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By: - 14th December 2009 at 20:13 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hi pp,
I understand that Dunlop used late merlin engine's to drive tyre testing rig's.
The quality of aero engine valvetrain part's and the amount of time that ground running engine's clock up I wouldn't be too worried.
Andy
By: - 14th December 2009 at 20:28 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
...there is a meteor engine for sale on ebay that runs on unleaded...
Any petrol engine ‘can’ be run on unleaded whether it will do it any harm is another matter.
The last Meteor engines in service with British forces were used in the Centurion BARV (Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle) but they were retired in 2005. The Centurion AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers) also used the Meteor until they were retired shortly after the first Gulf War. Not bad for an engine first run in 1933!
I’m not sure what fuel the British Army would have run these vehicles on but I doubt they would have taken the trouble to modify the valve seats, possibly fuel additives were used or possibly ‘four star’ was supplied (!); it wouldn’t have been that much more trouble than supplying petrol to an almost all-diesel army.
By: - 15th December 2009 at 18:34 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Thats some going for the use of a engine.!
How do you adjust the timing on the merlin?
By: - 15th December 2009 at 18:37 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Set the reference mark on the crank, then select the appropriate spline on the cam driveshafts, and a similar vernier set on the mags.
By: - 15th December 2009 at 19:03 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Have you got a link to a picture please?
By: - 15th December 2009 at 19:38 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Have you got a link to a picture please?
Timing diagram:
The valves are "Brightray" coated, which is a hard material similar to Stellite, and although the seats are machinable, they seem to work happily with 98UL fuel. It is only an option on non-flight engines and we have one with 150 hours of running on mostly 98UL with no seat recession, as someone else mentioned previously, they don`t run enough, the 150 hours took 10 years of regular running to clock up.
Pete
By: - 15th December 2009 at 20:48 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hi Pete, that gear train is so similar to the lion, Rowledge must have used the same idea ?
Andy
By: - 15th December 2009 at 21:05 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hi Pete, that gear train is so similar to the lion, Rowledge must have used the same idea ?Andy
Yes, I noticed that when I saw your engine dismantled. Which came first, the Lion or Rolls-Royce Eagle?
Don`t forget that the Liberty is similar as well, and probably others! . . .
Pete
By: - 15th December 2009 at 21:43 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
My T24 went from Lancs to being a film star as a wind generator at Pinewood!
Four are still in service on the Blower Tunnel at Boscombe Down....still earn keep on project such as Merlin (helio) and Typhoon!
By: - 15th December 2009 at 22:05 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
My T24 went from Lancs to being a film star as a wind generator at Pinewood!Four are still in service on the Blower Tunnel at Boscombe Down....still earn keep on project such as Merlin (helio) and Typhoon!
That`s cool, I thought it was just another ex-wind tunnel job!
Are you sure it was Pinewood and not one of these from Elstree, or are they one and the same? This pic was posted a while ago by someone else on here, sorry, can`t credit it because I can`t remember who it was!
Pete
By: - 16th December 2009 at 12:51 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Thanks pete for the timing pic............
By: - 16th December 2009 at 13:39 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I have a few parts from Merlins that were used to power speedboats and another friend and his dad used Merlins and Allison engines for use in Tractor Pulls for the annual Country fair! Darrell
By: - 16th December 2009 at 14:18 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
ISTR in the 40s and 50s somebody used to race a car powered by a merlin. The Swandean Spitfire or something similar, saw it at Brands Hatch.
By: - 16th December 2009 at 14:46 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Rolls Royce Merlin & Fuel..............
Back to Piston Power's initial question......
Quite a number of Merlins (likely Packard Merlin 224's for Lanc's) were used in the pre-diesel period on well-frac'ing units in the Alberta oil patch. In this regard, an old friend of mine belatedly heard about 5 of them (new, still packed in their original shipping crates, c/w preservative), war-surplus acquired by a well-service company for powering frac compressors. They were squirrelled away in a barn North of Edmonton for 20 years and when he tried to purchase them from the old widow that had them, he learned they had already been sold (at "scrap" value) for $500 each. Somebody made a handsome profit on them as I suspect they have now found homes in P-51 cowlings, south of the border. Back in the days of Merlins on frac units (20,000 psi compressors), heavily leaded fuel was plentiful (100/130 octane avgas) so the valves and pistons in these engines would not have been damaged during the long runs under relatively heavy load.
Mk1
By: - 16th December 2009 at 16:20 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Well bar the obvious like the MTB boats, the Merlin was used in would you believe a Merlin powered TORPEDO!!!!
By: - 16th December 2009 at 16:27 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I think it was a Meteor derivative that powered the torpedo.
By: - 16th December 2009 at 16:52 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Merlin / Meteor powered torpedo.....at 21 inches in diameter, surely not? :confused:
I know that the British Mark VIII is a ‘burner-cycle’ torpedo that has a radial engine, fuelled on diesel (?) and compressed air, but surely no torpedo was ever big enough to fit any parts of a Merlin or Meteor inside!
By: - 16th December 2009 at 18:09 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Back to Piston Power's initial question......
Quite a number of Merlins (likely Packard Merlin 224's for Lanc's) were used in the pre-diesel period on well-frac'ing units in the Alberta oil patch. In this regard, an old friend of mine belatedly heard about 5 of them (new, still packed in their original shipping crates, c/w preservative), war-surplus acquired by a well-service company for powering frac compressors. They were squirrelled away in a barn North of Edmonton for 20 years and when he tried to purchase them from the old widow that had them, he learned they had already been sold (at "scrap" value) for $500 each. Somebody made a handsome profit on them as I suspect they have now found homes in P-51 cowlings, south of the border. Back in the days of Merlins on frac units (20,000 psi compressors), heavily leaded fuel was plentiful (100/130 octane avgas) so the valves and pistons in these engines would not have been damaged during the long runs under relatively heavy load.
Mk1
Yes i suspected they was used for other industry just like today ford make so many engines there found in generators & compressors on much smaller scale of course & good to know if anybody wants one not to just look on aviation side of things but to look further a field not that im saying there is plenty full to find one!
By: - 16th December 2009 at 18:34 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Merlin / Meteor powered torpedo.....at 21 inches in diameter, surely not? :confused:I know that the British Mark VIII is a ‘burner-cycle’ torpedo that has a radial engine, fuelled on diesel (?) and compressed air, but surely no torpedo was ever big enough to fit any parts of a Merlin or Meteor inside!
I think the word 'boats' as in MTB must surely be missing ?
By: - 16th December 2009 at 19:18 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Valve seat damage from unleaded petrol is mostly a problem of High RPM cruise. when used at fluctuating rpm and low RPM it really isn't an issue. And I should look this up 1st but I would imagine that a Merlin has hardened seats anyway being steel in aluminium heads??
Here in Califronia there is an often quoted rumor of Ford DOHC V8's being used for agricultural wind machines for keeping the frost off the almighty grape!! I havn't found one yet though............................
Posts: 562
By: piston power! - 14th December 2009 at 19:39
Was the merlin used for anything else other than aircraft was it used to power generators, compressors, pumps etc or was this more the meteor engine?
After the war and the late 50's there was a large number of engines gone for scrap so some must have found there way into other industry the basic heads and block fitted with power take off to run something else?
Can it run ok on unleaded fuel without burning the valves or valve seats?
Does the timing need to be retarded & if so how is this done?
The reason i ask there is a meteor engine for sale on e bay that runs on unleaded & these are of the similar breed just wondered if this will run the same.
Is the aviation fuel 100 octane?