PHILADELPHIA, March 24.- Interest has been somewhat renewed in the Keely motor, caused by the statements of Mr. Keely himself that he will be ready in about six weeks to put his new vibratory engine to practical use. Instead of the great cumbersome machinery which he had heretofore, there are small, neat looking objects which he call generators and engines. He claims now to have full control of the vapor which contains such great power, and can do with it as he sees fit. "About two years ago," said Mr. Keely, "I abandoned the idea of applying my vaporic power to the ordinary piston engines, and by accident found that a new engine of a different sort was needed. It is not an invention, and I do not claim to be an inventor, but a discoverer. I am so confident now that I have succeeded, that I will stake all I have in the world on the results to be accomplished within the next three months." The vibratory engine which he has completed at his workshop in Twentieth-street, near Master, occupies a space of about four feet square. All the machinery is contained in a cylinder which resembles an ordinary drum. Through this runs a double shaft, one revolving in a sleeve. It is upon this shaft that the difficulty at present exists. The negative and positive motions are nearly equal, and Mr. Keeley is engaged in the graduation of these so as to cause them to harmonize. When he accomplishes this, which he says is a tedious operation, then the Keeley motor will be completed.
A private exhibition was given to-day to the TIMES correspondent. Two small keys were turned, and immediately the shaft, containing an 18-inch wheel, began to revolve. There is no fly-wheel to the engine, only the one to which the pulley is attached direct. This moves at the rate about 25 revolutions per minute. Mr. Keeley claims that is all that is necessary, as the shafting may be geared to run machinery to any speed required. The wheel moved, that is certain, and its revolutions were steady and regular. As to the power which it has, a rope of great strength was tied to a stout beam overhead and to the shaft of the engine. This rope was snapped in twain, and the revolutions did not vary in the least. The new generator is also a curiosity. It occupies a space about 6 feet in length, 10 in width, and a height of 5 feet. There are numerous small pipes, of mysterious appearance of the thickness of telegraph wire, bored to the fineness of a cambric needle. One of these leads from the generator to the engine, and it is claimed that all the power is secured through this medium, and the regularity of motion secured by the vibratory apparatus contained inside the drum cylinder. People who expect to learn all about the engine, generator, and the secrets of the thing, will probably be discouraged when they take into their mind what Mr. Keeley says: "After I have secured my letters patent, it will require at least a year of lecturing to demonstrate the secret of this generator and engine," remarqued Mr. Keeley. "The apparatus will be in use some 20 years before the thing is fully understood."
The first public experiment will be the running of a circular saw, three feet in diameter, at 3,500 revolutions per minute. Five drops of water will be used and 10 cords of wood sawed. This is to occur somewhere about July 1. Mr. Keely does not talk as extravagantly as he did some years ago, but speaks now in a very confident manner. He has a word to say about Edison, and that is that the electric light will not be a success until the Keely motor is attached to it. He believes that his success will be the success of Edison, and that the electric light will never perform what is claimed for it with any other engine but his. There is one thing certain, Mr. Keely has succeeded in making the wheel go around. He has abandoned his idea of pressure. He has got hold of something which he says is the right thing, and has recently been creating some excitement in a private way among scientific men. (The New York Times) March 25, 1880
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