Petter Engines and Vintage Pumps || Petter Engines

L&S Engineers 2522 days ago

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Lubrication Pumps for Petter Engines

This week we're back at Hazel Lane, revisiting how Alan and Wyn developed Lubrication Pumps for Petter Engines. Lister and Petter Engines were the workhorses of the British Empire, now known as Lister Petter after merging in 1986. L&S are proud to still provide spares for some of the original Lister Petter Engines!

The Lamp House on the Hazel Lane Colliery Site posed challenges, but this did not dampen Alan and Wyn's enthusiasm to grow. As mentioned in previous stories, the building was cold, draughty, and bleak in winter, but summers were pleasant, making work more enjoyable. We continued to manufacture numerous water pump strainers, starting handles, and jockey legs for trailers.

With Alan's determination to never say 'no' to customers, we took on a new project that elevated our skills and machinery. This precision part was introduced by Mr. Kelly from Dandridge in Greenwich, London, then part of the Hewden Stewart Group. The part? A Lubrication Pump for the Petter Laboratory Engines (LAB1). These pumps tested various oil grades and their effects on engine wear, supplying results to oil companies worldwide.

The testing involved running the engines for 100 to 250 hours, followed by disassembly to measure wear on the parts caused by the oil.

To manufacture the pumps, we received a drawing. However, for small businesses like ours, creating individual castings for small batches of around 50 was uneconomical. Instead, we sourced a standard oil pump from a company in Stourbridge that supplied Cannon Industries in Birmingham. After purchasing these pumps, we stripped them down, modified the casting, and installed a new output shaft, which worked well for this application.

I recall we supplied these for around £40.00 in the 1980s. After manufacturing these pumps for a while, Mr. Kelly connected us directly with Petters in Staines, Middlesex, and we supplied them for years. Over time, the manufacturing process changed significantly. Instead of doing the modifications ourselves, we outsourced to a German company that produced the standard pumps, making alterations to Petter specifications based on the original drawing we received!

Here are a few pictures of part of the original pump casting we manufactured. If you're wondering about the half circles surrounding the edge, you're not alone; many have asked this. These were created from the original holes in the standard pumps! We machined down the flange on the casting and re-drilled them in a different position.

Don't forget to comment below if you enjoy our trips down memory lane! See you next time for another journey back in time; we have many interesting stories yet to come, so keep an eye out.

Copyright Notice

Please note all images are used under the fair use act, to inform, not to sell or purposely reproduce. No copyright infringement intended. If you're interested in learning more about the W1 LAB engines, please visit Agrimanuals, as they have a fantastic original manual. The picture in this blog is taken from the front cover of this manual and would have been the engine that Alan and Wyn created parts for!

Petter Engines and Vintage Pumps || Petter Engines

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Petter Engines and Vintage Pumps || Petter Engines

Lubrication Pumps for Petter Engines

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