Coal-gas Instead of Petrol.
Page 15
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Important Paper Before Gas Engineers at Merthyr.
Mr. W. Clark Jackson, engineer and manager of the, Netith Corporation gas department, read an instruttive paper, on the 16th inst., at Merthyr Tydvil, before members of the Wales and Monmouthshire District. Institution of Gas Engineers. Mr. J. E. -Henshole, of Merthyr Tydvil, presided. We have Perused the paper with the greatest interest, and we are pleased to know that it will receive wide publicity in the principal journals of the gas in dustry throughont the world. Its contents, as is • generously acknowledged by Mr. Jackson, are largely based upon articles which have appeared HI THE COMMERC{AL MOTOR. Mr. Jackson, from his own independent investigations, has been able to confirm practically all the data which we have from time to time . put before our readers since July of last year. He ,quotes in the paper certain additional testimony from • users of flexible gas-holders, and these experience's • are shortly tobe embodied independently hi the new series of articles which we begin this week (pages 291 and 292).
Mr. Jackson, we are pleased to observe, makes it thoroughly clear that the system of gas-driven tramcars at Neath is obsolete as regards internal-combustion practice. He forecasts changes in this system, to the end that modern equipment' may have the chance to show what it can do. He points -out that a compression pressure of 200 lb. on the square inch is suecessfully employed at Neath without any (Weillties as to storage, manipulation or reduction of pressure to feed the engines.
The discussion, which we report below, discloses a lamentable degree of nervousness as to financial prospects for -gas undertakings. This lethargy and misconception amaze us. There will be demand for all classes of motor fuel after the peace.
The Discussion.
The President. said that the paper was quite out of the Ordinary, and he believed the subject was one of importance to the whole country. To him there appeared to be at least a, very fair prospect of good business being done on the lines suggested in the paper.
Mr. It G. Clarry, Swansea, the junior vice-president, said that inquiries had been made at Swansea respecting the lorry type of vehicle, and the question resolved itself into the cost compression was likely to incur. Such vehicles would require charging with gas on the road; and it was a question as to what Well installations as would be necessary for compressing would work out at; If only a few people went in for the change the charges would have to be borne by them, and that might make it, prohibitive. If a large number took the matter up, however, the charges would naturally be correspondingly cheaper. Ga.s managers should foster the matter as much as possible.
Mr. S. Murray, Pontycwmmer, dealt with the matter from a different point of view. Ile instanced what would happen if petrol fell in price to its normal figure, and asked if coalgas would he cheap enough to compete in such an eventiNality. He said that if they would be expected to provide charges if required in the middle of the night, etc., the cost. would naturally he high. A special man would have to be kept for it, as an ordinary man Could not do it. Mr. Jackson had suggested a compression of 300 lb. or 200 lb. to the sq. in.
• That, he thought, was rather high, if they only bad to deal with a few cases of compression, and it would increase the cost considerably. Dealing with motor lorries, he said if they could only take 350 ft. of gas at one works, and that had to be compressed to 200 lb. to the sq. in., it would not, in his (minion, prove A paying concern. The matter, however. was only irk its transitory stage, and all gas managers should do what they could to try tho experiment. Mr. H.S. Bateman, IsTerthyr, called attention to the fact . that, petrol substitutes could be manufactured which provided even more power than petrol itself. If that were. so why •should they strive to provide gas for petrol motors? There was a doubt • whether, if coal-gas was substituted, they would be ableo,in normal times to wage. a commercial fight against petrol. "Rings" would not allow, that to have its day. It remained 1110-re br less with the " this " and in the fight they would lower the price of petrol. Mr. J. H. Canning, Newport, touched on a new phase when he. remarked that one of the chief factors in the proh• lem was the question of the space occupied by the gas-bags, as against bulk occupied by the petrol. That presented a rather serious difficulty, in his opinion.. In the photographs of motorbuses handed round by Mr. Jackson he noticed all the upper deck was occupied by large gas-bags. Whether that would not tend. in course of time, to render the buses unpopular was a matter that should be carefully considered. He thought it. would have that tendency. •He thought on the whole it wetild be better to use compressed gas cylinders underneath the buses rather than adopt the gaz-bags. There. was one point he desired to call attention to, and that was the ease with which petrol engines could be started with coalgas That. opened another field for the consumption of coalgas in garages. Many of them werthiuware from bitter experience of the great difficulty of starting petrol engines after they had been standing in a cold garage for some time and the petrol had become stale. Coal-gas obviated all that. Indeed, people who had to start a number of petrol engines in the morning adopted flexile gas connectors for starting the engines, and in some motor works they tested the engines almost exclusively with coal-gas, especially POW that petrol was to scarce. It appeared to him to be doubtful whether, even if coal-gas was developed for that purpose, they would he able to retain it after the War, The petrol people, they might be sure, would be very much alive to the, seriousness of losing their business. Referring to the inquiries of Messrs. Lovell, the confectionery manufacturers, of Newport, who had asked whether they could. be supplied with cmnpressecl gas at. stations between Newport and Swansea if they adopted the coal-gas method of locomotion for their motor vehicles, Mr. Canning said that it would not pay them to establish compressing station's if there was not a considerable and certain demand, and if they would not be required alter the war. He was sure they all felt grateful to Mr. Jackson for collecting such valuable information as he had embodied The President said that from the opinions of motorbus proprietors be had come to the conclusion that everything appeared to be all right, and that such a conversion would prove a paying proposition. He had written to two or three places, and from What he gathered the scheme appeared to be extend
ing very rapidly.
Mr. :Jackson replying to the discussion, said that it was . possible for motors of the type described, to travel 15 milts on one charge ; on a run from Newport to Swansea it would mean charging eight times. The Commercial Clas Association had taken' the matter up, and were testing, and • he believed very shortly they, would present the results to the Press, with a, lot of figures tabulate1,1, it would depend upon after-the-war prices of gas -an41 petrol as to whether they would be able to corainne it coal-ass 'were once adopted. He thought motorcar proprietors should take the matter up.