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riffin six-stroke engine
In 1883, the Bath-based engineer Samuel Griffin was an established maker of steam and gas engines. He wished to produce an internal combustion engine, but without paying the licensing costs of the Otto patents. His solution was to develop a 'Patent slide valve' and a single-acting six-stroke engine using it.
By 1886, Scottish steam locomotive maker Dick, Kerr & Co. saw a future in large oil engines and licensed the Griffin patents. These were double acting, tandem engines and sold under the name "Kilmarnock".[2] A major market for the Griffin engine was in electricity generation, where they developed a reputation for happily running light for long periods, then suddenly being able to take up a large demand for power. Their large heavy construction didn't suit them to mobile use, but they were capable of burning heavier and cheaper grades of oil.
The key principle of the "Griffin Simplex" was a heated exhaust-jacketed external vapouriser, into which the fuel was sprayed. The temperature was held around 550 oF (288 oC), sufficient to physically vapourise the oil but not to break it down chemically. This fractional distillation supported the use of heavy oil fuels, the unusable tars and asphalts separating out in the vapouriser.
Hot bulb ignition was used, which Griffin termed the 'Catathermic Igniter' , a small isolated cavity connected to the combustion chamber. The spray injector had an adjustable inner nozzle for the air supply, surrounded by an annular casing for the oil, both oil and air entering at 20 lbs sq in. pressure, and being regulated by a governor.[3][4]
In 1883, the Bath-based engineer Samuel Griffin was an established maker of steam and gas engines. He wished to produce an internal combustion engine, but without paying the licensing costs of the Otto patents. His solution was to develop a 'Patent slide valve' and a single-acting six-stroke engine using it.
By 1886, Scottish steam locomotive maker Dick, Kerr & Co. saw a future in large oil engines and licensed the Griffin patents. These were double acting, tandem engines and sold under the name "Kilmarnock".[2] A major market for the Griffin engine was in electricity generation, where they developed a reputation for happily running light for long periods, then suddenly being able to take up a large demand for power. Their large heavy construction didn't suit them to mobile use, but they were capable of burning heavier and cheaper grades of oil.
The key principle of the "Griffin Simplex" was a heated exhaust-jacketed external vapouriser, into which the fuel was sprayed. The temperature was held around 550 oF (288 oC), sufficient to physically vapourise the oil but not to break it down chemically. This fractional distillation supported the use of heavy oil fuels, the unusable tars and asphalts separating out in the vapouriser.
Hot bulb ignition was used, which Griffin termed the 'Catathermic Igniter' , a small isolated cavity connected to the combustion chamber. The spray injector had an adjustable inner nozzle for the air supply, surrounded by an annular casing for the oil, both oil and air entering at 20 lbs sq in. pressure, and being regulated by a governor.[3][4]