Gettin' me a dang hit-n-miss

[Bill in Oregon]

Found a very nice old 1920s Fairbanks-Morse 3hp model Z hit and miss engine on the local Craigslist. My inner Opie is shouting "OH BOY!"



Will post up when I have all 550 pounds of her safely in hand and running. Chooka-chooka-chooka-chooka-chooka-POP-chooka-chooka-chooka...

[FatJackDurham]

they sold about five small maytag hit and miss engines at the auction I was at. why are they called hit and miss, what is their history and why do people collect them?

[Bill in Oregon]

Jack, I have one of the Maytags, too, late 1920s. I think the attraction is the quality, the simplicity and the idea behind the design. Most modern gas engines fire on every second revolution. The hit-and-miss engines, however, were timed to fire once, then rely on the heavy momentum of the flywheels to carry them through multiple revolutions (misses) before they hit again. So you would hear the pop of the hit, followed by the quiet chug-chug-chug-chug-chug of the misses -- STILL DOING THE WORK WITHOUT USING ANY FUEL. Mine to be is not technically a hit-and miss as the governor determines whether or not to make a spark, but it is a close cousin. These engines date to a time when Americans built great machines and rural folks, without electricity, were self-reliant. The Maytags gave a rural housewife the chance to do a load of laundry with a gas engine, rather than by hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GBoGAs0FQg

[gamekeeper]

Hey Bill, don't let Pitchy know you have that..

[rjohns94]

Bill, in the video, I notice the open top. Is that a cooling water well? I guess it's open top so pressure does not build? I don't see any other cooling tank or piping for such. Very cool set up with the old cart wheels. Is that how they were normally mounted?

[FatJackDurham]

Amazing....

[sore shoulder]

When at the state fair I always drag the family to the old tractors and farm implements. When I'm watching those hit and miss engines running it makes me crazy because as a long time gear head I keep waiting for it to fire properly.

[M. M. Wright]

I am planning to visit the steam tractor/antique tractor/stationary engine show in Pawnee OK this coming week-end. Haven't been in a few years and know I'm missing a great week-end of coal smoke and watching steam tractors throwing a belt on the Prony Brake to calculate what horse power they will put out. They have a huge Corless steam engine that generates enough electricity to power a small town. Was the power generator for a Zinc smelter.

Train track around the grounds and a full size steam train that you can ride.

A neighbor of mine has his Grandad's sawmill set up permanently there and will saw for three days with power from several different steam tractors.

I need to take along my steam governor to sell to someone who will put it to use.

Lots of hit and miss engines there too. You can see how they operate since nothing has a cover on it. When the RPM gets low enough the mechanism raises the pushrod for the intake valve to engage the cam and it will then hit a time or two. It's how the engines were governed. Most of them ran on natural gas that would have been flared off anyway. You know, these were oil field engines. Some pump houses had 30 or 40 horse engines that turned a "Bull Wheel" with sucker rods out to maybe 10 or 15 oil wells.

[rjohns94]

Just plain kewl

[mikld]

I remember one around the house when I was a kid. I think it came off a cement mixer. It was almost solid cast iron, with a cooling water reservoir built into the top. I would start it up and with the governor see how slow I could get it to go. IIRC, about one ignition every 7 or 8 revolutions was as slow as it would go...

[Bill in Oregon]

Rjohns, yes, that's how these old hummers were kept cool, a water reservoir and an oil dripper. Get to pick mine up Tuesday morning -- not literally though as the 3-horse weighs about 550 pounds.


Game Keeper, I think this thing would be a little big for Pitchy's African Queen, eh?

[Grizz]

Bill, you can gear it up and make a winch tow launch for the glider!!

I spent half the day listening to old engines running. Music to my ears too!

I remember watching a fishing boat with a one-lunger in it. It accelerated good with the engine fired, then coasted to the next power stroke. I bet it was a tremendous trolling boat with that action.

[Dewight]

My Great Grandfather had one that ran the water pump at his place. The tank which I'll guess held 500-1000 gallons was on the 2nd story of the pump-house. It must have had some provision to self start whenever the level of the water dropped to a certain level. I would help my older cousin check and fill the oil drip cups and grease it.

[Bill in Oregon]

Grizz: One o' my favorite Youtubes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQPuA0ZP8l4

Told the wife as far as I am concerned they can play this at my funeral ...

[Marvin S]

Nice. I have the little 1 1/2 headless Z.

[Bill in Oregon]

Got her home. Boys is she heavy!

[Grizz]

looking good! is that a mix of sawdust and pollen?

what's the history? made when? worked at what?
I bet it's like some of the guns we see,
what a story they could tell

[Bill in Oregon]

Grizz, I bought it from a 71-year-old gent who inherited it from his father. Beyond that, serial number indicates it was built in 1920. That covering you see is grease and barn dust, although we are swimming in pollen right now (danged hay fever).
I'm going to get after it with kerosene, WD-40, rags and brass brushes while I research how to start and run the thing.

[Grizz]

look forward to the movie!

[olyinaz]

Nice!! Can't wait to hear her pop.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Those engines are very cool. Congrats.

Back in the 70`s I worked for Clyde Schurman in Woodland WA. Clyde had one of the largest collections
of antique engines in the world. He got one single cylinder engine that was made in the very early 1900`s and was used to rotate a rail road bridge for water traffic. It had about a 12" bore and 4' stroke.
It had been seized up from non use for 40 or so years and Clyde got it apart and restored and running.

Have fun!!

[Bill in Oregon]

Chuck, I'd love to see that engine!

[Chuck 100 yd]

Bill, Clyde was quite the fellow and a great person to work for. He passed about 20 years ago so I expect his collection has been dispersed all around by now.
Clyde invented and produced, in his Woodland shop (Schurman Machine Works) the Schurman Log Boss line of sawmill equipment. Those edgers and chippers are installed in mills all over the world.
I started as a journeyman welder fabricator and became a production lead man after 2 years. He often came and got me to do something special for him.
Once he needed an old machine cleaned up so we fired up his antique logging locomotive ( 8 wheel drive ,steam powered) and tapped into the live steam system to use to steam clean with. What a way to brake up the day.

[Bill in Oregon]

Great memories Chuck! Things just don't get done this way anymore!