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Crower Six Stroke Engine 3

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cudaracer

cudaracer

Electrical
Oct 9, 2002
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I have recently read in an automotive trade magazine that Bruce Crower of Crower Cams has designed and patented a new six stroke gasoline engine that uses steam produce a second power stroke that is produced from water injection. This engine design is supposed to produce equal horsepower, but a 40% decrease in fuel consumption and a significant decrease in emissions. I have looked online to find more information about it, but have not found any. I have read the other posts on the six stroke engine cycle, but it looks like Crower's design might be more feasible. I am curious of your opinions on the future use of this technology to be used in the future, and where to find more information on it.

Thanks,
Don
 
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This sounds like a very interesting concept. I don't think there will be any weight savings, the water tank will offset the loss of cooling system weight. A condenser to recover water from the vapor would be cool. The size required is prolly not feasable. The water and lines will have to be heated 24/7 in freezing weather. It will allow a reduction in cubic inches to meet minimum power requirements and be lots more fuel efficient. I hope it can be worked out.
 
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According to the article the engine does not use any external cooling system, which I thought would mean any weight gained by the water tank would be loss by the reduction of the entire cooling system. I know years back that Crower Cams was one of the premier designers in camshaft technology, and it's good to see that he's still designing new parts at 75 years old.
 
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Re; "it's good to see that he's still designing new parts at 75 years old."

Some interesting trivia along this line.
Clessie Cummins, the inventor of the Cummins diesel engine invented the compression release brake in his retirement.
The idea was rejected by the management of the Company Clessie had founded but no longer controlled. Clessie teamed up with the worlds leading manufacturer of drill chucks to manufacture and market his new invention. Does anyone else out there remember the "Jacobs Three Jaw Chuck".
That's how Clessie Cummin's invention came to be called the Jacobs Brake or "Jake".
Did you know that;
"The vehicle selected for the first field tests of the completed device was a 1955 GMC “Suburban” station wagon re-powered with a Cummins JN-6 diesel engine"?
yours
 
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There were several patents to this effect back in the twentes. I will see if I can find the links. It is difficult because the pat office records cannot be searched that far back.
 
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"I do not see any links on the 6 stroke,
is it suck, squeeze, bang, blow, spray-flash, blow?"
Hydrae


Yes but he is also working on suck, squeeze, bang, squeeze, spray-flash, blow
 
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Hi-

There is an SAE paper by some Japanese authors on a six-stroke diesel. The process was this:

intake stroke
compression stroke
inject diesel fuel, burn, & expand
compress hot stuff
inject diesel fuel, burn, & expand
exhaust stroke


Power density (torque for a given displacement) was somewhat low, which is a big disadvantage for engines in mobile applications.


Early engine designers proposed some six stroke engines. I think that some are described in the book Internal Fire by Lyle Cummins.



j2bprometheus
 
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The Crower Six Stroke Engine is in fact a concept that has very great merit. 1. It gives a second power stroke for each combustion so fuel efficientcy is instantly almost doubled for equal power output. 2. The immediate incorporation of this system into current production vehicle is possible since there is NO NEW TECHNOLOGY that must be incorporated into the vehicle or the manufacuring process, no new tooling!!! 3. Since the steam stroke greatly cools the internals of the combustion chamber, one can now realisticly incorporate serious LEAN BURN technology such as a modern version of a Poughe carberation system without melting down the internals. ( this was the problem Smokey Yunik and others encountered ) 4. It is not dependant on RARE EARTH ELEMENT technology such as hybrid drive systems. 5. It does not ADD WEIGHT like hybrid systems.( efficeintcy and weight are interdepenant, the more weight the more energy it takes to motivate the vehicle ) 6. It does not carry the energy consumption in manufacuring penilty of hybrid systems. ( there is an overfocus on end use energy comsumption of modern vehicles and an oversight of the energy requirements to manufacture the vehicle. MOST VEHICLES FROM RAW MATERIAL TO END OF USE NOW CONSUME MORE ENERGY TO MANUFACTURE! NOT DRIVE 150K miles ) 7. NO EMF's from electric motor/dynamo ( ELECTRO MAGNETIC FIELD RADIATION IS THE GREATEST SECRET HEALTH THREAT OF THE 20th & 21st CENTURIES ) This is the vehicle engine technology that most needs to be promoted and adopted. This is because it can be incorporated into desiel engines as well as gasoline engines. And what most forget, it can be applied to aircraft engines as well as autos and boats. Commonality across the broadest spectrum of users keeps technology affordable and hence successful!
From the desk of Peter F. Roberts, CANUSA Motorsports Engineering, Syracuse N.Y.
 
