Encouraging Road Transport Electrification
Page 33
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Some Details of the Exhibits at the Fourth Annual Exhibition of Battery-electric Vehicles and Equipment Organized at Manchester by the Electric Vehicle Association
NEXT Tuesday and Wednesday, at Manchester, the Fourth Annual Exhibition of battery-electric vehicles and equipment pertaining to them will he staged by the Electric Vehicle Association of Great Britain. This Show has been gradually increasing in importance and, on this occasion, it is particularly timely, for the machines operate independently of foreign fuel.
No better opportunity of emphasizing the claims of the electric vehicle has been afforded. That it is an ideal form of transport for many classes of work, particularly where these involve a comparatively large number of stops over a limited mileage, cannot be disputed.
Although the number of exhibitors is not great, the products to be displayed will be of a comprehensive nature. For example, -Associated Electric Vehicle Manufacturers, Ltd., 231-234, Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, London, W.C.2, will present three types: Morrison 12-cwt. and Electricar 50-cwt. chassis, and a Morrison 12-cwt. dairy vehicle to the order of Scottish Dairy Farmers, Ltd.
The important exhibits of Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co., Ltd., 1, Kingsway, London, W.C.2, will comprise both chassis and vehicles. The smallest will be the 7-9-cwt. van, the gross-load capacity of which is 23i cwt. The payload varies from 6i to Cli cwt., according to mileage per charge and speed required. The standard model, with a 30-cell battery of 193 amp-hours, can achieve 60 miles per charge with few stops, or 40 where stops average eight per mile.
There will also be the Metrovick 25-30-cwt. van with general-purpose demonstration body, where the gross rapacity is 58 cwt., and corresponding maximum mileages, with 25-cwt. pay-load, 55 and 38. The only bare chassis will be the 18-22-cwt. This will take a gross load of 42 cwt., and with its biggest battery give mileages of 51 and 34. with a load of 17i cwt.
Other interesting exhibits will be a controller and motor, sectioned to show the construction and operation, and a type M.J.V. battery-charging relay.
The chassis Model B25 for 25-cwt, pay-loads to be shown by Midland Vehicles, Ltd., Upper Grove Street, Leamington Spa, is particularly interesting, as it has not previously been described or illustrated. It allows for a body weight of 5i cwt. and 36-cell batteries of 240 amp-hours capacity. Those embodied are of Exide-Ironclad type. Although only recently introduced, this model ia favoured for distributing milk, ice cream, coal, etc. It will carry bodies up to 300 cubic ft., and has withdrawable batteries.
• Milk and Ice Cream Wholesale • One lorry on this chassis, with platform body, is to the order of Midland Counties Dairy, Ltd., which has been using a fleet on the wholesale delivery of milk to shops, and of ice cream in standard detachable containers.
The van will be the BAI2 model, with a chassis designed for 12-15 cwt. payloads. The specification has remained unaltered, except . for the substitution of a delay-action, pedal-operated controller for the hand controller. The body is of 133 cubic ft. capacity, and is unpainted, better to display the quality of the materials and workmanship.
Two models wilt be shown by Murphy Cars and Trucks, Ltd., Cordwallis Works, Cordwallis Road, Maidenhead, Berks. The first is the three-wheeled Servitor designed for a pay-load of 10cwt. and a mileage per charge of 30-35 at Pi m.p.h. The prices are, chassis, £95; body, £25; and
battery, £46. .
The 1-5-cwt. four-wheeler is called the Trader. In this case the pay-load is 15 cwt., the mileage per charge 30-40, and the speed 18-20 m.p.h. Prices are: chassis, £180; body, £35; battery, £74 12s. 6d.
The machine which Partridge, Wilson and Co., Ltd., Davenset Works, Evington Valley Road, Leicester, proposes to display is one designed to meet the new demand. It provides forward control giving maximum visibility for operating under black-out conditions, With a new type controller—the Wilson Monopac—it gives an excellent getaway and gradual acceleration without " snatch." This is much faster than with high-powered cars. Range per charge is 40-50 miles, according to locality and conditions. The body is streamlined and there is space to accommodate light parcels, so that the vehicle can be termed a general-utility car. The motor is a G.E.C. and the standard batteries are Exide Ironclad.
To be shown in conjunction with the distributor, Leach and Seed, Ltd., 293, Liverpool Street, Salford, Manchester, the Tilling-Stevens low-loading chassis, model EVI, built by Tilling-Stevens, Ltd., Victoria Works, Maidstone, is designed for a 3-toif pay-load. It has a drop-sided body and 4.0-cell battery of 350 amp.-hours capacity. This battery is arranged in four blocks mounted on slidable trays carried between the wheels, so that it is easily accessible and interchangeable.
The heavy-duty controller is foot-operated with a delayedaction contactor giving series-parallel battery connections, so that an economical slow-speed position is available for collection work. It gives 10 speeds forward and five reverse.
The chassis is on petrol-chassis lines, with 35-ton pressedsteel channel members, large tubular propeller shaft with universal joints having needle-roller bearings, and fully floating back axle with spiral bevel gearing mounted in a drop-stamped steel casing, and hubs running On large taper-roller bearings. The four-wheel brakes are Lockheed operated. Cam and lever steering gives easy control.
0 Batteries and Charging Plant • A sectioned model of the Kathanocle traction cell, with sample plates and photographs showing the application of -this make to electric vehicles, are to be shown by the D.P. Battery Co., Ltd., Bakewell, Derbyshire.
The main exhibit of the Tudor Accumulator Co., Ltd., Barnmeaclow Works, Dukinfield, Cheshire, will be a crate of four Tudor battery-vehicle cells with a corner cut away to show one of the cells in section.
The plates used are of special construction, the active material being firmly adherent, whilst those of the negative type have the material moulded on both sides of the grid to improve circulation of the acid. Composite-type separators prevent accumulation of deposit and obviate the necessity of cleaning.
A standard 12-volt traction-type battery and sectioned cells to display the construction, together with photographs of vehicles fitted, will be on view by the Young Accurnula,tor Co., Ltd., Burlington Works, Malden Way, New Malden, Surrey.
In these batteries, the grids are designed for heavy work. The positive plates are protected by envelopes of glass-silk in conjunction with a flat sheet of perforated ebonite, vulcanized to the porous " Porbonite " separator.
A most important accessory to the operation of electric vehicles is the charger. That exhibited is made by the Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co., Ltd., Pew Hill House, Chippenham, Wilts. Over 80 per cent, of the electrics in service are dependent upon this make. The new types, in 5'7 models, are lighter, smaller and more easily. handled. Provision has been made on all for fitting, if required, the .Metropolitan-Vickers Type MJV battery-charge relay. The stand of the Chloride Electrical Storage Co., Ltd., Clifton Junction, Manchester, will carry a composite exhibit of traction batteries, including a series of cutaway cells to show the construction of the Exide-Ironclad type. A demonstration board will show the various parts used in such a cell. Employed for traction work for many years, the Exicle-Ironclad has attained a reputation for long life and vigorous performance. Each positive plate consists of antimonial-lead rods cast integral with an upper" structure. Over each is threaded a " sated " ebonite tube holding active materiel. 137