, I can't do that, I can only adapt small briggs engines to operate different ways.

[@deeremeyer1749]

The sleeve valve engine was and is an epic failure. There's a difference between "intelligent" and "smart".

[@ChargerMiles007]

@tileajb1 Thanks, I appreciate the comment. Briggs and Stratton were also impressed by the engine back about 15 years ago when I sent them some photos and info about it. I can't take all the credit though, since there were a group of 3 of us that did the machining, and 6 of us students did the design work to adapt the lawnmower engine to use a sleeve valve. It was indeed a learning experience, and we were all very happy when it started up and ran on the very first pull ! :)

[@Jim-ie6uf]

Miles, absolutely amazing engineering.

[@ChargerMiles007]

Thanks, i can't take all of the credit though, as a team of 6 of us designed and built this as a senior project at university. 3 of us put in about 400 hours of machining time, admittedly were were beginning machinists!

[@ChargerMiles007]

No, we used this as a senior project at university, it took us beginning machinists about 400 hours to make all the parts. We had a few false starts, and messed a few parts up. I had a sleeve drive shaft tear out of the lathe and gointo a ceiling tile! :) We were very lucky, with a little priming, it started up the very first pull ! It revs about 6400rpm on the top end :)

[@pitomnik]

Finally I understand how it works. Best regards from Brasil.

[@ChargerMiles007]

@tpearl209 Sorry, I meant to reply to this sooner. You will never see another Briggs like this one, since a group of us built this engine as a university senior project. The engine is about a 1980 engine, we got it running this way in 1990. It actually ran on the first pull ! :) Although it was only running on 1 inlet and 1 exhaust port that night, since we weren't finished grinding out the port passages in the port section of the engine, but now it runs on 3 inlet and 2 exhaust ports.

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, using a smaller piston made building this engine much easier. In the end I also swapped out the stock conrod for a .200 longer one from a model11 4 horse Briggs (pre 1990, or whenever they changed things). This allowed us to re-machine the head to a better shape, and increase compression to about 9.3 at the same time. In hindsight, I wish I had went a bit higher with the compression, but who knows how far to go before something Bites the dust! With 400 hours invested, that would be Nasty!

[@torukmacto4879]

Sehr schönes Video. Hätte nicht gedacht das das so kompliziert ist...

[@jameswoodcock7902]

ive never seen this type of engine and ive seen quite a few but i like it its different

[@ChargerMiles007]

This is a 3-1/2 horse Briggs and Stratton lawnmower engine, that a group of university students modified into a sleeve valve engine, for our Senior project. Basically it now uses a different type of valve system to get the air and gas into and out of the cylinder. This type of valve mechanism was developed around 1920, and saw a lot of use during WW2 in the Napier Sabre and in various Bristol radial engines such as the Hercules and Centaurus. Mt lawnmower has revved to 6400rpm :)

[@ty2u]

It makes the sleeve valve engine easier to understand. Thanks!

[@ChargerMiles007]

You are welcome. I have gotten a few comments like yours over the years, and I appreciate them. Just glad I have helped a few people better understand how simple a sleeve valve really is, and how the drive mechanism works.

[@mavericmorph5358]

Good video. Always liked this design, the engine was always a bit of an oil burner though.

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, it seems that most un-supercharged sleeve valve engines suck some oil into the cylinder.I think Mike Hewland in the UK solved those problems in the early 1970s, from the article I read in Car and Driver. I talked with him once on the phone, and he gave me some helpful pointers, sad to hear he passed away a few years ago. His company Hewland Gearboxes is still doing well.My son has suggested I try to supercharge this engine, I just have too many other projects on the go to give it a whirl :)

[@ChargerMiles007]

Hi there, Actually, it is Miles :) Anyway, thanks for the info. I don't have any students, but my son and I machine when we have access to equipment. Sleeve valves are neat engines, and run well, this one ran on the very first pull!

