A Substitute for Air.
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The " Elastes" Tire-filling for Cabs and Light Delivery Vans.
The question of the subStitution of a resilient material for the air contained in the pneumatic tire is one which has occupied the attention of a large number of people, and several examples of filling material have been tried with varying amounts of success. One of the best of these is the material known as " Elastes," and marketed by the Elastes Company, Limited, of 79-8o, York Street, Westminster, S.W. This Lire filling has now had considerable test under ordinary working conditions, and the company is running a car under R.A.C. observation, fitted with tires filled with this preparation : total of 3,000 miles is to be covered in daily runs averaging 150 miles, and a representative of " 'THE COMMERCIAL Mama " was able to accompany Mr. A. W. Burt, the sales manager of the Elastes Company, on one of the daily trips, and had art opportunity of judging of the resilient qualities of the tire filling. The run on the occasion mentioned was from London to Marlborough (Wilts.) and back, a start being made from the R.A.C. garage in Down Street at 9 a.m., and Marlborough being reached at i p.m., where a halE for luncheon took place. The return journey, over the same route, viz., through Newbury and Reading, was covered in very comfortable style, and with extremely good results so far as tires were concerned.
The " Elastes " tire filling was described by us in our issue of the Lith March, 1907, and to this article we would refer our readers. A few further notes, however, may be of interest. " Elastes " is a mixture of glue, glycerine and chromate salts, together with other additions which are kept secret by the manufacturing company, and these are mixed in a hot, liquid state and forced into the inner tube through a special valve, another similar valve being fitted to the tube to allow the air to escape. When the tube has been completely filled, the second valve is closed, and the filled tube is subjected to a pressure varying according to the weight of the car for which it is intended. The tire is sent out to customers enclosed in an outer cover and mounted on what is known as a storage rim, which is one of a standard type, but split circumferentially into two sections which are held together by detachable clamps. In one of our illustrations we show an " Elastes "-filled tire ready packed for dispatch.
Sets of these tires are now only sold. accompanied by the new " Elastes " removable flange rim, which has been designed to obviate the difficulty experienced by customers, in that, should any repair or replacement be necessary, the removal of the wheel from the car was compulsory, in order that it might be sent to the makers. The adoption of this new flange, which we illustrate in sectional form (page 197), renders it possible for the user to remove the tire himself, and to place another one in
position quite easily. Another point is that the process of mounting " Elas-tes "-filled tires upon ordinary standard rims has sometimes overstrained, the outer cover, or has resulted in an irregular bedding of the cover bead in the rim flange, with resulting damage to the filling. The rim as designed is -equally suitable for use with ordinary pneumatic tires, and it consists of : an
• ordinary rim (AC), from which one flange has been removed; a movable flange (E); a set of bolts (F); a set of special nuts (G); a groove (D) in the -thickened wood felloe (M), into which a return piece (B) on the flange (E) fits, and prevents wet from rising in the Tim by pressing against the rubber ring (K); and a set of plates (H) which are screwed on to the wood felloe (M), in order to take the pressure of the bolts (F), and into which the nuts (G) are keyed by means of a small feather.
Remarkably easy riding is secured -on Elastes, even at high speeds, and it is felt by the company that, although pneumatic tires overcome the question -of vibration, they are objectionable on the score of trouble from punctures and
bursts, and a large claim for " Elastes " is that these troubles are absent. On the question of cost, it is stated that a much greater amount of wear can be obtained with " Elastes "filled tires than with those which depend upon air for their resilient quf.0i
tics. The reason advanced for this is that there is no bursting strain on the covers, and, consequently these can be worn down to the last layer of canvas before being discarded, whereas, in the case of air, as soon as the cover becomes weak, it is liable to burst. The company states that, so long as an Elastes "-filled tube is kept from actual contact with the road, it can be used again and again under new (ewers.
This filling will doubtless be of considerable value for use on light delivery vans, and for cab work. Several large owners are at present experimenting with it, and at the recent Commercial Vehicle Show a Fiat and a Wolselev cab were fitted with these tires, together with the removable flange rims. A Siddeley light delivery van was also similarly equipped.