Is this a Power/Performance/Efficiency test? What an interesting lab to explore!

[stanleysteamers.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2011 03:51PM by JW.

George comments:

Somw questions on this setup that don't make sense to me. First of all did they lock the rear left wheel and make the spider gears turn fast and inclrease the right wheel RPM by 2X? The dyno-generator has no prony brake to measure the total torque output, were they just measuring electrical output? This would be horsepower not including heat and friction losses that the prony break would include all. Wonder about the spider gears(very noisy and not meant for any kind of speed) and the setup in general.

Any thoughts, George Nutz

Here are some tests done at MIT by students on steam cars.

Title: The investigation and selection of a Venturi mixing tube to obtain, with the minimum fuel pressure, the proper proportion of kerosene vapor and air for combustion in a Stanley Steam Car
Other Titles: Investigation and selection of a Venturi combining tube to provide the proper mixture of air and kerosene vapor for combustion in the Stanley Steam Car
Authors: Insley, Robert
McKenney, W. R
[dspace.mit.edu]

Title: A study of the economy of locomotives
Other Titles: Study of the economy of locomotives of various types
Authors: Tao, Pao-Kai
[dspace.mit.edu]

Title: Stationary tests of a white steam automobile
Authors: Fales, O. G
Norton, G. R
[dspace.mit.edu]

Title: An investigation of the efficiency of the Stanley automobile engine and boiler with special reference to the use of superheated steam
Authors: Crowell, J. W
[dspace.mit.edu]

Title: An oil burner for a steam automobile
Authors: Connor, R. H
[dspace.mit.edu]

Title: The construction of an experimental apparatus for testing the power plant of the Stanley Steam automobile and some tests made with it
Other Titles: Tests of the Stumpf Uni-Flow engine as applied to the Stanley Steam automobile
Authors: Proctor, J. Worthen
[dspace.mit.edu]

Title: Development of a steam powered sports car
Authors: Fleischer, William B
Zafran, Sidney
[dspace.mit.edu]

Caleb Ramsby



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2011 04:44PM by Caleb Ramsby.

Thanks for finding these references - I am sure the car is a Model 607 Stanley - compare with the 'running chassis' shots of my car (model 607 #7644) at www.stanleysteamcar.co.uk

I think the photographs are back to front - the 607s are RH drive

I still suspect that the so called test did not consider the power output of the Stanley as the setup was and is so supicious, Both wheels up in the ground, did they weld the spider gears so that both wheels rotated at the same speed or did they block the left rear wheel and have the poor spider gears rotating the 2x speed rapidly rotating right left wheel? There appears to be no pronny break on the dyno/generator and the elctrical power output of the dyno is considerably less then the Stanley output. Great photos but I can't understand a college/university doing such a poor test of engine horsepower. The test setup does not appear to be up to engineering standards.
Just thoughts, George

The results of this test were published - "An economy and efficiency test of a 10 h.p. Stanley steam car" by John Hollenbeck Gibson and Harry Bennett Wood (Jr), presumably on file at the University of Penn. The negatives appear to have come from the estate of one of Gibson's relatives.

You can find a citation on Google Books, but they didn't scan it.

[books.google.com]

Here is a link to the Univ of Penn catlalgue record for the paper

[www.franklin.library.upenn.edu]

I've asked for a copy of the paper via my old college's inter-library loans, so will post a summary asap after it arrives

Hello Peter
You are correct all negatives were printen mirror immage . The Potographers of this digital age have forgotte what a neative is!
If you get a copy of the report I would be interested in it as well. I tried the Penn Library but I have not received a response as yet. maybe it was one of thos noreply addresses. regards Arnoud

It would be interesting if these were the tests referred to in later Stanley literature [EG _The Journal Of The Society Of Automotive Engineers_, May 1918, pages 13-18], with 16-17 lbs/hp/hr engine water rate results.

With lots of HP lost through the differential gears, dubious test rigs, etc, perhaps the actual engine water rate was much better?

IE, perhaps Stanley steam cars are much more efficient than is generally believed on the basis of decades-later tests with very old, very worn, and/or questionably-rebuilt or questionably-adjusted engines...

Peter

Ah, you are correct. All photos have now been reposted to display correctly.

JW - Admin