The large vertical blower engine pictured above was built in the 1890s by EP Allis Co. of Milwaukee (later part of Allis-Chalmers). The steam cylinder (lower) measures 42 inches (1.1 m) in diameter, the air cylinder (upper) 84 inches (2.1 m) and both had a stroke of 60 inches (1.5 m).

The steam cylinder had a Reynolds-Corliss valve system, driven through an auxiliary shaft driven by a lower bevel gear, at right angles to the crankshaft.[9] This meant that the crankshaft was at right angles to the flywheel, rather than parallel as was usual. Edwin Reynolds") was the designer of the Allis company and by 1876 had developed an improved version of the Corliss valve system, with an improved firing mechanism capable of working at higher speeds.

As in rocker-arm engines, the main force of the piston was transmitted to the air cylinder by a purely reciprocating action, and the flywheels simply served to regularize the action of the engine. To allow adjustment, the steam piston rod only reaches as far as the crosshead "Crosshead (engine)"). Above were the twin bars that drove the air piston. The flywheel shaft was mounted below the steam piston, the paired connecting rods moved down and back on the model of a return rod engine.

At the end of the century, gas internal combustion engines were developed to burn the gases produced by blast furnaces, eliminating the need for fuel for steam boilers and increasing the efficiency of the process. Bethlehem Steel was one of the companies that employed this technology.[11] Huge horizontal engines, usually single cylinder, burned blast furnace gas. The John Cockerill Society "John Cockerill (company)") of Belgium and Körting of Hanover were prominent manufacturers of these engines.

Subsequently, initiatives have been carried out to restore some blowing machines,[12]​ and there are still companies that manufacture and install multi-cylinder internal combustion engines to burn waste gases.[13]​.

When blast furnaces were retrofitted after World War II, the preferred power source was the diesel engine or electric motor. Both had a rotating outlet, which worked well with the development of centrifugal fans, capable of handling large volumes of air. Although the steam-blowing reciprocating engine continued where it was already in use, it was rarely installed after the war. These older plants began to close in the 1950s and numbers declined dramatically across the West during the 1970s, so reciprocating blowers have become increasingly rare.

Examples of both a blower powered by a beam steam engine[3]​[4]​ and a vertical blowing engine can be seen in the open-air museum at Blists Hill, Ironbridge Gorge.[4]​ The "David & Sampson" beam engines are listed monuments in the United Kingdom.[3]​.

An 1817 outrigger steam engine blowing engine made by Boulton & Watt, formerly used at MW Grazebrook's Netherton foundry, now decorates the square at Dartmouth Circus, in a traffic-isolated flowerbed at the start of the A38(M) motorway in Birmingham (see image above, location: ).

The large vertical blower engine pictured above was built in the 1890s by EP Allis Co. of Milwaukee (later part of Allis-Chalmers). The steam cylinder (lower) measures 42 inches (1.1 m) in diameter, the air cylinder (upper) 84 inches (2.1 m) and both had a stroke of 60 inches (1.5 m).

The steam cylinder had a Reynolds-Corliss valve system, driven through an auxiliary shaft driven by a lower bevel gear, at right angles to the crankshaft.[9] This meant that the crankshaft was at right angles to the flywheel, rather than parallel as was usual. Edwin Reynolds") was the designer of the Allis company and by 1876 had developed an improved version of the Corliss valve system, with an improved firing mechanism capable of working at higher speeds.

As in rocker-arm engines, the main force of the piston was transmitted to the air cylinder by a purely reciprocating action, and the flywheels simply served to regularize the action of the engine. To allow adjustment, the steam piston rod only reaches as far as the crosshead "Crosshead (engine)"). Above were the twin bars that drove the air piston. The flywheel shaft was mounted below the steam piston, the paired connecting rods moved down and back on the model of a return rod engine.

At the end of the century, gas internal combustion engines were developed to burn the gases produced by blast furnaces, eliminating the need for fuel for steam boilers and increasing the efficiency of the process. Bethlehem Steel was one of the companies that employed this technology.[11] Huge horizontal engines, usually single cylinder, burned blast furnace gas. The John Cockerill Society "John Cockerill (company)") of Belgium and Körting of Hanover were prominent manufacturers of these engines.

Subsequently, initiatives have been carried out to restore some blowing machines,[12]​ and there are still companies that manufacture and install multi-cylinder internal combustion engines to burn waste gases.[13]​.

When blast furnaces were retrofitted after World War II, the preferred power source was the diesel engine or electric motor. Both had a rotating outlet, which worked well with the development of centrifugal fans, capable of handling large volumes of air. Although the steam-blowing reciprocating engine continued where it was already in use, it was rarely installed after the war. These older plants began to close in the 1950s and numbers declined dramatically across the West during the 1970s, so reciprocating blowers have become increasingly rare.

Examples of both a blower powered by a beam steam engine[3]​[4]​ and a vertical blowing engine can be seen in the open-air museum at Blists Hill, Ironbridge Gorge.[4]​ The "David & Sampson" beam engines are listed monuments in the United Kingdom.[3]​.

An 1817 outrigger steam engine blowing engine made by Boulton & Watt, formerly used at MW Grazebrook's Netherton foundry, now decorates the square at Dartmouth Circus, in a traffic-isolated flowerbed at the start of the A38(M) motorway in Birmingham (see image above, location: ).