Mercury filled clutch

joshhoward

joshhoward

New Member
#1
#1
Well after looking at Teeks old school unknown minibike. I brought mine up from the chicken coop. I also pulled out a small 2.5hp Tecumseh and old belt driven clutch my old buddy gave me around 4 years ago. He gave me the clutch and a 1942 Briggs model N. He said he bought it new in the 40s for a yard cart he wanted to build, but never did. Well so i wanted to take it apart by the 2 screws on the front to see how it worked. Well i took off the screws but it wouldnt pull apart. So i tiped it over pulling on it and mercury came out the holes. I was like WTF. So i put the scews back in and did some research. The only numbers on it are FD 181-15, and 2 PAT NO. I couldnt find anything on the FD number. But i did find the PAT. (Im not sure if anyone has tried this on unknown stuff with a PAT NO) Heres the link. CLUTCH - Google Patents

Cool info. It gives the name of the guy who invented it, but not the builder or manufacture. Anyone know anything about these old clutch's?


Josh
 
delray

delray

Well-Known Member
#4
#4
i wonder how much better that would engage? you would think it would engage real smooth over a standard clutch set up that uses brake pads. also wonder why no one makes a fuild converter? something like a torque converter in a car with different stall speeds for your application. josh we could build some mini-torque converters and patent them..ha ha......:smile:
could you get the mercury back in it? for a 5/8 shaft?
 
joshhoward

joshhoward

New Member
#6
#6
I was thinking the same thing. Maybe it really doesnt work well. IDK, yet! That would be cool to be able to build them with different stalls. :thumbsup: Without the burning up of the clutch shoe. Only alittle of the mercury came out. As soon as i felt the fluid come out i flipped it back over. Yes its for a 5/8 shaft. I wonder what the first use of the clutch was for? He registered it in 39. So he must have been working on for years before that. Maybe some kind of scooter?


Josh
 
delray

delray

Well-Known Member
#7
#7
i have seen a clutch fluid converter for a minibike that was made in the late 40's or early 50's. older gentlemen i know that was a fox dealer in the 70's was showing me a fluid clutch that came on his (real)doodle bug minibike he had in the early 50's and said it never really work good. but part of his look to be made out of aluminum? my dad also said he had a fluid clutch that he had replace with a new centrifugal clutch that came out(brake shoe,springs design) the fluid clutch on his didn't work so good either. i don't know if his was like yours or not? i will have to ask him sometime.
 
joshhoward

joshhoward

New Member
#8
#8
Well i might just try it. :eek:ut: But i do want it to work good. I can always swap it later. Let me know what you find out from your dad.



Josh
 
KB2ROCKET

KB2ROCKET

Active Member
#9
#9
:freakout: back then they didnt really understand the dangers of mercury they just knew that it was heavy and conductive and it would expand with heat:weld:
.
ah the good old days folks didnt worry cuz they just didnt know:smile:
 
minibikeguytlc

minibikeguytlc

New Member
#10
#10
Hey josh, haven't posted in a while. Your parts are still working flawless!
Anyway, at a a local kart track (one you rent the karts :thumbdown:) they appear to have fluid clutches... I believe they once made such a thing, I think I read it a really old mag.... but maybe I'm imagining it:hammer:
 
Jay Wrix

Jay Wrix

New Member
#11
#11
alot of karts run wet clutches, Some Honda motors come stock with the liquid clutch in the reduction gear box,

Now most of them are filled with some type of oil, Normally not mercury
 
delray

delray

Well-Known Member
#12
#12
josh my dads was aluminum too. when you get that mercury clutch installed on a bike, you will have to get some hazmat stickers for the chain/clutch cover..ha...ha......:scooter:
 
F

FootScoot

New Member
#13
#13
Back in the 60's, I was a young guy then, a guy we ran around with built a homemade minibike, it had a Cushman engine of some sort with a fluid clutch on it, not sure of the horse power, but it was faster than a Honda 90, which was proven many times, but what really intrigued me was that clutch. I just couldn't figure out how it would work, but then I didn't know about fluid dynamics.:scooter:
 
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