Richard Clem Over-Unity Engine

A local man (Dallas) developed a closed system engine that was purported to generate 350 HP and run itself. The engine weighed about 200 pounds and ran on cooking oil at temperatures of 300 F. It consisted of a cone mounted on a horizontal axis. The shaft which supported the cone was hollow and the cone had spiralling channels cut into it. These spiralling pathways wound around the cone terminating at the cone base in the form of nozzles (rimjets). When fluid was pumped into the hollow shaft at pressures ranging from 300-500 PSI (pounds per square inch), it moved into the closed spiralling channels of the cone and exited from the nozzles. This action caused the cone to spin. As the velocity of the fluid increased, so did the rotational speed of the cone. As the speed continued to increase, the fluid heated up, requiring a heat exchange and filtering process. At a certain velocity, the rotating cone became independent of the drive system and began to operate of itself. The engine ran at speeds of 1800 to 2300 RPM. Immediately after the inventor had the heart attack and the papers were removed, the son of the inventor took the only working model of the machine to a farm near Dallas. There it was buried under 10 feet of concrete and has been running at that depth for several years. In later conversations, our contact says the engine had been tested by Bendix Corporation. The test involved attaching the engine to a dynamometer to measure the amount of horsepower generated by the engine in its self-running mode. It generated a consistent 350 HP for 9 consecutive days which astounded the engineers at Bendix. They concluded the only source of energy which could generate this much power in a CLOSED SYSTEM over an extended period must be of an atomic nature. Construction of the engine was from off the shelf components except for the hollow shaft and the custom cone with the enclosed spiral channels. Richard Clem worked with heavy machinery for the city of Dallas and had noticed that certain kinds of high pressure pumps continued to run for short periods after the power was removed. His curiosity into this phenomenon led to the development of the Clem Engine.

The Clem Over-Unity Motor

The following is from a newspaper clipping that has no name or date. In 1972, Richard Clem announced the invention of a way to operate automobile engines on cooking oil. He's still making that claim today, even though his first prototype motor fell apart and he had been "strung along" by at least 15 companies before he found financial backing. Clem, 48, a heavy equipment operator for the city of Dallas and part-time inventor, says if the automobile industry adopts his invention, motorists could change the eight gallons of vegetable oil only every 150,000 miles and never buy any gas. Clem said he uses vegetable oil because his motor runs at 300 degrees - a temperature where water has boiled away and conventional motor oil breaks down. Though he won't divulge many details of the engine, a 12-volt battery apparently is the only other source of power. When Clem finished his first vegetable oil engine in 1972, he mapped a 600- mile test trip to El Paso for the first engine model he had financed through his earnings. But he only made it as far as Abilene before the 'shafts and everything bent in it.' He blamed the failure on poor construction, too small a shaft and the use of chains instead of gears. Undaunted, he decided to try again, but said, 'I needed money to build this thing better.' Neither the automobile industry nor the 15 other companies he wrote - some as far away as Taiwan - were interested in financing a prototype and then manufacturing it. Then last year, he said, a large coal company offered to back him. Clem refused to disclose the name o f his benefactor, but did say the coal company had signed contracts to sell the engines to power companies for use in pulling turbines. Clem said he expects to finish work on the motor by the end of this year. (1972)

Vanguard Note The above article was reported as being generated from Flower Mound, Texas (northwest of Dallas and slightly beyond Carrollton). I called the only Clem listed in the book as of 11/20/92 and they knew of no other Clem in that area, nor did they know of any Richard Clem or his family. Two separate visits to the patent section of the Dallas Library have not yielded any patents by a Richard Clem involving any type of engine. We are still pursuing for more details. As of 12/26/92, I drew up a .GIF file called CLEM1.GIF that is bundled with this file under the name CLEM2.ZIP. It gives a better understanding of how the machine was constructed, at least as it was described to us. For those who study such matters, one immediately sees the tie-ins with Boundary Layer Drag principles as evinced in much of Tesla's work as well as Victor Schaubergers Impansion and Implosion discoveries. We have noted something odd about spinning masses in that at specific velocities, strange things occur. The velocities at which phenomena occur are dependent on the resonant frequencies of the mass as an aggregate, exactly as Keely said. The Clem system was said to be built with off-the-shelf components. The most complicated piece of the entire machine was the cone. And based on Boundary layer drag, it would seem that the cone was unnecessary. The question with the Clem device is 'Does the extended surface area of the cone add to the additional velocity of the cone, yielding greater pressures through centrifugal force or would flat plates as in the TESLA turbine be sufficient to generate the same effect?' We continue to look for more information on this device and appreciate your comments or supporting material.

