Stationary Engines - What were they used for?

Stationary Engines had uses all across the community, in areas such as farming, manufacturing, building, and domestic.

Gene Waugh has allowed me to publish some memories of his mothers which relate to our hobby, while there is no hard information here, these sort of memories are why we do our restorations and shows...

My Mother, who will turn 84 next month, has been writing a few paragraphs of memories each week for some time now. The first paragraph indicates the use of (in her words) a "put-put engine", and the second paragraph briefly describes the acetylene generator that was in the back yard for many years; I remember it well. Thought many of you would enjoy this.

Anyway, here's Mother...

I left you at the back steps – that’s what we always called the entrance to the kitchen. On the left was the cover to the cistern. For you young folks --- a cistern was a big hole in the ground where rainwater that fell on the roof was collected. (I wonder what sort of junk was put in it when it was decided to stop using the cistern?) It was a big No-No for us little kids to mess around that cover. The windmill was here also. With a good wind we were able to keep the inside house tank filled with well water and also direct water to the barn for the livestock. When there was no wind and water was needed Daddy would start up the put-put engine and it would run the pump.

While we are this close to the house let me describe another object the was within a few yards of the back door. This was a red cylinder about 3 feet in diameter and maybe 7 feet tall. This was called The Carbide Plant. When one poured into the top a bag of some dry chemical and then added water a gas was formed and this provided our indoor lights. Remember, this must have been about 1926 –and the main form of lighting was kerosene lamps. We had those, but in the dining room hanging from the ceiling was this double bracket fixture where one could squeeze open a valve. Put a match to it and presto—a light! I only recall this one fixture in the whole house. I am sure kerosene provided most of our light at night.

Gene

	The elevator is used to elevate produce, sacks, boxes, etc. upwards. In the example here, the elevator is lifting hay/straw up into the loft for storage.
	A bane of farming life is the destruction of stored grain due to damp and mildew. The dryer was used to dry grain which had been harvested damp. The dryer increases the amount of time that the farmer has to harvest their crop as it allows damp harvesting. Without a dryer the farmer had to wait for enough dry weather to dry the grain on the plant.
	This small truck would have a multitude of uses around the farm and other industries. If you can carry it and it is heavy, use the truck. See the related Autotruck article on these pages.
	The engine driven farm duster is used to spread insecticide, liquid fertilizer, and other sprays onto crops. Towed by a horse or tractor the engine is used to run a pump to move the product being delivered to the crop.
	There are three kinds of mill, the Buhr-Stone, the Hammer, and the Crusher. Mills are used to crush and/or grind food grains for the production of meals and flours.
	Mounted on a tractor, used to trim hedges without having to get right into the hedge to do it!
	Sorts potatoes according to size
	Used to remove ears of corn from the stalk, grain from stalks. Advanced versions can separate grain, husk, and chaff into separate areas.
	Bales loose hay or grasses into bales for storage for later use as fodder.
	The cultivator or lawn tractor is used to loosen soil in small plots prior to planting.
	Used to drill or bore holes in fence posts and other applications.
	Pumping water or other liquids
	Mixing cement
	Ripping logs (making planks) or cutting into lengths. There is more information on drag saws.
	Cutting timber
	Generating power for lighting and domestic uses