What's this from? 2

[JStephen]

Big piston rod seen alongside the road- picture with bike is for scale.
So what did this come out of? We're not anywhere near the coast, so nautical origins are unlikely.
It doesn't look that heavily built for its size, which makes me wonder if it's maybe out of a compressor instead of an engine. Did they ever make natural-gas compressors big enough to use something like this?

 

[EdStainless]

Where is it?
It looks more like part of a linkage than a conrod.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

 

[3DDave]

It's small. Could be anything, but probably a connecting rod; plain linkages don't need a removable cap on one end. It may be from a stationary power engine.

See

http://www.ctamachinery.com/what-is-cama/large_internal_combustion_e.html

at the bottom of the page.

 

[dik]

Big ship, maybe?

Dik

 

[NBrink]

Side rod off a steam locomotive?

Nathan Brink

 

[JohnRBaker]

No, it's not a "side rod" from a locomotive. Either a connecting-rod for an engine or pump. That being said, comparing the sizes of the two bearings, I would guess it's a pump and not an engine.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[Artisi]

What is interesting is the "big end" is of a similar diameter the the "small end" make me rule out large engine, more likely connecting rod of a compressor.

It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. (Sherlock Holmes - A Scandal in Bohemia.)

 

[LittleInch]

Not easy to say. Clearly a decent sized bit of kit so a relatively slow rotational speed - maybe a large pump of some sort?

Does that sign at the bottom say anything?

where is it I the world?
anything obvious around it?

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[JStephen]

Location is in north Texas, a bit south of the D-FW area. Sign at the bottom is an old real-estate sign. In front of an old garage-looking building.

https://goo.gl/maps/ekWPPDV4oTr

 

[dhengr]

Ask any Texan and they’ll tell you..., ‘Everything is bigger in Texas.’ I think it is a used wrist watch part intended to fit the ego of most Texans, with a fairly small bike parked next to it to mislead us.

 

[GregLocock]

Given that it is fairly slender I wonder if it could be the valve gear rod for a stephenson type slide valve on a steam engine? Teh stroke is a bit on the small side.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

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[JStephen]

Three additional pictures attached.
The bearings have a groove in the center, with a hole leading into that groove. I assumed that was associated with a pressurized oil system like on a car engine. But all the steam locomotives I remember seeing had the little oil cups everywhere. So it looks to me like it went in something, not on something.

 

[3DDave]

There's no reason to have a removable cap on a locomotive linkage as they are not applied to a crank that prevents simply sliding on.

 

[tygerdawg]

I think it resembles this conn rod from a large corliss steam engine I found on YouTube.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[ornerynorsk]

I think this same picture was posted a couple of years ago on Eng-Tips. I seem to remember the bike for comparison. Can't find the thread.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

 

[JStephen]

Heck, I may have posted it before and forgot about it, that thing's obviously been out there a while, and I've ridden past it on multiple occasions.
(It wouldn't have been the SAME picture, but a similar one! These pictures were from Saturday's ride)

 

[chicopee]

I tend to agree with TYGERDAWG as I have seen a similar engine with connecting rod in Holyoke, MA.

 

[btrueblood]

Conrod for an old oil well pumpjack? Looks like greasable bearings, note the small (zerk fitting missing?) hole on the cap on the lower bearing, last photo.

 

[btrueblood]

Also, since you keep asking this question, it now becomes your responsibility to find the answer - next week, stop and ask the homeowner! And remember to post their answer here.

 

[John2025]

Dig it up and see what kind of machine is on the other end.