May 22

F30 auxiliaries

F30 was ordered by Marcus Lothrop without an auxiliary unit, why, we shall never know, here are two videos showing a typical E type auxiliary unit, although in good Doble style there are several variants, and the second video shows what happens when you do not have this unit, this video shows the tangle of pulleys and vee belts, all modifications in the 60s/70s and 80s not Abner's solution, my thinking is that biting the bullet and fitting a proper unit would solve everything,

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May 22, 2026

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Replies (9)

· May 22

I think we should do it!!!

· May 23

Chris, with does the auxiliary unit function automatically or is it up to the driver to flip a switch on the dynamo to reverse it?

· May 23

@alsancle there is a button in the floor that the driver lifts to disengage the drive from the transmission, so it is manual by the driver, only normally used during start up to ensure the coils are full before starting the burner

· May 23

@Chris What happens if the driver forgets?

· May 23

@alsancle how can you? Its just the procedure same as checking the transmission is in neutral

· May 23

Chris, why did they not go with the white design and have a R/N/F transmission so that you could idle the steam engine and run the auxiliaries? It would have the additional advantage of being able to roll the car.

· May 23

@alsancle there is a question..... why do Porche keep the engine in such a bad place, we will never know the answer I am afraid. It is said that Doble took the best of White and the best of Stanley... not sure the direct drive was the best part of anything.

· May 23

@Chris The argument for no transmission is efficency. But the lack of one causes so much complexity in other parts of the design. Put the steam generator on the back of the car, put the engine in the traditional spot with a simple forward, reverse, netural transmission, or even a 2 forward speed transmission and voila!

You get the heat on the back of the car away from the drivers compartement and you can idle the engine to do all the aux stuff. Fuel probaly needs to go in front somewhere. Water tank can go in back.

Of course I dropped out of ME after 2 years so I haven no idea what I'm doing.

· May 23

Great explanations! Thank you.