Update as of May 1996 A company called Creative Sciences is selling plans ($60) for what they claim is a machine that generates 1500hp and runs by itself. They call this a CEACU and claim it was released by a 70 year old retired scientist. The truth of the matter is it was designed and built by the late Richard Clem of Flower Mound, Texas as documented by this paper. It is wonderful that someone has taken this information and done something with it (or so claimed) and we will have more details later if you might like to build one. However, be aware a few years ago, some of our Roundtable group chipped in for about $150 worth of 'plans' from Creative Sciences. The plans were bogus and were not free energy unless you are simple enough to think compressed air (as used in some of Dennis Lees 'demonstrations') is free energy. In the last part of June 2001, Rick Harrison, president of Creative Sciences sent an email to KeelyNet saying he was prepared to sue if we did not stop 'bad-mouthing' his company. The website is http://www.fuellesspower.com and I told him go ahead, since I and many others would love to see them prove their overunity claims in court. Since then he has not responded back and the website is not responding, so I think they are changing their claims. We also have several emails from others who say Creative ripped them off and one from Brazil saying its been 60 days after he sent about $115.00 and received nothing. With regard to differences between the CEACU design and Clem the CEACU does not require the cone, but instead uses a thick disk with nozzles on the outer edge. A hollow shaft feeds water into this disk at a high velocity.

As the water exits from the nozzles, the disk spins giving an ever higher velocity. A 3200 psi air tank is used to get the disk spinning to 1000 rpm when it is claimed to begin to run on its own. There are other ways to achieve this velocity beyond 3200 psi as you can well imagine. In seeking details or verifications, our contact said Clem worked for the city of Dallas and operated heavy equipment. This we knew, however, he said Clem used asphalt spraying equipment, which used melted asphalt that was pumped through the machine. Clem noticed THIS MACHINE would continue to run for up to an hour even after the power was turned off! The reason Clem never applied for a patent was because his design was basically the same as the asphalt sprayer and so he felt he could not infringe on an existing patent. That is the first key difference, it was a hot asphalt sprayer rather than a fire engine pump. The second key difference from our original information was that the axis of the cone was VERTICAL, with a horizontal spin plane. This had been suggested by many but we presented the information as it was given. Now, it makes even more sense because the gravity gradient would be slightly greater and amplified by the expanding centrifugal rotation. Clems' machine used Mazola cooking oil and ran at about +300 degrees Fahrenheit. He also used a heat exchanger to keep it cool. So we have a temperature differential plus the centrifugal thrust. We will post any additional information when it comes in, hopefully by next month.

