The crankshaft is made from one solid casting in a high tensile SG iron similar to that used for IC car engines and after rough machining is totally cylindrically ground .
The SWAN compound 3" + 5" X 4" (75 mm + 125 mm X 100 mm) and HASTINGS 3" + 3" X 4" twin simple are our two largest marine steam engines which can be supplied with smaller or slightly larger bores on request to give more or less horse power. They will deliver approximately 10 hp at around 500 rpm with 110 psi or 8 bar steam pressure and can be pushed with up to 150 psi to give a little more if needed. We recommend this be done with wet steam or one would have to use steam oil injected in to the main steam line for top end lubrication which would need to be extracted from the condensate on its return to the hotwell so one would not contaminate the boiler. These engines use the same bedplate as the Warrego but are not constructed as a full monoblock cylinder and although the HP cylinder is one casting the LP is made up from two casting with the piston valve chamber being bolted on to the side of the cylinder. The crankshaft is made from one solid casting in a high tensile SG iron similar to that used for IC car engines and after rough machining is cylindrically ground on all the journals and then the counter weights are bolted in place on the webs. The crankshaft runs in sealed ball races except for the centre main which is a split bronze bush lubricated with a sight drip feed oiler. The valve rods are connected to eccentrics which run on large sealed ball races so there is never a need to lubricate them and also makes for a low friction design. Like the Warrego the engines, they use hard chromed piston rods and valve spindles with graphited teflon packing's and adjustable glands. The cylinders are supported on cast back columns which have the crosshead slide ways machined into them (the same as the Warrego) while the front of the engine is supported on stainless steel columns which allows one to fit a clear plastic shield to prevent oil being flung out onto the carpet. The engine is complete with cylinder drain cocks and auto reliefs which must be set by the owner to the operating pressure of the system.
The HASTINGS is the twin cylinder high pressure version of our bigger engines which can be made with bores from 2 1/2 inch up to 3 1/4 inch so if you would like and engine sleeved down to suit a particular boiler output then it is a relatively easy task. These engines are very smooth in operation as they are very well balanced both from the aspect of rotating and reciprocating weight as well as the steam cycle which makes them easy to start in forward or reverse. One must always bear in mind they do not produce the same amount of power as the Swan compound for the same given amount of steam. Both engines have these sizes:-
Overall height ………………………………. 620 mm Overall Length ………………………..…….. 100 mm Width …………………………………………. 300 mm Crankshaft overhang ……………………….. 100 mm Crankshaft diameter ………………………… 30 mm Big end journal diameter …………………….. 35 mm Wristpin diameter ……………………………. 19 mm Flywheel diameter …………………………… 300 mm Steam inlet …………………………………… 1/2 NPT Exhaust outlet diameter …………………….. 25 mm Drain Cock tube size ………………………… 6 mm Engine weight ………………………………...120 Kgs
