Caloric Ship 'Ericsson'

Note: This is a sub-section of John Ericsson

John Ericsson built the 'caloric ship' Ericsson, powered by an enormous hot air engine. The builders were Perine, Patterson, and Stack, while the massive engine was constructed by Hogg and Delamater. It had a stroke of 6 ft., and four working cylinders of 168" (14 ft) diameter and four air compressing cylinders of 137" (11 ft 5") diameter. Ericsson had wanted 16 ft diameter working cylinders, but these were beyond the capacity of the makers. There were four "regenerators", each containing 50 discs of 1/16" wire netting, each disk measuring 6 ft by 4 ft. The ship was launched on 15 September 1852, just five months after laying the keel, and her first trial trip was on 4 January 1853. It is a remarkable illustration of his industry, energy, thoroughness, and skill in management, as well as his ability to persuade financial backers that this was the power source of the future.

The Ericsson's engine was said to be extremely frugal in its consumption of coal, but the engine's power output and the ship's speed (8 mph) were disappointing. Modifications were carried out to increase the furnace draught. 'A veil of secrecy was thrown around all activities concerning the ship, but the magnitude of the changes under way could not long be concealed. The news leaked out that the huge low pressure caloric engine was a complete failure in spite of the eulogies of the press. It could not drive the ship at more than five or six knots at sea and required such extensive repairs after the short voyage to Washington that it was being removed from the ship. In particular the bottoms of the working cylinders had been so badly burdened, buckled, and distorted by the heat of the furnaces that complete replacement was necessary, and furthermore a great deal of trouble had been experienced with lubrication when the engine became thoroughly warmed up by continuous operation for seventy hours or more. Only by the use of prodigious quantities of tallow had the engine been kept running on the return trip from Washington.'

'Ericsson was convinced, however, that the principle of the engine was not at fault and persuaded his financial backers that the construction of an improved engine was justified. The new machine had two double-acting cylinders only 6 feet in diameter with a stroke of 6 feet. These were supplied with air at relatively high pressure by charging cylinders, the air being heated by passage through pipe coils in the furnaces on its way rom the charging to the working cylinders The machine thus resembled very closely the experimental engine built in London in 1833 except that much higher pressure were used.'

Trial trips were undertaken on 15 March and 27 April 1854. It was claimed that a speed of 11 mph was acheived, but the fuel consumption was not determined, before the ship was struck by a tornado and quickly sank. Despite the fuel economy, it took up too much space, and too great an outlay of machinery to permit competition with the steam engine. The ship was rapidly salvaged, but the owners replaced the 'caloric' engine with a steam engine.

The above information is largely condensed from 'An inquiry into the hot air engines of the 19th century'.

From The Engineer, 29 March 1889: 'Ericsson was quite unable, from lack of consideration for detail, to see that it could not be made to answer on a large scale. Money was available, however, and on a large scale it was tried on board the Ericsson, a ship 260ft. long, built specially for the purpose. She was fitted with paddle-wheels driven by four cylinders, each 14ft. in diameter, with a stroke of 6ft. The number of revolutions made per minute was nine, and the indicated horse-power of this huge machine was only 300 horses, the effective pressure being, according to Rankine, only 2.12lb. per square inch. It is said that during the trial trip a man was kept in each cylinder - they were open-topped - and well supplied with buckets of melted tallow, with which he lubricated the sides of the cylinder. He stood on the piston and went up and down with it. It was only a detail that the use of hot air was incompatible with any efficient system of lubrication, and that the fires were lighted under the cylinder bottoms - a way of heating the air as inefficient as possible. The engine, however, notwithstanding its unwieldliness, might have achieved a certain measure of success if only the lubrication could have been managed. The ship was altogether too slow for commercial purposes, and Ericsson had the caloric engines taken out and replaced with steam.' See Leading article on John Ericsson.

Ericsson subsequently designed hot air engines of much smaller output, and these were a commercial success. He was awarded the Rumford Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1862 for his hot air engine developments.

