[SEL] Re: Fuel Savers

[Arnie Fero]

Hi Patrick,

The headless Witte engines have a "fuel saver."  Recall that the exhaust
valve is operated from underneath the valve block by a walking beam.
There's a roughly C-shaped piece that couples the exhaust valve to the
intake valve at the top of the valve block.  When the exhaust valve is
held open by the walking beam, the fuel saver lifts the intake valve
tightly against the valve seat.

My opinion is that this was more a marketing gimmick than an engineering
reality.  This part is often missing on a headless Witte and I've never
noticed any flutter of the intake valve when the engine was free wheeling
with the exhaust valve open.

See ya,  Arnie

Arnie Fero
Pittsburgh, PA
fero_ah at city-net.com

On Mon, 19 Jul 2004, Patrick M Livingstone wrote:

> Here is a question for all you clever engine guys. Were the fuel savers on
> hit and miss engines effective or just a marketing gimmick?
> Some manufacturers fitted fuel savers to their engines while others did not.
> Companies like IHC, Fuller & Johnson, and Stover used them while others such
> as R&V and Challenge did not. It would also be interesting to survey who
> used them and who did not.