Energy Hall’s Machinery – 3

This ship engine and surface condenser, manufactured by the Turku-based company Vulcan Ab, dates back to 1920 and was donated to the Museum of Technology by the Helsinki School of Technology in 1971. Surface condensers in engines were used such that they would convert exhaust steam back into pure water, then feeding it back into the steam engine again. It was a way to increase the efficiency of steam engines, therefore less water is lost in the process of generating energy. This engine had a rotational speed of 350 rpm, which happens to be 10 times the speed of a vinyl record player.

In 1898, Vulcan Ab. was founded and built by a shipyard on the banks of the Aura River in Turku. Vulcan’s predecessors were the Turku Machine Works (Turun konepaja) and the New Machine Works in Turku (Uusi konepaja Turussa). The company manufactured engines, steam engines, pumps, ships, locomotives, military equipment, and a list of other things. From 1907, the company also had a machine shop in St Petersburg. In 1924, Vulcan merged with Crichton to form Ab. Crichton-Vulcan. Later in 1936, Wärtsilä acquired Crichton-Vulcan. Interestingly, the name Crichton-Vulcan remained in use until the 1960s.