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Blazer is a flame licker engine built from plans by Philip Duclos in "Projects in Metal" magazine for June, 1992. these engines have been variously called Atmospheric Engines, Vacuum Engines and Flame Suckers in addition to our title above. The engine is made mostly of aluminum, except for the piston, which is brass, and the valve mechanism, which is steel. No oil is used on the piston, because the additional friction would prevent the engine from running. Instead, graphite is used to lubricate the piston/cylinder interface. The fuel tank is a doorknob with a 5/16" brass tube soldered in for the wick. The engine works by sucking the flame from the alcohol lamp into the cylinder as the pistom travels toward bottom center. As the piston nears bdc, the valve shuts, the gasses in the cylinder cool, and atmospheric pressure pushes the piston toward the top of the cylinder. The valve opens near tdc, and the cycle repeats. Thus the origin of the various names.
We have completed work on another flame licker that is a joint effort with Richard Egge of DeKalb Tech, the local technical college. Richard has designed the engine with a unique straight line motion utilizing a ring and planet gearing system, and a cam drive for the valve gear. You can see the results on our "Straight Arrow" page.
As I mentioned in my remarks about our trip to NAMES, Blazer was quite reluctant - in fact, refused to run at all, at NAMES. Since returning home, I have fitted a graphite valve, and am pleased to report that Blazer now lives up to its name, running like a champ! The most basic requirement for these small flame licker engines is minimal friction, and the sticky steel valve was just enough to stop the show.
Blazer proved itself at PRIME in September. It started easily and ran beautifully. Our longest run was almost 15 minutes. Blazer was as hot as the proverbial pistol, but just kept popping along!