Driving down the two lane roads of South Central Illinois, you can usually spot an oil well or two. In this case, the ones we spotted were open and available for some camera work. They run with Fairbanks Morse flywheel engines that use the wellhead gas for fuel. Cooling water is sealed and recycled through a radiator and lubrication is never far away. As a result, these engines can run for a week or more before attention is required. In fact, at a slow, steady speed, their lifetime is practically unlimited. Change out a spark plug or maybe a bearing or a valve and it’s ready to go to work again. See the Oil Field Engine discussion group at WWW.SMOKSTAK.COM for more information.
http://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51529
Duration : 0:1:8
[youtube 4EGzhJNXhxc]
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Does it really use …
Does it really use crude oil for lubrication?
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
cool a motor that …
cool a motor that literaly “runs on the smell of an oily rag”
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
The only lawsuit ” …
The only lawsuit “should be the consequences of one’s stupidity.”
When “stupid” hurts, people usually get it.
Love the engines, by the way, and the fact that they’re not fenced off i.e. you can trust your neighbors.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
That is a 208 10hp. …
That is a 208 10hp..Still get new parts today. The engine base was the fuel tank as well…Unitil it shook apart from part operators and Pumping Unit crews that do not know how to dial in correctly..Any person that gets hurt on a lease deserves it. Like that Kid in Oklahoma that climbed a 10″ fence and lost a arm.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
very true! its …
very true! its also the law. its not about personal responsibility anymore. its about who will be able to pay for an injury. nothing like public policy absolving peoples moronic actions.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
There are too many …
There are too many lawyers on this earth!
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
all these old …
all these old engines amaze me. but what amazes me most on this vid is, theres no fence around it! just out in a field? hate to say it, but can anyone say lawsuit? unfortunately today you have to think those terms.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
How many horse …
How many horse power this produce? Sound like not much rpm ? And is moving such a big pump ! ?
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
My grandfather used …
My grandfather used to pump his sweet crude with an engine that ran on lightly filtered crude. It was fed from the well oil and ran well appart from the smoke. Because of the high carbon production it required new piston rings every other year.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
love that fairbanks …
love that fairbanks morse sound
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
It’s running on …
It’s running on well-head gas, which would otherwise be wasted into the atmosphere. I doubt that it needs a significant amount of gas to operate.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
how much fuel will …
how much fuel will that engine consume in a day of work????
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
only way to pump oil
only way to pump oil
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Anyone can roll up …
Anyone can roll up to it, but it’s already running. (24/7)
March 9th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
So can any one roll …
So can any one roll up to this machine and start her up?