[@ChargerMiles007]

I have a bunch of vids of this engine, I rev it up to about 6400rpm one one :) Sleeve valve engines were used a lot during WW2 in England. Some more numerous ones were the Bristol Hercules (14 cylinder) , the Bristol Centaurus (18 cylinder) and the Napier Sabre a flat H two crankshaft 24 cylinder Sreaming Meanie!!!! :) Rolls Royce also built a flat H 24 cylinder, the Eagle, and they made six V-12 two stroke supercharged sleeve valved "Crecy" engines. Those were Beasts!

[@schlusselmensch]

@ChargerMiles007 I see you had to resort to having the piston rings sweep the ports. As I recall the Bristols did not do this so I imagine that would explain a lot of your oil consumption? Perhaps a piston with a custom shaped dome would've given the compression you were aiming for without port to ring interference? I've just bought a Willys Knight six with a stuck engine and am looking forward to freeing it up and hearing (barely) it run again. You could drop your compression and supercharge?

[@adamskinner5868]

great demo of how a sleeve valve works, well explained and demonstrated. Was wondering what they were and how they worked and now I know so thanks for that Still seems kind of complex with both the sleeve and piston going up and down and I don't get why the head is like an upside down static piston with rings but then my understanding of engines is rather basic. Also with a piston going up and down in a sleeve going up and down, I was wondering about lubrication and heat expansion? I'll have to look into it further.

[@ChargerMiles007]

The Rolls Royce Crecy is a 2 stroke sleeve valve, it only has about 15 somewhat circular ports for the intake, the exhaust flows over the top of the sleeve, quite a unique Beast! I hope to complete my Briggs version sometime, I want to hear it run! Check out my Blue covered Supercharged 2 stroke, it uses inlet ports, and both valves for exhaust, like a GM series 71 two stroke.

[@3DRIGEUR]

Good work and thanks for the clips. The sleeve drive? Did you drive it with the Bristol movement of a crank in ball joint or cylindrical threaded bush with crank hole in it? Did you machine the sleeve/follower arm out of one piece or bolt the follower arm on?

[@ChargerMiles007]

@shooter348 Thanks for watching these vids :) The sleeve valve engines really came to lfe in British aircraft during WW2, such as the 24 cylinder Napier Sabre in the Hawker Typhoon and Tempest. The Bristol Hercules 14 cylinder radial engine was used mainly in bombers, and the 18 cylinder Centaurus was used in the Hawker Sea Fury fighter, some of which are still flying, mainly in races.

[@ChargerMiles007]

@carnivore10 The sleeve is only connected to the sleeve drive shaft by the 3/8" dia. pin that sticks out from the sleeve. The pin slips in and out of the ball joint slightly, as the sleeve drive shaft rotates. Thats a good point, none of my vids really show that very well. I would take the engine apart to show the entire sleeve, but this particular one it a bit of a bear to get together, so once was enough. My first version with the 1 inch thick spacer that housed the sleeve drive was easier.

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yea, thinking about it, I believe it would actually be harder to build a poppet valve (the regular type of valves employed in most engines today) from scratch, than a sleeve valve. Imagine the fun making a camshaft, as well as the valves and seats all from scratch. The exhaust valve would burn up in no time made from mild steel! So in some respects the sleeve valve was more friendly to build. :)

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yeah, at least most of the machining on the sleeve valve is done on a lathe, or a mill. Building and machining an air cooled overhead valve cylinder head would be a Major pain! Of course the sleeve ports presented a challenge also!

[@ChargerMiles007]

@KrankieV2 Actually, it lubricates itself! The oil works its way along the sleeve, even in the big Aircraft engines, there was no problem with that, and they used about the same amount of oil as a poppet valve engine.

[@ChargerMiles007]

No oil in the gasoline. This is a regular 4 stroke engine, it just gets rid of the normal camshaft and valves. The sleeve valve oils itself from what the oil dipper splashes around. The sleeve is cooled by the engine block cooling fins. Granted the sleeve is a heat barrier for the heat from the piston to get to the cooling fins, but that hasn't proven to be a big problem with these engines. The Napier Sabre made about 5000 hp, maintaining 3750 hp, with no sleeve problems(after teething problems)

[@elebeu]

While watching the video I was thinking "This looks like it was cobbled together using a lawnmower engine"... then I realized it was cobbled together using a lawnmower engine.

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, it was indeed!

