Raab's own hot-air fountain

[stirlingmaier]

Almost a month without threads, that's meager.
So let me post my New Year's Card showing Hubertus Raab's own Saloon fountain between my grandkids. The late model in about 1910 placed in Raab's parlor was photographed as a pattern for a catalogue image.
Hubertus Raab, the manufacturer, gave the saloon fountain to his son-in-law who left it to his son who handed it down again. Used as a garden table for some time the uniqueness finally found its way back to former glory.

[CharlieB]

That's a really neat looking thingy.
Whit is it designed to do?

[stirlingmaier]

That's a small indoor fountain driven by means of a hot-air engine. Those fountains were the eyecatcher in the saloons of the wealthy in the Victorian age. Keep in mind that public electricity supply to operate such a water jet wasn't available in those days.

Sorry, I forgot to add Hubertus Raab's original photo of his fountain, dated Jan 29, 1912. And the carefully made woodcut print used in sale catalogues.

The hot-air engine is a standard Raab pattern, an air-cooled two-cylinder
model of 30mm (1.18inch) bore. This type of hot-air engine was also used to drive Raab-made prime movers and ventilating fans. And water pumps for aquariums or fountains, of course. All of them extensively described and depicted in comp-07B.

[Brent Rowell]

Here's another German fountain which Gerd is quite familiar with. The fountain motor is by Raab's predecessor Paul Lochmann while the fountain itself is either by Lochmann, or more likely from Raab's early days not long after he took over Lochmann's workshop. While the motor runs and pumps water well, I have not yet plumbed it to the fountain itself, so not yet squirting water to the ceiling as it should. These are obviously extremely fragile and difficult to take to a show or exhibition, but to see a smaller Lochmann fountain motor in action go to the 6 min. 48 sec mark in the 2016 Greenille, OH hot air engine show video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGRu0s-8qMU

[Tmox]

Thanks for posting, that is spectacular!

[CharlieB]

Thanks for sharing.
Always good to learn new things about old things.