[SEL] Did they ever make?
Larry Evans
lfevans at pacbell.net
Sat Jan 1 09:44:23 PST 2005
>
>They are almost certainly 180 degrees, same as most Lister twins. You
>then get a 'bang, bang, silence, silence' sort of firing which does
>sound odd but the balance is better than 360 degree cranks like the
>british motorcycles had, the firing pulses were even but the balancing
>was awful.
>
>I think the big Fairbanks-Morse up at the Mount Wilson observatory has
>360 degree cranks if my memory isn't too bad.
>
>
>Peter
Your memory is fine Peter. The 2 cylinder 50 HP Fairbanks Morse Type RE at
Mt. Wilson has a 360 degree crankshaft and the cylinders are on opposite
cycles. As they approach tdc one is on compression and the other is on
exhaust. The flywheels are not counterbalanced but the crankshaft is. The
engine appears to run very smooth but fact that each flywheel weighs about
one ton and the engine is solidly bolted to a large concrete pier might
have something to do with it.
For those that might be new to the list take a look at my web site (URL in
signature below) to see some pictures of it.
Regards,
Larry Evans
Arcadia, Southern California, USA
MailTo:LFEVANS at pacbell.net
http://www.oldengine.org/members/levans/
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