[@gilbertdavies]

​@@ChargerMiles007Indeed! But what cobbling!

[@annelmanson]

Great project.i happened on this site,looking for Aspin footage.fyi,wrt Sabre engine i read the main problem Napiers had, was actual sleeve manufacture,Bristol saved their bacon.particular Bristol sleeves,reworked slightly,could be made to fit.thus sorting the problem Napier engineers couldn,t.wartime.oil consumption was always a problem,however.overheating, too.

[@oisiaa]

Excellent video of this one of a kind engine!

[@ncktbs]

hell im impressed they ever got this to run remotely cool

[@ChargerMiles007]

Oh, it runs for sure! I believe the highest tach reading we got for it was 6334 rpm, with 4.75 horsepower at 3000 rpm. Though i am posiitve it would have done better without the stock Briggs pushmower carb I was using! I will have to put it back together for another run, as its 30th "birthday" happens in about 2 months :)

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, this engine was a used lawnmower engine that a group of engineering students (including myself) modified into a sleeve valve, as a senior project. We estimate it took 400 hours for us amateur machinists to build. There was a lot of design time also. Believe it , or not, I primed it, and it started on the very first pull !!! :)

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, there are some old car that use sleeve valve engines, I have seen one. There are actually at least 2 types of sleeve valve, the single sleeve Burt-McCullum type like this. The other type uses 2 sleeves, one inside the other, some were used in Willys-Knight cars. That type was just too complicated for me!

[@pimpinpenz]

how does the sleeve move? is it hooked up through the bottom end via the crankshaft? im trying to get my head around how this works. everytime i see something new mechanically i need to know how it works.

[@ChargerMiles007]

You are welcome! This design is based on a combination of the Napier Sabre and the Bristol Hercules and Centaurus. Lots of great designs from the past :)

[@ChargerMiles007]

@zeekwolfe Yes you are right, those are the original valve seats, that don't get used now, they just get covered over.

[@annelmanson]

Given your reply,one title you must read is The History of the Aircraft Piston Engine.if this is new to you, this is a must have.also,Model Engineer magazine.cheers.enjoy the book.

[@ChargerMiles007]

@yard1sale1dale Yes, it would be great to see more sleeve valve engines tearing up the town, turf, dirt etc. :)

[@mikehogi]

+doncarlo5 thanx 4 th explanation about th smaller frontal mass I understand drag. didn't think of that. thanx from +brass

[@ChargerMiles007]

I used a drive more like the Napier Sabre, with a pin on the sleeve, and the ball as part of the crank. I thought I showed it with the brass ball in one of my vids. Initially we machined a brass ball on an NC lathe, later I bought a COM6 ball bearing and pressed it into the shaft. The drive pin on the sleeve is an integral part of the sleeve, we started with a big piece of steel, machined the pin first, then hollowed it into a sleeve! Way to hard, It will be a separate pin on the Crecy engine.

[@ChargerMiles007]

I don't even think they would have to do that, it was patented in like 1917, so it has long since run out!

[@3DRIGEUR]

Hello Charles. Thank you for your informative response. If I can find it still - 14yr old design in Turbocad for a miniature scale single cyl engine with Bristol port sleeve, I'll send it to you. Drive is bronze threaded bush in vertical threaded hole in shoulder. Crank pin turns inside threaded bush through slot in shoulder. Maybe your machinist students can have a go at it. Regards. Bob Hart.

[@The_Conspiracy_Analyst]

hm I wonder what other engine blocks would make good candidates for conversion. Looks like this engine was a good one because it is (was) cam in block with the cam in the crankcase. I don't know of any automotive cam-in-block engines that would have the same arrangement. Perhaps a forklift engine or something.....

[@ChargerMiles007]

I don't think it needs to be a cam in block engine, though that might make it easier. Normally you have to run a series of 90 deg. short sleeve drive shafts, so perhaps an aluminum block would be easier to machine to add on the new bits, hard to say.

[@mattsta1964]

Fascinating video. What is this engine?

