Otto 175 hp Gas Engine - Introduction

The 175 hp Otto gas engine spent most of its life in the Brookville Water Works in nearby Brookville, Pennsylvania, where it drove a Deane triplex water pump.  The engine and pump were removed from there in 1969 by John Wilcox.  This equipment has since changed ownership and now belongs to Dr. Paul Harvey.  The engine and pump are installed in the Power Technology Building.

The Otto is a very impressive single-cylinder, stationary, natural gas engine and is the largest remaining single-cylinder engine we know of in the world.  It weighs about 25 tons and the Deane pump weighs 20 tons.  The engine has a 21 inch bore and a 30 inch stroke, which yields a displacement of 10,391 cubic inches, or approximately 170 liters.  Its nameplate rating is 175 hp at 180 RPM.  When operating at these conditions the engine produces over 5100 ft lbf of torque.

The Deane pump was built by Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation.  Each of its three cylinders is 14 inch bore by 12 inch stroke.  Powered by the Otto, it delivered 1.5 million gallons of water per day.

The March 2015 edition of The Flywheel tells the story of the engine and its long journey from the Brookville Water Works to the museum.

It's interesting to note that, as late as 2006, the Water Works had a 165 hp twin Cooper Bessemer engine available to drive an Allis Chalmers two-stage centrifugal pump through a Farrel speed increaser gearbox. It also had a 12 hp Fairbanks-Morse Model Z engine driving a Fairbanks-Morse 9 kw, 3-phase alternator.  Our CPM Video, "The Last Run - Brookville Water Works January 21, 2006," features runs of these engines and includes a segment on the reconstruction of the 175 hp Otto engine.  The Cooper Bessemer engine and its pump, and the Fairbanks-Morse engine, its alternator, and its panel board, were removed from the Water Works and are now in storage as part of the museum collection.