The Z - Creston, BC
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 49° 06.341 W 116° 31.306
11U E 534905 N 5439314
The Z is a Fairbanks Morse Model Z stationary engine, on display at the Creston Museum.
Waymark Code: WMKC17
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 03/17/2014
Views: 3
Certainly the least rare of the stationaries to be found here, beginning in September of 1916 Fairbanks Morse made a gazillion of these, in various sizes, from 1 to 6 HP, and a good many are still around. They soon added larger models as large as 20 HP. A favourite with farmers, over 500,000 were sold in the next 30 years. This particular one is a 2 HP model. The shape of the flywheels caused it to become known as the
Fairbanks Morse Model Z Dishpan. These were a cheap, reliable engine, marketed through thousands of outlets, meaning they were sold in large numbers.
The 2 HP Model Z was produced in four configurations: The hit-and-miss engine equipped with simple carburetor and magneto; the throttle governed engine with magneto that was designed to run on kerosene as well as gasoline; the battery and coil equipped engine; and the Contractor’s Special, which was a hit-and-miss with simple carburetor and magneto, and was equipped with a metal shroud to protect it on a job site. The shroud on the Contractor’s Special turned out to have an effect opposite to that which was intended, drawing dirt and dust into the engine, reducing its service life. As a result, few were sold, and many of those which were sold had their shrouds removed.
This engine is throttle governed, meaning that it could run on kerosene or gasoline, whichever was cheaper at the moment.
Though this and many other great pieces of machinery are in a museum, they are all parts of outdoor displays, for which there is no charge to view.