Cylinder Blowing Machine

Nearly five meters high , the machine consists in the upper third of three black cylinders that are placed side by side. The lower two thirds are taken up by a ladder-like frame and the drive using two large gear wheels and drive rods. Cylinder blowing machines were very important for the iron industry in Siegerland as they were highly efficient in driving smelting and flaming furnaces. They represented an important advance in the development of the blast-furnace blower. In each of the cast-iron cylinders, a piston moves back and forth hermetically. By diluting and compressing the air, the suction and discharge valves are opened so that air is sucked in on one side and expelled on the other. Where appropriate, cylinder blowing machines were driven by water wheels, in some cases by separate steam engines, too. It was worth the effort, as twice as much iron could be produced in this way as before. The machine exhibited here was built in 1837 and put into operation at the Köln-Müsener Smelter (formerly Rothenbacher Smelter). It has been in the Siegerlandmuseum since 1908. A ceiling between the first floor and basement had to be partially removed to enable it to be shown there.