Talk:Stanley Motor Carriage Company/Archives/2011

Specification and Design?
Stanleys were never produced to primarily burn gasoline. (This was only in the small warm-up burner.) Kerosene (paraffin oil) was much more plentiful at the turn-of-the century, the design accomodated this. No stanley boiler used "copper tubes". They used gunmetal tubing, welded at one end and flared at the other, There were, I believe, 700 tubes. They acted to reinforce the boiler like rivets, giving it its great strength and light weight. (Steam experts predicted they would blow-up or wouldn't work.) The boilers,again, would simply leak at the flared ends rather than burst. You couldn't get more than 1200 PSI out of a Stanley boiler because of this phenomenon; a safety valve was almost unnecessary. The piano wire was a tradition borrowed from British naval guns, and, a necessity. One defective boiler was scrapped without the piano wire where a local blacksmith found it and tried it. He blew himself and, his workshop and dog, up! 68.231.184.217 (talk) 13:04, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

Obsolescence/Sale?
The Stanley boys hand-made each car and Never spent a cent on advertising. The closest to ads were possibly the anti-internal-combustion "propaganda" leaflets distributed. The costs of the car were high because of this one-at-a time, as-ordered philosophy. Rich women preferred warming up a Stanley 30 to 45 minutes than risking breaking a wrist cranking a gasoline car. The electric starter, first available on Cadillacs in 1913, did not help sales but was not the major cause of Stanley's demise. The above factors; plus the accidental death  while racing of F.O. Stanley in 1917 caused his brother, F.B, to sell in 1917. (The Stanleys loved to race.)The production line Stanleys just weren't the same car, even with electric lights. These factors caused the demise of Stanley, although with gas rationing during WWII, many were back on the road.68.231.184.217 (talk) 13:14, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

Comments
A sporty model, the Gentleman's Speedy Roadster, as well as 10-passenger Mountain Wagons were available. One Stanley made an unofficial record of over 200 MPH at Daytona Beach, FL, with Fred Marriot again driving-this should be mentioned. (there is a picture but no text.) Boiler pressure was 1200 PSI; the car hit a bump, became airborne, crashed and split in two. This is why it wasn't official. The warm-up time should also be included: 30-to-45 minutes. Also, the fuel used was kerosene or any light oil. (The gasoline burner was only for prewarming the oil burner. The gas tank was veery small.) The burner resembled a modern Coleman gas stove. Liquid was forced thru tubes over the burner where it was expanded first to vapor, taking full advantage of it. The first Stanleys weren't very good. The introduction of the high pressure primary loop boiler (700 to 1200 PSI) fed into a secondary boiler, which allowed the water to flash to steam, greaterly improved efficiency and range. The system was similar to a modern nuclear submarine. Efficiency approached 85%, compared to 35% for an internal combustion engine, which wastes developed heat. Stanley used and recycled the heat produced. Insulation was very good. Occasionallty the burner would flood, sending a sheet of flames and black smoke backwards. Drivers learned to ignore this, as the boiler compartment was fireproof. But, local fire brigades often "doused" flaming Stanleys, anyway, to their driver's consternation! Early Stanleys put out an ultrasonic whistling noise from the primary loop, which drove dogs crazy! The safety valve made a tremendous racket if it went off--but, most drivers never gave their cars enough head, they were into taking full advantage of the fastest car on the road about the turn-of-the century. The engines, although rated about 6 to 15 Hp, were more dependent on torque, as that power was developed at very low speeds. Stanleys could be held by the parking brake, with the throttle cracked, to lay incredible scratch when the brake was released. 700 pounds of steam just sitting there on the pistons, ready to go. One even accidentally climbed a tree! Reverse was simply a pedal that actuated a valve. The brakes, only on the rear wheels, weren't good, like most of their day. Drivers took to using the reverse as a brake. One man tore his Stanley in two suddenly mashing reverse at 45 MPH while avoiding a child!68.231.184.217 (talk) 13:13, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.231.184.217 (talk) 12:34, 24 May 2011 (UTC)