FORD VAN POINTERS.
Page 26
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By R. T. Nicholson (Author of "The Book of the Ford").
You CAN now get a Ford van without a. starter, if it so pleases you, at a reduction of 215. Personally, I believe the starter is worth the extra money, and I would rather have it than the 2,15.
480.—A Starter Pointer.
On the other hand, there are some employers whet do not care to trust a starter to the care of roughand-ready drivers, whose rounds mean many stops and. starts ; and there is no doubt that, in such circumstances, it is easy to overdo things by making too big a draft on the battery current. A starter must be used intelligently and considerately.
When the starter is not fitted all other parts of the equipment remain the same. For instance, the generator and the battery are still there ; and it is necessary that they should be "on tap," because the lighting current is still derived from a battery, although, of course, not actually generated by it. This means (in the absence of the starter) that relatively little use is made of the battery current ; and that, again, means that a large supply of electricity is running to waste. If not needed for starting current a generator and battery of much smaller capacity would be ample for the current needed. With little draft on it the generator is always pouring energy into the battery, which will not, of course, receive it beyond a certain point— the point where it is fully charged. After that the energy runs to waste.
481.—Why "Topping" the Electrolyte is Important.
Now, it is perfectly true that you cannot overcharge the battery, in one sense, simply because the battery will not take the surplus current. You can no more overcharge the battery than you can overfill a pint pot with a quart of water : the pot will only hold a pint.
But that is not the last word. Something must happen to the surplus energy: what does happen?
It breaks up or decomposes the electrolyte—the battery liquid. You can tell when it does so by the gassing of the battery—the apparent " boiling " and bubbling which go on when you pour surplus energy into it.
That means that you must be constantly topping the electrolyte to keep it up to proper level. The need of topping is still further increased by the evaporation of water from the electrolyte due to the heat produced when surplus electrical energy is being continually poured into the battery.
The Fault of Regularly Overcharging the Battery.
But there is little harm in this—granted a watchful eye and distilled water to hand. The greatest trouble arising from regularly " overcharging " lies in the fact that the plates of the battery get " scrubbed " by the surging of the electrolyte, and that this results in the loosening and dropping of the paste from the plates. This is mechanical action. You know what happens when you shake water in a bottle ; you loosen any dirt that may be inside, and it falls to the bottom. That is what is likely to happen if you are constantly agitating the liquid in the battery—except that what falls is not dirt, but the lead oxide paste in the plates. And gassirig means agitation (as a man would say whose wife was constantly nagging him-1).
Therefoae, . I believe in having a starter on the modern van, and using it to a reasonable extent. B42 You thus get. an outlet for your stored energy. A battery works best when it is property used. Resting does it no good. A lazy life does not suit it. There are limits, of course ; the battery must be used, not exhausted. Better not use its surplus energy than strain it by over-use. If you have no starter use your lights very liberally. If you find your battery gassing, and feel it quite hot to the touch, turn your lights on, whether it is daytime or night time. It looks a bit silly to drive by day with the lights all ablaze, but never -mind. It is better that you should look a fool than , be one. Liberal use of the lights will stop the gassing and lower the temperature. When these symptoms have disappeared you can douse the gline
482.—A Book About the Ford.
The publishers of the "Ford Car, Truck and Tractor Repair," by Alfred A. Good, have been good enough to send me a copy for review. The book is full of all sorts of useful information about the Ford in particular, and motors in general. It shows how Ford practice stands related to general motor engineering procedure. It deals largely—though by no means exclusively— with repairs. It shows why and how this happens and what should be done.
Mr. Good was at one time Director of the Ford Company's Service School. He may, therefore, be regarded as an authoritative writer on the subject with which he deals. What he says is so—although this appreeiation must not be taken to mean that Mr.
Good assumes the ipse dixi tone. He knows his facts, states them, and leaves them to speak for themselves.
The manner in which the book is written is unfortunately not half so good as the matter which it
contains. Truth to tell, it makes heavy reading—
simply because the author knows a great deal, but does not know how to tell it—at all events on paper.
One can generally get an idea of what he means, but too often only after wrestling with cumbrous and confused statements.
For instance, what can we make of — " The storage battery requires careful and frequent attention, and if given such will not require a good deal of time or labor to keep it in good condition." (P. 192).
The word, "ultimate," bothers—us in " The ultimate form of the) carburetor, that is to Say the form in use to-day, is known as the jet spray type."
It is surely hardly consistent with the American spirit (and Mr. Good is presumably an American) to regard present achievements as "ultimate."
Sometimes Mr. Good's statements appear to be misleading. For instance, he tells us that " The Ford ignition system in known as the High Tension jump spark system."
The implication is that this description is distinctive of the Ford ignition, whereas it surely applies to all ignition systems in which a h.t. coil figures. The illustrations (32 figs.) are generally excellent, although in some cases the scale adopted is too small for easy comprehension. Fig. 2 is upside down, and
Fig. 29 seeme, to confuse the switch with the coil-box.
The instructions on the adjustment of the Ford carburetter (American carburetor) are particularly helpful. All the instructions given will, however, be welcome to the mechanic—for whom the book is primarily written. It is a pity that the book contains no alphabetical index.