Wavian cans powering Vintage Engine

It’s always great to get feedback from our customers and it constantly surprises us as to the different ways our fuel cans and water containers are used. From the Isle of Man TT race pit lane to cross country expeditions, to the Wakefield District Badger Group.

We received a great email from one of our customers, Nigel McBurney –  he owns a beautiful petrol fuelled internal combustion engine and he’s bought five of our green 10 litre plastic cans to go with it. Nigel kindly sent a few photos and  information about this fantastic piece of machinery.

The vintage engine made in 1926 was built by the National Gas Engine company from Ashton under Lyne, near Manchester. Although it was called the gas engine company they also made engines using various fuels to meet customer needs, though their principal product was gas engines as coal gas was available all over the country, they also made very large engines fuelled by the waste gases from steel blast furnaces, and gasworks these engines provided power to blow air through the furnaces. Recycling is not new.

The engine originally drove a large 3 cylinder water pump via pulleys and a flat leather belt and has always been looked after with virtually no rust. Most manufacturers supplied their engines in either static or portable form, the portable being easier for collectors to move and transport their engines to vintage shows. Most vintage engines are water cooled using a tank of water which circulates via thermo syphon and evaporation.

Nigel’s engine requires 50 litres of water for the tank and he uses our jerry cans to take with him to the vintage steam shows. He particularly likes the Wavian plastic water cans as they aren’t as heavy to lift and he likes the fact that the green colour blends in with the natural environment.

Many thanks to Nigel for all the information and photos.
You can purchase these water containers on our main website here >