The last hot air engine

German immigrant Louis Kessler of Chicago was apparently quite familiar with hot air engines in his homeland. The engines his various companies manufactured were American copies of German Heinrici engines but with the addition of air cooling, making them much more portable (and practical) than the water-cooled Heinricis. While more successful with his other business ventures, Kessler wouldn’t give up on hot air engines and was the force behind several successive companies making them from about 1912 into the mid-1930s. His “Kessler Motor & Engineering Co.” made one of the last commercial hot air engines in the 1930s before its inevitable bankruptcy. Both engines in the video are shown operating with their original kerosene burners and appear more or less as they did when they left the factory. The “Duplex Vacuum Motor Co.” engine is dated 1921 and was owned by one of the company’s stockholders who was also Kessler’s next-door neighbor in Chicago.

[@jasonhoffman254]

I wish I could get my hands on one of these machines. I have so many uses for them, its unreal.

[@lloydmcgriff98]

Poetry in motion,,, Thank You !!! ***cheers*** I wish some one still made them,,, =)

[@1islam1]

🔴 What Is Islam? ⚠️ 🔴 Islam is not just another religion. 🔵 It is the same message preached by Moses, Jesus and Abraham. 🔴 Islam literally means ‘submission to God’ and it teaches us to have a direct relationship with God. 🔵 It reminds us that since God created us, no one should be worshipped except God alone. 🔴 It also teaches that God is nothing like a human being or like anything that we can imagine. 🌍 The concept of God is summarized in the Quran as: 📖 { “Say, He is God, the One. God, the Absolute. He does not give birth, nor was He born, and there is nothing like Him.”} (Quran 112:1-4)[4] 📚 🔴 Becoming a Muslim is not turning your back to Jesus. 🔵 Rather it’s going back to the original teachings of Jesus and obeying him.

[@paulhorn2665]

Fascinating, I did not know that this engines where produced that late in the 1930s...

[@ROCKNTV1]

Before pressurized town water, homes might have one of these pumping water to a cistern in the attic for gravity fed plumbing.

[@MF-ml8eh]

" 1 inch Bore" Bout fell off me bloomin chair! Laddie

[@nagendravc]

wow, love to buy on of those if available. lol! Lovely

[@istvanmilak725]

Thanks for the video, where can I buy one of this?

[@cyberlord64]

Anyone knows what is the power output of these and their efficiency? There isn't much data I can find about these

[@riderericsson]

Are you asking about these particular engines or stirling engines in general? These old ones were low powered (fraction of a hp) and not very efficient compared with modern pressurized stirling engines.

[@howardosborne8647]

Lovely pair of working examples. I think West Highland Terriers are measured in metric these days.😂😂

[@Qeswara]

What is the lowest warm-up time to start the engine?

[@riderericsson]

The larger the engine, the longer the warm-up time. I can't remember exactly, but for these I think it was around 3-5 minutes.

[@ARCHENBAL]

Molto interessanti, la più piccola, con i volani rossi, ancora più originale. Very interesting, the smallest, with red flywheels, even more original.

[@riderericsson]

The "smallest" actually has a larger piston size. The 'double throw' crankshaft arrangement of this engine was also copied from Heinrici "HM" type engines introduced in Germany in the 1920s.

[@ARCHENBAL]

Thank you

[@mimiporsche]

Beautiful engines! They work in acetylene with carbide?

[@riderericsson]

No the burner uses kerosene which is vaporized by the heat of the burner head which must be pre-heated before starting. The engine also pressurizes the fuel tank.

[@ROCKNTV1]

Any one know the bore/stroke ?

[@riderericsson]

engine on left is 3-inch bore; right is 3.5-inch. Both with strokes approx. 4.5 inch.

[@ROCKNTV1]

@@riderericsson Thank you for the reply , I am trying to form an idea of the relationship of piston size to power output as design criterior. May i ask if you know the swept volume ratio ie: rev stirlings 1.5/1 displacer / power ? of these engine ?

[@riderericsson]

@@ROCKNTV1 I'm sorry but I don't know.

[@ROCKNTV1]

@@riderericsson Ah well, I'll get it sorted thanks again ;-)

[@DonnyHooterHoot]

10 bucks for the pair.

[@zakathzakath6184]

Nice engines.How much hp they produce,rpm?How much consumes kerosen per hour?

[@riderericsson]

Probably only a fraction of a hp at about 2-300 rpm. I'm not sure about fuel consumption, but these are old and very inefficient compared to modern pressurized stirling engines.

[@zakathzakath6184]

riderericsson Ok.Thank you for the answer and the information.You are making good videos about this nice old tech.And real size and real machines,not small models.Thank you

[@zakathzakath6184]

riderericsson Can you test the kerosene stirling engines only putting 1 desilitter kerosene in it and that way we can see how long it will run.