Combating Petrol-alcohol Carburation Difficulties
Page 52
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The S.A.T. Hydrocarbaretter Designed to Deliver Petrol and Alcohol to the Engine
A N interesting new carburetter has been pro1-1dueed in France by Messrs. Lioud, of 27, Rue de is Buire, Saint Etienne. This is a device in which petrol and commercial alcohol can be employed simultaneously.
For some years past a fuel for industrial vehicles, known as " Carburant National," has been on sale at most big garages throughout France. This fuel comprises an equal mixture of petrol and commercial alcohol, which, in some engines, has been found to work fairly well. The chief disadvantages of the spirit appear to arise from the large water content of the alcohol employed in it.
It is known that dehydrated alcohol, when mixed with petrol, constitutes quite a satisfactory motor fuel, but the affinity of alcohol for water renders it difficult to keep the Void in a dehydrated conditicm when stored for any length of time.
The new appliance, which is to be known as the S.A.T. Ifydrocarburetter, has been designed to overcome the difficulty by simultaneously delivering petrol and alcohol to the engine through separate jets. By this means alcohol with a considerable water content can be successfully employed.
Petrol and alcohol are carried in separate tanks on the vehicle, and the fuels are conducted to twin float-chambers, from which • they reach the two main jets, as may be seen in the accompanying diagram. A pilot jet, for petrol alone, is provided for starting and slow running.
B34 The main jets are arranged side by side in a horizontal passage provided with a small air intake. The vapour is conducted through an annular passage to the centre of the venturi where a second and complete mixing takes place before ihe gas is delivered to the engine.
The proportion of petrol to alcohol in the mixture can be accurately adjusted by the respective sizes of the jets. In the case of a recent trial of the S.A.T. appliance, made under severe conditions by the French War Office, the proportions were 30 per cent. petrol and 70 per cent. alcohol, with a high water content. From the technical point of view, the advantages of introducing water vapour into the explosive mixture have been known for many years, but the disadvantages which occur in practice are only too familiar to those who have tried some of the various water-spraying devices marketed during the past quarter of a century. The S.A.T. carburetter may offer a rather neat solution of the problem.