[@ChargerMiles007]

@schlusselmensch Yes, the rings do sweep the ports now. They didn't in my original design, but later I put in a longer con. rod to increase compression, about .2" longer, so that changed things a bit. Yes, supercharging it should help lower the oil burning problem, I just haven't decided to try that yet, but I may do that. An old Willy-Knight 6, man that rare! Fill the cylinders with diesel fuel for a long time, that should help un-seize it. Send me a vid when you make one!

[@Krankie_V]

@ChargerMiles007 that is very cool, i didn't think that the oil would get up there easily.

[@davidsquire2107]

I always wondered. Now I know. thank You very much.

[@ChargerMiles007]

You are welcome.

[@ChargerMiles007]

@smvuy To clarify, I can't say for sure that these engines used any less fuel per horsepower hour, just that they usually put out 10% more power for a given engine displacement, since they seemed to be ablw to tolerate higher compression using the same octane of fuel. Sorry, I am not familiar with that Rotary valve.

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, the sleeve valve does have certain advantages over the regular poppet type valves. Only 1 main moving part, the sleeve. You can have 4 ports, 5,6 what ever you want, and the # of parts doesn't increase! But once you go above 3 inlet and 2 exhaust, you may have to alternate ports, inlet, exhaust, inlet, ex... all the way around the sleeve. So this would complicate manifolding!!! Plus up to about 4000rpm it flows 10% more air than poppet vlaves (at least in large engines) Used in aircraft.

[@ChargerMiles007]

Hmmm, I don't think I have heard of that book. Thanks I will have to have a look for it!

[@ChargerMiles007]

@KrankieV2 Yea, the oil sneaks its way up there. Actually too much of it, that why the exhaust is smokey on my version, it should have a wiper ring on the outside of the sleeve, but the engine block is too thin to add one.

[@ChargerMiles007]

@ElQuesoGuapo Yes, it is just splash lubrication. This particular engine uses a bit of oil, but the production aircraft engines used about the same amount of oil as a normal poppet valve engine. The material used for making the sleeve is the critical thing. I couldn't afford the austenitic stainess steel used in the aircraft, so I used tool steel. it uses more oil, since the aluminum block expands more than my sleeve does.

[@ChargerMiles007]

@pitomnik Good :) Glad I made a useful video! Regards from Canada!

[@jameswoodcock7902]

cool love it im into engines of all types so thank you for the info i learned something new today' engines are one of my many passions all engies including steam

[@ChargerMiles007]

@smvuy I am not sure about thermal efficiency, but I know the airplane sleeve valve engines were about 10% more powerful for a given cubic inch of engine size. Fuel economy was about the same as poppet valve engines, as was oil consumption. Check on the Bristol Hercules, and Napier Sabre engines, lots of fascinating details there!

[@smvuy]

do you plan to make an exhaust/intake overlap? is bthe some mathematical formula to know where to loacte the ports?

[@ChargerMiles007]

@Mr3wheeledbike There is a small crankshaft, in this case it has 1" total of sleeve travel in the direction parallel with the piston. I will send you a vid. I have a few here that show the sleeve drive system. It is actually very simple.

[@ChargerMiles007]

@schlusselmensch Yes, the rings do sweep the ports now. They didn't in my original design, but later I put in a longer con. rod to increase compression, about .2" longer, so that changed things a bit. Yes, supercharging it should help lower the oil burning problem, I just haven't decided to try that yet, but I may do that. An old Willy-Knight 6, man that rare! Fill the cylinders with diesel fuel for a long time, that should help un-seize it. Send me a vid when you make one! :)

[@MattsRageFitGarage]

WAIT did this engine used to be a regular lawnmower engine ? but it was modified like a 2 stroke ?

[@tpearl209]

that is one old briggs engine i have never ever seen a lawnmower pass by me for repairs or even had one for that matter. what year is this motor? the oldest thing i'm had was an old twin cylider generator that i know was made by the some people who made plan motors just by the looks of the spark plugs.

[@TheHarryMann]

A bit too zoomed in to give a useful perspective and a steady tripod for the camera great improvement. But a rare and useful video of the functioning of a sleeve valve engine.. thanks! Did you design the port timings and compound port arrangement yourself ?

