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I’ve gotten my hands on a Model A Edison Fireside and am working on bringing it back to life. I’m wondering how many 2 or 4 minute cylinders most members can expect their machines to play on one winding? So far I can manage one full 4 minute cylinder and about a quarter of a second before the spring winds down. Similar timing for two minute cylinders ( approx 2.5 cylinders ). Is that normal or does this indicate the spring may need to be replaced?

Thanks!

I would think with everything in top shape a Fireside could play between three or four Blue Amberol cylinders. But I could be too optimistic and it's also an educated guess.

What type of horn are you using?

Jerry B.

When I was testing it I wasn't actually using a horn but it has a No. 10 Cygnet.

I went back and looked at George Frow's book on Edison cylinder phonographs. He gives the number of cylinders a machine would play for the 1st (A) models only. Obviously, these numbers were for 2-minute cylinders. I know some of the machines received improvements over the years, but I don't know how much it would have increase the length it would play after one winding. I expect it was fairly minimal. Here is what he said:

Gem: 2 cylinders per wind = 4 minutes

Fireside: ?

Standard: 2-3 cylinders per wind = 4 to 6 minutes

Home: 6 cylinders per wind = 12 minutes

Spring Motor/Triumph: 14-16 cylinders per wind = 28 to 32 minutes

He gives no numbers for the Fireside but I would assume it would be similar the the Standard. That means a Fireside Phonograph would play approximately 4 to six minutes on a winding. Considering some of the Blue Amberols were almost 5 minutes long, I would think that a fully wound Fireside would play 1 but not 2 Blue Amberols.

I've always found these number of records per winding estimates on the optimistic side. Kind of like fuel economy estimates for cars.

I wind my Fireside before every record. I once forgot, and the machine slowed down during the second record. So I think the OP's experience is fairly typical. A properly adjusted, lubricated Fireside with a new strong spring may do a bit better, possibly making it through 2 records, but I doubt that it would run much longer than that.

I tried my Fireside A tonight and to my surprise it played 2 full 4M cylinders plus a half minute or so of a third. This from a machine which has sat on display for a long time without being played and which still has the original grease in the spring barrel.

Jim

My standard B will play four two-minute cylinders on one winding, despite the extra weight of a Model R reproducer and a thirty-inch brass horn on a crane. This seems to be consistent with Jim's experience of his Fireside.

Oliver Mundy.

Certainly seems like some springs are playing longer than others! Guess a new spring can't hurt.

My Fireside B with Fireside horn 2 full 4 minute cylinders plus half a third.

Update on this machine. I finally got the time to look into the motor and got the spring apart. It seems that at some point someone inserted a collar around the shaft inside the barrel and possibly removed the original rivet that caught the inner hole in the spring. I haven't yet been able to unpin the collar yet to see what damage was done to the shaft. In the event I have to remake the rivet, does anyone have a photo of an unmolested shaft for a Fireside Model A that I could use as a reference? Was the rivet just friction fit or soldered in place?

Any ideas why someone might have wanted to do this?