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Conservation of the engine house foundations

During the summer of 2024, a four-week rescue and conservation work was conducted at the excavation site of the engine house foundations of Potter's "fire" engine in the Althandel site. The work was carried out by a team of experts from the Obnova company, in collaboration with specialists and volunteers from the Althandel, Nová Baňa, and Nova Montania civic associations.

The main part of the conservation work involved stabilizing the furnace by rebuilding the perimeter wall, removing two rows from the preserved level of the later-period (19th-century) wall that was encroaching into the central part of the furnace, and temporarily fixing degraded parts of the brick layer on its surface. Additionally, a bulging section of the massive wall, reaching a depth of approximately 2.5 meters, was removed and rebuilt. Surface fillings were also applied up to and including the southeast corner. The vault in the eastern wall, which covers the tunnel used for removing ash from the furnace, was reinforced, and masonry above it was supplemented.

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Atmospheric Steam Engines in Scottland

Trips to discover places of the first steam engines in Scottland - Auchenharvie, Blacksyke Engine House on Caprington Golf Course, Watt’s Workshop at Kinneil House (James Watt did early work to develop the steam engine there), Bo’ness and the Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life in Coatbridge.

3rd International Early Engines Conference in Coatbridge

On March 22-24 2024 we attended the 3rd International Early Engines Conference at the Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life in Coatbridge. We had two presentations there - 'Early Boulton & Watt Engines in Banská Štiavnica Mining (1861-1912)' and 'Remodelling the Engine in Nová Baňa'.

Opening of temporary exhibition at Althandel in Nová Baňa

On Saturday, November 18 2023, in cooperation with OZ Nová Baňa, we managed to open the long-awaited temporary exhibition at Althandel in Nová Baňa. In the small space of the former garage, which is located right next to the former shaft and the site of the Potter's "fire engine" room, visitors can see a small exposition of the history of mining in Nová Baňa and also learn about the history of the groundbreaking steam technology that pumped mining water in the Althandel shaft more than 300 years ago. We look forward to your visit!

Guided tour for Their Excellencies the British and Romanian Ambassadors to Slovakia

On October 8 2023, we symbolically closed the exhibition "The Machine that Changed the World: the Story of Isaac Potter's 'Fire Machine'" with a guided tour for Their Excellencies the British and Romanian Ambassadors to Slovakia. After last year's premiere in Banská Štiavnica, the exhibition was installed in the Pohronské múzeum in Nová Baňa from May 2023. Ambassadors Nigel Baker and Calin Fabian, who are historian and geologist by background, expressed their appreciation for the exhibition's expertise and visual treatment of the theme. On behalf of Civic Association Althandel, we presented both ambassadors with a reproduction of the historical plan of the atmospheric steam engine and thanked them for their continued keen interest in our activities.

Assessment of the Newcomen engine’s
development potential as heat engine for low temperature waste heat

In addition to researching the history of "fire machines", we are also working on their thermodynamic analyses. In collaboration with Dr. Gerald Μüller from the University of Southampton, we are investigating the Newcomen engine to assess its potential. This engine is usually neglected because of its low efficiency, but its simplicity and the use of water as the working fluid, together with the use of low temperature waste heat, has initiated the idea of developing the concept of a new internal condensation. This engine would have similar or better efficiency than competitive technologies whilst being simpler and therefore more cost-effective.

The article was published in the Journal of Power and Energy in May 2023.