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, I did all of the port design for it, based on calculations in an article of The Journal of the society of Automotive Engineers May 1927 pages 661 though 678 titled "The single sleeve-valve engine". I have been reviewing it lately, as I am trying to figure out the port shapes of the Napier Sabre engine. I am not having much luck though, as I seem to have forgotten most of it!

[@upsidedowndog1256]

That is quite impressive!

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, it is quite the beast, I actually have parts of it on the dining room table at the moment :)

[@upsidedowndog1256]

@@ChargerMiles007 Your wife loves you like mine loves me. Lucky men we are!

[@ChargerMiles007]

@smvuy There actually is "overlap" already in the valve timing I used on this engine. I would have to look up the numbers, but I based the timing on a 1970 318 Dodge engine, then increased the exhaust timing a bit more by grinding the sleeve.

[@ChargerMiles007]

No, I haven't heard of that vid, I will take a look for it, but could you send it to me, incase I can't find it :)

[@thereelmaster]

i think i get it, but what causes the sleeve and sleeve crank to move, and how dose it make it move in so many different directions?

[@ChargerMiles007]

thereelmaster . The sleeve drive crank id driven by a gear on the crankshaft, the sleeve driveshaft turns at 1/2 crankshaft speed, just like a regular camshaft. The movement is just the result of the pin on the sleeve engaging in the ball joint on the sleeve drive shaft. Have a look at the vids of my plastic sleeve drive model, if you can't find them, or still don't understans, message me, and I will make a new vid. I don't mind taking some time to teach people how this engine works, as it really is very simple once you get it, though it is totally different than all the engines being built now. I had to build a model before I truly understood the motion. :)

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, perhaps some special tools would be required. I had to make one to be able to compress the 2 rings in the cylinder head, just a tube about an inch long and split vertically. Perhaps I will make a vid showing it in use.

[@smvuy]

@ChargerMiles007 so, as you say, sleeve engines that drinks the same amount of fuel is 10% more powerful? that's the kind of stuff I like to hear, have you ever gave a look to Dunstan's rotary valve engine? it was a high revving monster that was indifferent to the octane number of the fuel sadly the man died before getting it working perfectly

[@ChargerMiles007]

@smvuy As far as I know this engine is about the same as a normal poppet valve, in that respect. I have run the engine for a long time on a dyno, measuring torque, unfortunately, I didn't measure fuel consumption, but the lads building the airplane engines sure did!

[@theq4602]

It would be interesting to sleeve valve mod an old two stroke detroit diesel . Replacing the exhaust valves with a sleeve one would be excellent for scavenging. Although when building the stationary piston it would be a challenge to bore it out and place injectors in it.

[@ChargerMiles007]

+David Vermillion Yes, that would be quite the machining challenge!

[@jameswoodcock7902]

also very nice machine work on this engine !

[@smvuy]

@ChargerMiles007 what would be great is to calculate thermic efficiency of this modified engine to see if its better than poppet valve stuff btw I'd love to see a car engine modified in this manner and put to race after that

[@ChargerMiles007]

@pimpinpenz The sleeve is driven by a small crankshaft, thru a ball joint, I will send you a vid that shows the drive.

[@patrickradcliffe3837]

How are you keeping the sleeve lubricated in the cylinder?

[@ChargerMiles007]

Oh, just the normal oil paddler, or dipper, and everything has worked fine. in fact, a bit too much oil finds its way into the combustion chamber. The engine runs well, as you can see in my various vids. I ran the engine on a dyno many times, and the spark plug never fouled up, and it made 4,75 hose at 3200 rpm with 9:1 compression. I should put it back together for another run, as I missed its 30th anniversary run, back in August of this year!

[@ChargerMiles007]

Thanks for watching! Yes, the sleeve valve is a fascinating idea that certainly deserves another look. I first learned about them from an old gentleman who's father had a Willy Knight double sleeve type engine. Those beasts seemed difficult to make and understand, then I stumbled on Mike Hewlands article in a 1974 Car and Driver magazine. A friend later found "The Power to Fly" by Setright, and articles in "Flight" magazine. I used the Sabre and Bristol designs to make this engine.

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, it started out as a regular flathead Briggs 3-1/2 horse lawnmower engine.