The Richard Clem Motor and the Conical Pump

An Investigation of the Clem Motor by Robert Koontz

In December of 1992 Jerry Decker posted an article on the KeelyNet BBS, about a self-running motor that developed excess useable power. The information, gathered from newspaper and individual sources, gave an anecdotal account of the motor invented in 1972 by Richard Clem of Flower Mound, Texas. Richard Clem worked with heavy machinery for the city of Dallas. He used asphalt-spraying equipment, which pumped liquid asphalt. He noticed the asphalt pump would continue to run for up to 30 minutes after the power was turned off. It was this discovery that led to the development of the motor. Modifications he made eventually resulted in a substantial 350 horsepower output from a 200-pound motor. Clem is said to have often driven a car, powered by this motor, up and down Central Expressway in Dallas. He claimed it didn't use any fuel, and only needed a change of oil every 150,000 miles. The motor had only one moving part, a cone shaped rotor mounted vertically on a hollow shaft. Spiral channels cut into the cone wound around its length and feed into peripheral nozzles at its large end. When fluid flowed through the spiral channels it was ejected out the nozzles and caused the cone to spin. At a certain velocity, the rotating cone became independent of the starter pump and began to operate by itself. At an operating speed of 1800 to 2300 RPM the fluid heated up to 300 F, requiring a heat exchanger. Vegetable oil was used because at 300 F water boils and conventional engine oil breaks down. A 12-volt battery was the only other power source. Clem never applied for a patent because his motor design was derived from the asphalt pump that was already patented. Fifteen companies turned him down before a large coal company offered to back him and signed contracts to sell the motor. Soon after the deal was signed, Richard Clem died of a heart attack. The above account contains only what I considered to be relevant for analysis of the Clem motor. Visit www.keelynet.com for the original material. The gear pumps, typically used for asphalt spaying, do not match the description of the pump used by the city of Dallas back in 1972. There should be public records showing what equipment manufacture the asphalt sprayer was purchased from. Since the asphalt pump was patented, I searched for a pump patent that met the following criteria: 1) Patent issued on or before 1972 2) Delivered pressure equivalent to a positive displacement gear pump. 3) Cone shaped rotor with spiral channels. 4) Self-propelling action. 5) Capable of pumping a viscous fluid like asphalt. 6) Large heat transfer to pumped fluids. The following illustration is from US Patent 3,697,190 Truncated Conical Drag Pump. The patent was issued October 10, 1972 (criteria 1) and appears to match the description of the asphalt pump that Clem converted into his motor.

Housing 11, Conical interior wall 12, Conical rotor 13, Inlet chamber 14, Inlet pipe 15, Outlet chamber 16, Outlet pipe 17, Support feet 19, Detachable end cap 20, Rotor shaft 21, End cap wall 22, Boss 23, Packing 24, Adjustable gland nut 25, Bracket arms 27, Bearing boss 29, Bearing 30, Snap ring 31, Inner race 32, Sleeve 33, Shoulder 34, Retainer nut 35, Reduced diameter outer end 36, Coupling 37, Packing 39, Retainer 40, Gland nut 41, Bearing boss 43, Integrally formed bracket 44, Shaft reduced diameter 45, Bearing sleeve 46, Bearing 47, Snap ring 48, Inner flanged 49, Inner race 50, Nut 51,Shaft reduced diameter 53, Lock nut 55, Flat faces 56, Snap ring 57, Washer 59, Nut 60, Helical channel 61, Channel base 63, Channel sidewalls 64 This is a high-pressure, low volume drag pump that can be used in place of conventional positive displacement pumps (criteria 2). It has a conical rotor that has a close fit clearance with the stationary housing wall. Delivered pressure is limited by back flow across the radial clearance and is inversely proportional to the square of the clearance. As a result, even a small increase in radial clearance would rapidly reduce pressure. The rotor is cone shaped so that the clearance can be controlled by axial adjustment of the rotor relative to the housing wall. The conical rotor has two helical channels (criteria 3), in the form of square threads, spaced 180 apart for balance. The channel depth decreases as the rotor diameter increases. Fluid enters the channels at the small end of the rotor. The fluid is induced to rotate with the channel by boundary layer drag. The boundary layer is the thin layer of fluid adhering to the channel surface. Molecular cohesion tends to drag the adjacent fluid with the boundary layer. The fluid is also in contact with the housing wall. The boundary layer drag against this stationary wall slows the rotation of the fluid in the channels. Because the fluid rotates slower than the rotor, its forced through the channels towards the large end of the rotor. In addition the fluid is forced towards the large end by centrifugal force.