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I think it's great that Mr. Crower has remained active in retirement, but the assertion that the engine doesn't need a cooling system is without foundation.

There exists exactly one such engine, and Mr. Crower himself admits that it hasn't been run on a dynamometer, i.e., it hasn't been asked to produce any power beyond that required to keep itself in motion. I assume that his emission testing regimen goes just a little beyond measuring how badly his wife complains about the stink produced.

By which I mean no insult to Mr. Crower, for whom I have the greatest admiration. But he's just one guy puttering in the basement.

Developing a new engine technology sounds like a barrel of fun, but getting it into production is bound to produce more than one barrel of corroded broken junk, and it's sure to burn many thousands of barrels of money, none of which is being bandied about here, or in Mr. Crower's vicinity either.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
 
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1. It gives a second power stroke for each combustion so fuel efficientcy is instantly almost doubled for equal power output.

No it doesn't. That implies a doubling of efficiency, which ain't gonna happen.

2. The immediate incorporation of this system into current production vehicle is possible since there is NO NEW TECHNOLOGY that must be incorporated into the vehicle or the manufacuring process, no new tooling!!!

Apart from a water injector, and some way to make the cats work in the presence of steam (I don't know if that is an issue), and some way of lubricating the cylinder walls in the presence of continual steam cleaning...


4. It is not dependant on RARE EARTH ELEMENT technology such as hybrid drive systems.

True. Did you know that a set of custom made rare earth magnets for a wheel motor's Halbach array costs less than 500 bucks? That is for a one-off!

5. It does not ADD WEIGHT like hybrid systems.( efficeintcy and weight are interdepenant, the more weight the more energy it takes to motivate the vehicle )

Ah, so we are using weightless water?

6. It does not carry the energy consumption in manufacuring penilty of hybrid systems. ( there is an overfocus on end use energy comsumption of modern vehicles and an oversight of the energy requirements to manufacture the vehicle. MOST VEHICLES FROM RAW MATERIAL TO END OF USE NOW CONSUME MORE ENERGY TO MANUFACTURE! NOT DRIVE 150K miles )

Cite? The estimates I have seen suggest that in one year a car consumes as much energy as it takes ot build it. Now, I doubt they were true well-to-wheel type calculations, but you are suggesting a disparity by a factor of 15, which seems high.

7. NO EMF's from electric motor/dynamo ( ELECTRO MAGNETIC FIELD RADIATION IS THE GREATEST SECRET HEALTH THREAT OF THE 20th & 21st CENTURIES )

I'm more worried by the well known health threats than the secret ones.

From the desk of Peter F. Roberts, CANUSA Motorsports Engineering, Syracuse N.Y.

Yeah, but who was sat at the desk?

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
 
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Has anyone considered the possibilities of this six stroke concept with a hydrogen powered engine? The exhaust is mostly steam. If a workable, and small enough collector was possible this could offset some of the need to carry large amounts of water on board. I wonder if the hydrogen burns hot enough to flash boil the water in the second power stroke?

Tim Spruill
 
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Checked for patent or patent pending, didnt find anything about crowers six stoke. I have been working on this idea for 1.5 years. Mr Crower doesnt consider many of the prblems he is encountering. My concept involves using new tech. to solve the problems. I am appling for grants to develope staionary diesel engines that can approch 65-70% efficiency. My engine design doesnt have a cam,pushrods,rocker assembly, or old school poppet valves. Instead I am using another idea I have been working on for 5 years. My engine design is varible six stroke, rotating pistons, steam/water recovery system, many other patentable ideas. Anybody wanting to discuss this futher' Please contact me by e-mail (farmer19512003@yahoo.com)
 
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