[@TheHarryMann]

Quite a few people would like a set of those drawings you know? What was the base engine please?

[@ChargerMiles007]

LOL, do you really think lots of people want the drawings of how to make a sleeve valve lawnmower engine? Anyway, it would be a considerable challenge to make another one of these, as it took around 400 hours of machining to make this one(though we were all novice machinists, as students). The base engine is a 3-1/2 horsepower Briggs and Stratton model 92902 lawnmower engine built around 1980, though one from 1970 through 1995 would be very similar. I don't have what you would consider a full set of drawings, though I started re-doing some on Autocad about 10 years ago, but I didn't get very far. I still have the whole motor, and many of the part drawings, and my original design sketches, since I seldom throw any thing out. I don't have any drawing files of the original parts, as they were done at university, and I was only able to get prints of them. However, that being said, if an enterprising person wanted spend enough time and energy building a 3d model of my design, I bet you could figure out any missing bits. Let me know if you might be interested. I have the May 1927 sleeve design article scanned in, and could send it. My youtube e-mail is: [e-mail] But I must warn you that I don't check it very often, unless I am expecting a message. Take care. Miles

[@TheHarryMann]

@@ChargerMiles007 thanks Miles. I take your point. Maybe some would like drawings but never build it yes… However, I definitely would like to start with a look at the original article if you could dig that out, I’ll email you my address. I presume you meant 1972 ?

[@moondogdieselworks3883]

That’s pretty awesome

[@ChargerMiles007]

Thanks, it is unique for sure. I am leaning towards making it into a horizontal shaft motor, and have it power my go-kart!

[@ChargerMiles007]

@tileajb1 Oh, and I almost forgot to mention my machinist friend who rebuilt the sleeve drive to use ball bearings and a COM6 self aligning ball bearing for the sleeve drive. Our original drive using bushings became too sloppy due to wear, and the con-rod started to hit the sleeve every once in a while. The sleeve here is tool steel, so the aluminum rod was going to lose!

[@doncarlo5]

correct me if i get you wrong .... three intake and two exhaust ports ! Right ? Can we say if those were valves, that would sound like a 5 valve head, with three intake and two exhaust valves ?

[@ChargerMiles007]

+doncarlo5 Yes, you are correct, 3 inlet and 2 exhaust ports, would equal a 5 valve head. The sleeve valve does it with many less parts though! Can you imagine trying to fabricate a 5 valve head from scratch, including the valves etc., heck I would still be machining!!!

[@doncarlo5]

+ChargerMiles007 thanks for the reply, .... I have a dream, to build a three cyl. radial engine with a displacement in the region of 100 ci. it has to be a sleeve valve because the third cyl is pointing down.... it will be a lifetime project, though .... considering my poor craftsmanship !

[@ChargerMiles007]

+doncarlo5 Sorry, I missed your comment until now. WOW, a 3 cylinder sleeve valve radial, that sounds like a challenge! I would seriously investigate the master connecting rod design first, I think it will be one of the biggest challenges. Let me know if you need any help with the design, as I know quite a bit about sleeve valves, thought it was 25 years ago when we designed the lawnmower engine. I am still wanting to finish off my 2 stroke (Crecy) type sleeve valve :)

[@jameswoodcock7902]

yup they were 8 feet in dia they were and still are the largest piston engines ever built tha i know of none built bigger since 45 feet tall haven't measured length but am guessing from were they sat in the ship to be over 100 feet in length

[@ChargerMiles007]

Nope, wrong on both counts :) I used a piston from a model 8 Briggs (2-3/8" bore), the block is a 3-1/2 horse model 92502, so its bore is 2-9/16". The resulting clearance of 3/16" is taken up by the new sleeve that we machined, so it has a 3/32" thick wall. This is thicker than is required, but was our cheapest alternative. The cylinder was honed out slightly to accept the sleeve, but only 1 or 2 thousanths, just enough to allow the sleeve to move freely. Any other questions, just ask :)

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, it does have it complexities, but it sure has a lot less moving parts than a poppet valve engine!!!

[@smbsmb174]

Do you have to premix oil in the gas for it? I want to know how to lube and coolling the sleeve and cylinder. It looks like a 2 stroke!