The above drawing illustrates the proportional decrease in channel depth as the rotor diameter increases. Why was this done? Note that as the diameter doubles so does the circumference. This means the fluid has to travel twice as far in the same time to maintain a constant slip velocity. By reducing the channel depth in half (cross-section area = depth x width) the fluid velocity is doubled thereby keeping the slip constant. The spiral channels could be thought of as very long convergent nozzles. The increase in fluid velocity is in the opposite direction of the rotor spin. We should expect a reaction force from the acceleration of the fluid. This thrust would be directed tangent to the circumference and would increase the spin torque on the rotor. Even without the peripheral nozzles, that Clem later added, the pump rotor experiences a thrust force in a direction that would selfpropel it (criteria 4). Because fluid drag is the primary pumping force, it is well suited for viscous fluids like asphalt (criteria 5). The long channels also represent a large sliding surface area with frictional losses that would transfer heat to the pumped fluid (criteria 6). All six of the patent search criteria have now been met. Of course this doesnt prove that it is the asphalt pump Richard Cle m worked with. A peculiar condition indicated by the patent is that as the velocity increases in the channels the pressure also increases. B ernoullis Law requires the pressure to drop proportionally as the velocity increases. Assuming an ideal fluid without losses, when the channel depth is reduced in half, the cross section area is also half and this doubles the fluid velocity and the fluid pressure should drop in half. So what is going on here? There is a centrifugal component that would add to the fluid pressure. My guess is its too small to overcome the predicted pressure drop. Here is what I think may be going on. As the diameter and ve locity increases the drag force propelling the fluid through the channel is proportionally greater. Energy is being added all along the length of the channel. Whatever the reason, if this high-velocity, high-pressure fluid is feed into tangent peripheral nozzles at the rotor large end, the energy will be converted to shaft horsepower. The Clem motor is producing 350 shaft-horsepower and a large heat energy component. Where is this huge amount of energy coming from? Resent quantum mechanics zero-point field (ZPF) theories may point to the answer. From an article available at "BEYOND E=mc2" (Bernhard Haisch, Alfonso Rueda & H.E. Puthoff published in THE SCIENCES, Vol. 34, No. 6, November / December 1994, pp. 26-31 copyright 1994, New York Academy of Sciences):
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"Our work suggests inertia is a property arising out of the vast, all-pervasive electromagnetic field we mentioned earlier, which is called the zero-point field (ZPF). The name comes from the fact that the field is held to exist in a vacuum-what is commonly thought of as "empty" space-even at the temperature of absolute zero, at which all thermal radiation is absent." ZPF researchers theorize that mass, inertia and gravity are not intrinsic properties of matter but the interaction of matter with the zero-point field. By all pervasive is meant that the ZPF exists not only in empty space but it is passing through your body right now and everywhere else. When you throw a stone you are interacting with this field since the ZPF resists change in motion. In essence the ZPF is the modern day aether. The amount of energy making up the ZPF is thought to be enormous. Is the fluid acceleration in the Clem motor interacting with the ZPF in such a way as to rectify it and draw energy from it? Is it a hydraulic aether-diode? The fluid, in the Conical Drag Pump, flows through long convergent channels. Disregarding the boundary layer, is this accelerated flow laminar? Would such a long orderly flow entrain the aether energy ? From the perspective of the rotating channels the fluid appears as the discharge from a long nozzle. To exaggerate, if the fluid was held fast to the housing wall, the rotating channel would travel through the stationary fluid. This would be equivalent to achieving 100% efficiency. In reality the fluid is slipping against the stationary housing wall so that the rotating channel (nozzle) is moving faster than the fluid disc harge velocity. Assuming the reaction thrust as the only propelling force, this would give efficiency greater than 100%. So, as the slip increases the reaction thrust decreases, but the efficiency increases. Assuming the Conical Drag Pump is the pump Clem used, can it answer the following ?

1) Why was a hollow shaft used? 2) Why was the cone mounted vertically? 3) Why was a starter pump needed? 4) How were the peripheral nozzles added? 5) How was the motor RPM regulated? 6) How did a large coal company get involved? 7) Was this kind of pump ever used in asphalt sprayers?

The above drawing shows a hypothetical Clem motor based on the Conical Drag Pump. The motor is mounted vertically so that the check valve on the hollow shaft is submerged down in the oil tank. The hollow shaft (shown in blue) extends from the oil tank through the rotor into the inlet chamber. The start pump draws oil from the tank and forces it up the external feed line connected to the inlet chamber at the small end of the rotor. This fills the hollow shaft and forces the check valve closed. The oil flows into the spiral channels and out the peripheral nozzles. The reaction thrust of the nozzles spins the rotor. The oil flows through the return line, through the valve, filter, and heat exchanger and back into the tank. The start pump is most likely a standard hydraulic gear pump. It continues to pump until the rotor spins up to its operating speed. The combinations of a start pump and check valve would be a simple way to both prime the motor and spin up the rotor.

