How much horsepower was Bessler's largest wheel?

[ArchCalc]

This calculator may help with yor design. I figured for 12 foot wheel 6ft x 5lbs at the rim gives 0.1 hp.


https://spicerparts.com/calculators/hor ... calculator

[eccentrically1]

It's an estimation I guess. Power = F x D/ time
Lowball estimates - it lifted 60 lbs. 20 feet in 40 seconds we get 30 foot-pounds. More load, higher and faster, would push it north of 100 ft. lbs.
Lowball estimating if it slowed down to 20 rpm then 30 ft lbs. / 20 rpm = 1.5 hp.
70 lbs, 30 feet in 20 seconds we get 105 ft. lbs.
105 ft. lbs. / 26 rpm = 4 hp.
To get to .1 horsepower we need to lowball it more.
1/15 using the 1.5 hp.
So it would have to have lifted less weight at a lower height in a longer time. Or a combination.
For example , 4 lbs. (1/15 of 60) same 20 feet in same 40 seconds = 2 foot-pounds.
2/20 rpm =.1 hp.
Check my math, could be wrong. I was never good at it.

[ArchCalc]

For a 12' dia wheel, again 6ft x 5lbs downward force at the rim, and 75 rpm, is only 1/2hp.

[phj]

Here's how to convert horsepower to watts, if anyone should be interested.

A power level of 1 hp is approximately equivalent to 746 watts (W) or 0.746 kilowatts (kW).

To convert from horsepower to watts, multiply by 746.
To convert from watts to horsepower, multiply by 0.00134.
To convert from horsepower to kilowatts, multiply by 0.746.
To convert from kilowatts to horsepower, multiply by 1.34.

While horsepower, watt and kilowatt are all reducible to the same dimensional units (they each represent a specific rate of energy expenditure or power), horsepower is rarely used to express power in any form other than mechanical.

[eccentrically1]

For a 12' dia wheel, again 6ft x 5lbs downward force at the rim, and 75 rpm, is only 1/2hp.

I don’t understand your math either.
I always thought horse power for wheels and axles was how much weight it could lift through x distance in x amount of time

I might have used the wrong numbers to begin with.
Eta. Is mechanical advantage part of the math?

[Tarsier79]

I figured for 12 foot wheel 6ft x 5lbs at the rim gives 0.1 hp.

https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/pow ... -watt.html
0.1hp = 74.5W

My estimation of Merseburg was potentially up to 100W, based on his lift plus overheads and the observation that it didn't slow very much under load.

[MrTim]

For a 12' dia wheel, again 6ft x 5lbs downward force at the rim, and 75 rpm, is only 1/2hp.

It only had a maximum of 26 rpm...

[johannesbender]

We don't really know how many weights were applying all at once , 4lbs would only be for one weight.

[ArchCalc]

For a 12' dia wheel, again 6ft x 5lbs downward force at the rim, and 75 rpm, is only 1/2hp.

I deliberately used 35 ft pounds instead of 30, (6ft x 5lbs = 30 ft pounds), but nobody caught it.

So 30 ft pounds of torque @ 75 rpm is .4 hp.

Btw:
RPM is a factor in calculating HP.

[johannesbender]

Bessler mentioned for one of his wheels , that it had a 70 pound superior force , I suppose that was at the axle .

[ArchCalc]

Must have been near the axle.

70 ft pounds @ 20 rpm makes 0.3hp.

And: 70 ft pounds at axle and 6ft radius means a force at the rim of a little more than 11.6 lbs. About 223 watts of power.
That sounds about right.

So as an account stated, is that enough to "lift a man" while grabbing the rim to stop it ?

[Fletcher]

Worth a read.

viewtopic.php?p=59877#p59877

[johannesbender]

I think the only thing that matters for me , is the output at the axle ,if for example one of his wheels had a 70 pound superior force from Bessler himself , I believe that can be worked back to Joules and that would be Extra energy ,excluding the energy needed to keep the wheel running.

[eccentrically1]

I was reading How Much Power thread this morning. Jim got 1/132 hp for the Gera estimate. I think on maybe another thread he got 1/6 hp for the Meresburg. I got my math wrong I guess.

So for the Force part of the equation you use pounds at the rim? 4-5 or however "overbalanced" it was at any one point. I estimated the torque for lifting the boxes to be anywhere from 2 - 4ish lbs at the rim ( some other thread). But, math.

It had to have been less without a load on it. It could have turned itself with less than 1 finger at the rim ;>)

[Fletcher]

Right .. horsepower (or Watts) is Work (f x d) done in a certain amount of time. Usually associated with mechanical things that have a constant output.

In B's. runners case we have added complexity.

For arguments sake the Merseburg wheel didn't noticeably slow down in the lift test, or the stampers. That could be because of overall weight (momentum) for a short (distance and time) lift .. or .. like an ICE it put out a constant power. However that argument also runs into trouble because we assume 70 lbs was near its top end limit, but unlike an ICE would the wheel didn't slow, apparently.

How high did it lift the 60 or 70 lbs, in what amount of time ?

IINM Wolff said there was a 4 to 1 gear reduction from the axle to the box of bricks.

Next we don't know where inside the wheel the Work was being done i.e. somewhere on the radius or near the axle or near the rim.

In any event imo it doesn't matter where the work was done inside the wheels. Just how much weight, how high, in how long, and with what gearing reduction ?

We definitely know that they could overcome the energy losses from frictions as per the 54 day test.