[@TheHarryMann]

No need the sleeve gets lubed conventionally in most sleeve valves engines. In fact an advantage is that at TDC the rings do not revert to boundary lubrication from hydrodynamic lubrication… because at that point the sleeve happens to be rotating keeping the oil form hydrodynamic hence you don’t tend to get a wear step at tdc

[@zargdominator7771]

How would I go about making one of these engines?

[@ChargerMiles007]

+zargdominator77 I have a few questions first, to help answer your question.Do you have a lot of access to machine shop lathes and mills etc.? (It took a group of us inexperienced machinists about 400 hours to build this).Are you good at drawing machine parts?Do you have lots of free time to invest in this project?I built this engine as part of a group senior project at university, so I had lots of help on it. I was the lead designer, as I pretty much drew the basic engine on a bunch of 8-1/2 x 11 sheets of paper or the course of a summer, with the help of some cut apart briggs engine blocks I used for dimensions.I don't want to discourage you, I am just giving you an idea of what was involved. Of course you would have the advantage of being able to build on this proven design.Miles

[@bandi_TEE]

How is the sleeve lubricanted?

[@ChargerMiles007]

Just with the old mist in the crankcase. I actually lubes it too well, contributing to the oil smoke in the running vids. The Bristol airplane engines such as the Hercules had an external scraper ring on the outside of the sleeve to remove excess oil. The Briggs lawnmower block was too thin for me to add such a ring.

[@RaceLab37]

Hi, Can I ask why the compound port? not just two of each?

[@ChargerMiles007]

Two inlet and exhaust ports will work fine. I guess the various aircraft engine manufactures determined that 3 inlet and 2 exhaust provided the best flow versus complexity of porting. You can have more ports, like 4 in and out, but then they would all be compound ports. the compound port saves distance used on the outside of the sleeve, allowing larger ports. Hope that explains it, if not, please send me a PM, and I will try to explain better.

[@johnp3937]

ChargerMiles007 TV

[@turbocompound]

Very interesting technique, but very complicated. A lot or bettet to many moving parts I think.

[@ChargerMiles007]

***** Actually the sleeve valve has a lot less parts than an DOHC engine, since it is easy to make a 5 port sleeve valve, just have more ports. I know it looks complex, but it is amazing how simple it really is. I had to make a working plastic model of it before I could see the simplicity of the design.

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, they are a whole different concept. Please note that this is a 4 stroke engine, as are all the other engines I have posted so far.

[@nustar1]

Truly Amazing!

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, it was quite the project, and amazingly it actually started on the first pull (I had primed the carb first). I still have this engine, but it is taken apart, as I wanted to make revised drawings of the finished engine.

[@novachevyguy]

soooo.. this is a conversion???

[@jtabor4948]

Great explanation but very jerky camera!

[@hogi90]

what the point [benifit] seems u just added a bunch more moving [wearable] parts?

[@doncarlo5]

+brass in a radial engine the benefits are obvious .... smaller all out diameter of the engine, which means a much smaller front section, which gives you a lower (parasite) front drag, which means faster a/c on a given HP

[@dennisford2000]

Where are the previous videos

[@ChargerMiles007]

They should still be here on my channel, I have not removed them. Perhaps it is time I drag the sleeve valve out and make new higher res, versions with my newer camera.

[@santoshtiwari2375]

sleeve valve Kay h and single sleeve and double sleeve valve work kaise karta h

[@santoshtiwari2375]

Hindi me

[@Mr3wheeledbike]

what actively drives the sleeve moment

[@ChargerMiles007]

You are welcome :) Let me know if there are any improvements I can make to the vids. I have the engine back together, so I don't lose any parts, but it comes apart pretty quickly. :)

[@jameswoodcock7902]

there is a short film on yu tube bout what they called the guaranty group that went on the maiden voyage these were some of the people that built her titanic birth of a legend legend

[@seagullsbtn]

And Napier built a 24 cylinder sleeved aircraft engine in WW2…

[@ChargerMiles007]

Yes, the Sabre and the Bristol Hercules & Centaurus were my inspiration for building this.