Portable Steamengine made by Torps Bruk type "Fenix", year 1885, no 44.

Tändkulans Vänner is a society that was founded in 1991 by eight enthusiasts. Today we are more than 900 members in Sweden and even members abroad. The Society "Tändkulans Vänner" is also named "The Stationary Engine Club of Sweden". The main purpose of the club is to support the members' interest in renewing and collecting of old machinery such as stationary and marine engines, steam engines, vintage tractors and other near related farming and industrial machinery. We want to improve the knowledge of the special type of engine, normally called, hot bulb engine or semi diesel, which were more common in Sweden than in other countries in the World. In our club there are more than 1000 registered objects of Swedish and foreign engines, rated everything from a few horsepower up to several hundred horsepower. The club has contact with other clubs in Sweden and abroad.

Every year our Stationary Engine Club arrange an exhibition in Sweden. In 1994 and 1995 we recorded two different 1-hour videos, which were recorded in Swedish and English. At our exhibitions we normally have more than 70 stationary engines together with some portable steam engines. They are powering a lot of working machines such as treshingmachines, circular saw benches, wood splitting machines, wood cutting machines, plaining machines for production of roof materials, peat milling machines and many other unusual and old machinery's. We also have many vintage tractors, motorcycles and old cars that complete our exhibitions.

Hot Bulb Engine made by Målilla, year 1907, no 1.

The hot bulb engine was invented in 1890 by the Englishman Herbert Akroyd. An other Englishman - Robert Day - invented the 2-stroke engine at bout the same time. Two German emigrants, living in New York, combined these two inventions and constructed a 2-stroke hot bulb engine and named it after the inventors, MIETZ & WEISS. In Sweden a man named J. V. Svensson from Stockholm, bought the rights to produce this type of engine and started a large scale production. The engine was named AVANCE and was exported world-wide. Most Swedish manufacturers copied this new type of engine and we estimate that more than 70 different manufacturers have been producing this 2-stroke hot bulb engine during the years. They were very useful in agriculture, sawmills and fishingboats.

The Society "Tändkulans Vänner" means that it is of great important national interest, to preserve the history and knowledge of the hot bulb engineering technics. We distribute two magazines every year to our members.

With best regards from the society
Tändkulans Vänner, The Stationary Engine Club of Sweden.