Wikinventia — Atlas of discoveries and inventions · Exploration Age

Condensation steam pump for mine drainage — Thomas Savery

1698 AD · Transmission: Silenced
PhysicsEngineeringInventionBritish

Savery patents the 'Miner's Friend', a pistonless steam pump for draining mines: steam displaces water and then condenses, creating a vacuum that draws in more water. The condensation-vacuum principle comes from Papin's work (1690), without Savery crediting it. Demonstrated before the Royal Society in 1699.

InstitutionOwn workshop, Salisbury Court, London
Historical regionLondon, England
Primary sourceSavery, T. — The Miner's Friend; or, An Engine to Raise Water by Fire (London, 1702)
Secondary sourcePhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol. 21, no. 253 (1699)
Original languageEnglish
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