Once the start pump is shut off the check valve is free to open. Oil is drawn up into the hollow shaft (shown in blue) to the inlet chamber at the small end of the rotor. The spiral channels pump the oil down towards the large end of the rotor. A plate is attached to the large end of the rotor and fits with a close clearance with the housing wall. Nozzles attached to the outer edge receive high-pressure oil from the spiral channels. The jet reaction thrust from the nozzles delivers shaft horsepower to the power takeoff at the shaft top. Adjusting the valve to create hydraulic backpressure regulates the motor RPM. Closing the valve stops the motor. When I first read about the Clem Motor I found it odd that a deal had been made with a coal company. Was there a connection with the pump? After finding the Conical Drag Pump patent, I wanted to contact the inventor Walter D. Haentjens of Barrett, Haentjens & Co., Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Otto Haentjens founded Barrett Haentjens & Co., in 1916. The business began in the coalmines of Pennsylvania with Otto Haentjens original patent on the balanced opposed impeller multi-stage volute pump. The company still supplies pumps to the coal industry. They have expanded to other markets and their pumps are installed in many industries worldwide. Its now known as Hazleton Pumps Inc., after its acquisition by The Weir Gr oup.

Vegetable Oil Fuels Auto by Gary A. Edwards 2005

Early Photo Clem Car showing Richard Clem filling engine with Crisco
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Later Photo Clem Car as in newspaper article below Photo apparently taken in 1972 Note rusty look and in field of weeds (One would think the bright red new car photo should have been with this article as the article is written as if it is CURRENT information (1972 at the time), not about a rusted car body sitting in a field years later with an obviously older Richard Clem... Flower Mound, Texas - Richard Clem claims that if the automobile industry would adopt his new invention, the American motorist would change the oil in his car only every 115,000 miles and in between not buy any gas. That might come as a shock to Detroit and the petroleum industry, but Clem, a heavy equipment operator for the city of Dallas and a spare time inventor, said he has discovered what french fries and hashbrowns have know for years - that vegetable oil is a hot product. He said his motor - much of which he won't divulge - uses eight gallons of vegetable oil for fuel. "Engineers have told me this can't work," Clem said, laughing. "I only know it does. It will do someone some good and will help keep the air clean." His motor is mounted in a bright red car but he said if it is made large enough, "this type of engine could power ships, aircraft, even provide enough power to produce enough energy for large cities.

Vegetable Oil Best

"I use vegetable oil because right now the engine is running at 300 degrees," said Clem, 43. "Water would boil and evaporate and conventional motor oil would break down." The only apparent outside source of power in his car is a 12 volt battery, which Clem said "is used only to start the engine. Once started you can throw the battery away." He said, however, the battery is also used to power the car's lights and horn. His power plant and car, both financed through his regular earnings, are not the picture of Detroit designing. "I'm not an engineer, I'm an inventor," he said. "When I get this done I'll turn it over to the engineers and they can develop the finished product." He said he once attempted to get financial backing, but "is now playing the waiting game." "I've had offers recently" he said. "But I don't know, I don't want to be obligated to anyone."

Seven Stage Pump

Outside the meager electrical portion of the system used to start the motor and run the lights and horn, the power plant consists of a seven stage pump and a "converter." The pump, as he described it, is used to move the oil, under pressure, from a storage area to the converter from where the energy is converted into enough power to turn the motor, move the oil back to the storage area and power the pump, which in turn continues the cycle. One hint as to the contents of the converter is "it acts like a turbine but isn't a turbine" in the normal sense of the word, Clem said. He said his car has "some bugs in it," but said it has been driven as fast as 103 miles per hour. And when he gets the bugs worked out, he plans to take it on a test trip 600 miles to El Paso, Texas. The success or failure of that trip might decide if vegetable oil is good for more than frying potatoes. In a recent meeting with Richard Clems' daughter and her two children, she showed me a brochure which her father had been distributing. This brochure had a rough description of the engine, a list of components and the photo below pointing to various parts. However, due to a prior arrangement with her lawyer, they removed the list identifying the various parts of the engine which you see below. If anyone has this brochure, I would appreciate a scan or photocopy of it so we can append the engine details to this photo.

Scanned Photocopy of the original Clem Engine courtesy Richard Clems' daughter

Clems' Engine full side photo

Clems' Engine with parts spread out

Clems' Engine Exposed

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Clems' Later Engine

Believed to be Clems' Earliest Engine

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