Press Reports

1853 'ERICSSON'S CALORIC-ENGINE.
Mr. Ericsson has addressed the following letter to the editor of the Builder: "My attention has been called to a statement in your journal, from the pen of Mr. John Braithwaite, in reference to the caloric engine. I much regret that my labours perfecting this important matter should have called forth Mr. Braithwaite's disapprobation, through your columns; yet I am fully compensated by the fit opportunity this circumstance affords me of acknowledging, through the same respectable channel, my gratitude to Mr. Braithwaite for past kindness. On my arrival in England, twenty-six years ago, it was my good fortune to meet with his approbation and friendship. In the various mechanical operations we carried out together, I gained experience, which, but for his confidence and liberality, I probably never should have acquired. In relation to the caloric-engine, it so happened that we were not connected. The machine was simply manufactured at his establishment, to my plans. I need hardly add that it was well done, for everything that left his works was characterised by perfection of workmanship. In regard to the original form of my caloric-engine, and the operating with condensed pressure, Mr. Braithwaite may feel assured I have not abandoned either, as he will find, ere long, when welcomed on board the caloric-ship in British waters. As to the new form of my engine, when Mr. Braithwaite shall have had an opportunity of looking a little more closely into the matter, I trust he will find something to approve of. The dispensing with any other heater than the bottom of the working cylinder certainly secures great simplicity of construction; and that so small an extent of heating surface suffices, proves the wonderful efficacy of the regenerator. The difficulty of lubrication, supposed by Mr. Braithwaite, does absolutely not exist in the present engine, for during seventy hours' constant working of the machinery of the caloric-ship, our piston packings scarcely reached boiling temperature. The single action, open cylinders, and the great distance between the packing and the heated part of the cylinder account for this. Mr. Braithwaite overlooks entirely the great simplicity of the new form of my engine, and its universal applicability, and evidently does not consider the important fact that it requires no water or other cooling medium. How unlike in this, as in all other important features, to Stirling's air-engine. The caloric-engine is destined — the efforts of its opponents notwithstanding — ere long, to be the great motor for manufacturing and domestic purposes, from its entire freedom from danger alone. It is destined assuredly to effect much in dispensing with physical toil to the labourer. The artisan of moderate means may place it in his room, where it will serve as a stove while turning his lathe, at the same time purifying the atmosphere by pumping out the impure air and passing it off into the chimney: in fine, it will heat, toil, ventilate, and always remain harmless. All this will soon be proved in practice, and it is hoped will save critics from racking their brains to discover theoretical mistakes and practical imperfections." '

1853 'CALORIC SHIP ERICSSON.- A correspondent of the Journal of the Frankfort Institute says:—-The caloric ship Ericsson has had removed from her the large cylinders of 14 feet diameter and 6 feet stroke, also the supply cylinders, 11 1/2 feet diameter, the air receivers, regenerators, &c., in fact all the peculiar portion of the machinery, which Capt. Ericsson had patented. The shafts wheels end cranks still remain on board, being of the ordinary kind. Captain Ericsson, instead of the 20 feet cylinder which he had required, and which several foundries had been unable to make, has now concluded on using them at about 6 feet diameter. The Secretary of the American Navy had advised Congress to build two ships like the Ericsson, and will, doubtless, regret to find that the two engines will not admit of the two large double pistons, which Captains Sands and Ericsson had reported to be the peculiar feature of this ship, ensuring regularity of motion. In the engines now about to be put in, the large engines have a diameter of 6 feet, and the supply engines a diameter of 3 1/2 feet. The same air is to be used at high pressure over and over again, being alternately heated and cooled as it passes through the tubes immersed in fire, before it enters the large cylinders, and in water after it leaves them.'

1853 'THE ERICSSON.— The caloric ship Ericsson is lying at the dock of Messrs. Hogg and Delamater’s works, foot of North Thirteenth-street, New York. All the supply and working cylinders of the original construction had been removed, with their pistons, heaters, levers, regenerators, and air-pipes. But their had been retained the bedplate, the principal framing, shafts, cranks, the beautiful valve movement, and even the connecting-rods, which, in the old arrangement, transferred the motion from the working beams to the crank. In place of the four huge sets of cylinders standing perpendicularly, there are to be four moderately sized cylinders on the line of the keel and inclined towards each other, making an angle with the keel of about 45 degrees. The supply of cylinders are of the same stroke, four in number. One is placed on each side of each working cylinder, and worked from the crosshead in the same manner as pumps are often placed, on each side of the air-pump, as in condensing marine engines. It will thus be seen that the present engines of the Ericsson comprise two working and four supply cylinders. The working cylinders are each six feet in diameter, with eight feet stroke. Speaking theoretically of both arrangements, these two moderate-sized double acting engines are designed to be as efficient as the four large single acting ones previously employed, in consequence of working with high pressure. In these engines the same air is to be used repeatedly under a high pressure. This is the difference between the present and the former engines of the Ericsson. The regenerator, in a different form, but acting on precisely the same principles, and with, it is presumed, precisely the same effect for good or ill, is retained, and continues to be relied on as as the chief economic feature. This is the fundamental feature of the caloric engine, and the supposition that it had been given up would be equivalent to supposing the caloric engine "an obsolete idea," which is yet far from being the case. — American Journal.

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