Stationary engine

A stationary engine is an engine whose framework does not move. They are used to drive immobile equipment, such as pumps, generators, mills or factory machinery. The term usually refers to large immobile reciprocating engines, principally stationary steam engines and, to some extent, stationary internal combustion engines. Other large immobile power sources, such as steam turbines, gas turbines, and large electric motors, are categorized separately. A stationary engine is an engine whose framework does not move. They are used to drive immobile equipment, such as pumps, generators, mills or factory machinery. The term usually refers to large immobile reciprocating engines, principally stationary steam engines and, to some extent, stationary internal combustion engines. Other large immobile power sources, such as steam turbines, gas turbines, and large electric motors, are categorized separately. Stationary engines were once widespread in the era when each factory or mill generated its own power, and power transmission was mechanical (via line shafts, belts, gear trains, and clutches). Applications for stationary engines have declined since electrification has become widespread; most industrial uses today draw electricity from an electrical grid and distribute it to various individual electric motors instead. Engines that operate in one place, but can be moved to another place for later operation, are called portable engines. Although stationary engines and portable engines are both 'stationary' (not moving) while running, preferred usage (for clarity's sake) reserves the term 'stationary engine' to the permanently immobile type, and 'portable engine' to the mobile type. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=flour%20mills%20%20stationary%20engine&qs=n&form=QBIRMH&sp=-1&pq=flour%20mills%20stationary%20engine&sc=0-29&sk=&cvid=1FF9CBC1151A4F8E8AE24D4B3430F2A7 Before mains electricity and the formation of nationwide power grids, stationary engines were widely used for small-scale electricity generation. Whilst large power stations in cities used steam turbines or high-speed reciprocating steam engines, in rural areas petrol/gasoline, paraffin/kerosene or fuel oil powered internal combustion engines were cheaper to buy, install and operate, since they could be started and stopped quickly to meet demand, left running unattended for long periods of time and did not require a large dedicated engineering staff to operate and maintain. Due to their simplicity and economy, hot bulb engines were popular for high-power applications until the diesel engine took their place from the 1920s. Smaller units were generally powered by spark-ignition engines, which were cheaper to buy and required less space to install. Most engines of the late-19th and early-20th centuries ran at speeds too low to drive a dynamo or alternator directly. As with other equipment, the generator was driven off the engine's flywheel by a broad flat belt. The pulley on the generator was much smaller than the flywheel, providing the required 'gearing up' effect. Later spark-ignition engines developed from the 1920s could be directly coupled. Up to the 1930s most rural houses in Europe and North America needed their own generating equipment if electric light was fitted. Engines would often be installed in a dedicated 'engine house', which was usually an outbuilding separate from the main house to reduce the interference from the engine noise. The engine house would contain the engine, the generator, the necessary switchgear and fuses, as well as the engine's fuel supply and usually a dedicated workshop space with equipment to service and repair the engine. Wealthy households could afford to employ a dedicated engineer to maintain the equipment, but as the demand for electricity spread to smaller homes, manufacturers produced engines that required less maintenance and that did not need specialist training to operate.