Thomas Savery (pronounced "say-vuh-ree"; about 1650 – May 15, 1715) was an English inventor and engineer. He created the first steam-powered device used in business, a steam pump known as the "Savery engine." Savery's steam pump was a new and important way to pump water, which helped improve mine drainage and made it possible to provide water to many people.

Career

Thomas Savery was born around 1650 at the manor house of Shilstone, near Modbury, Devon. He received a good education and became a military engineer, reaching the rank of captain by 1702. He spent his free time experimenting with mechanics. In 1696, he received a patent for a machine to polish glass or marble, and another for a device that could help ships move more easily using paddle-wheels powered by a capstan. However, the Admiralty rejected this idea after a report by Edmund Dummer, the Surveyor of the Navy.

Savery also worked for the Sick and Hurt Commissioners, arranging to provide medicines to the Navy Stock Company, which was linked to the Society of Apothecaries. His work took him to Dartmouth, Devon, where he likely met Thomas Newcomen.

On 2 July 1698, Savery patented a steam-powered pump, which he called:

It was later called the "Savery engine" because, at the time, the word "engine" meant any device or tool. He showed it to the Royal Society on 14 June 1699. The patent had no pictures or details, but in 1702, Savery described the machine in his book The Miner's Friend; or, An Engine to Raise Water by Fire. He claimed it could remove water from mines.

Savery’s pump had no moving parts except for the taps. It worked by heating water to create steam, which was sent into a vessel. When the vessel was full of steam, a tap was closed, and the vessel was cooled, causing the steam to condense and create a vacuum. Atmospheric pressure then pushed water up a pipe until the vessel was full. The water was then forced upward by steam pressure.

However, the pump had four major issues. First, much heat was lost when warming the water being pumped. Second, the pump’s joints could not handle high-pressure steam and needed frequent repairs. Third, while the pump could theoretically lift water very high, practical safety limits meant multiple pumps were needed for deep mines. Fourth, the pump could only be placed up to about 30 feet above the water level, requiring it to be installed deep in mines.

Savery’s patent, granted in 1698, protected his invention for 14 years. In 1699, an Act of Parliament extended this protection for 21 more years. This law, called the "Fire Engine Act," allowed Savery’s patent to cover all pumps that used fire to raise water.

James Smith of Whitehill in Scotland obtained the right to use Savery’s pump. In 1699, he agreed with Savery and received a Scottish patent in 1701. Smith claimed he modified the pump to lift water from 84 feet deep.

In England, Savery’s patent forced Thomas Newcomen to partner with him. By 1712, they worked together to improve Newcomen’s steam engine design, which was sold under Savery’s patent. Newcomen’s engine used atmospheric pressure instead of high-pressure steam, avoiding its dangers. It used a piston concept invented by Denis Papin in 1690.

When Denis Papin returned to London in 1707, Isaac Newton, then President of the Royal Society, asked him to work with Savery. Papin and Savery collaborated for five years, but Savery did not credit or pay Papin.

After Savery’s death in 1715, his patent and the Fire Engine Act were owned by a company called The Proprietors of the Invention for Raising Water by Fire. This company charged up to £420 per year for using steam engines. One colliery paid £200 per year and half its profits for the company’s help.

The Fire Engine Act remained in effect until 1733, four years after Newcomen’s death.

In March 1702, a newspaper announced that Savery’s pumps were ready for use and could be seen on Wednesdays and Saturdays at his workhouse in Salisbury Court, London.

One pump was installed at York Buildings in London. Later descriptions said it produced steam "eight or ten times stronger than common air" but damaged the machine’s joints, requiring repairs with spelter.

Another pump controlled water at Hampton Court, and another at Campden House in Kensington operated for 18 years.

A few Savery pumps were tested in mines. One failed to remove water from a pool called Broad Waters in Wednesbury and nearby coal mines. The pump broke apart due to excessive steam pressure, and the project was abandoned. This may have happened around 1705.

In 1706, George Sparrow proposed using a steam pump at Newbold near Chesterfield to drain a coal mine. However, the plan likely failed after the Broad Waters pump’s failure. A steam pump may also have been tested at Wheal Vor, a copper mine in Cornwall.

Comparison with Newcomen steam engine

The Savery steam pump cost much less to buy than the Newcomen steam engine. A Savery pump with 2 to 4 horsepower cost between 150 and 200 GBP. These pumps were also available in smaller sizes, as small as 1 horsepower. Newcomen steam engines were larger and more expensive. The larger size was because piston steam engines did not work well when they were small, until about the year 1900, when 2-horsepower piston engines became available. Savery-type pumps were still made until the late 18th century.

Inspiration for later work

Many pumping systems that came later were inspired by Savery's pump. An example is the twin-chamber pulsometer steam pump, which was a successful improvement of Savery's design.