OPINIONS and QUERIES
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"Full of News and Good Illustrations."
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3343] Sir,—I notice in the issue of The Commercial Motor dated February 17th a translation of a letter written by His Excellency Seilor Don Jose E. Uriburu, Argentine Ambassador to Britain.
The last paragraph of his letter is as follows :— "This journal is to be commended for its initiative in describing in detail in the Spanish language the various machines and appliances that will be exhibited, thus rendering it easier for visitors to understand them." I am studying Spanish, am particularly interested in road transport and I am writing to ask if it is possible for me to obtain a copy of this work in Spanish.
May I be permitted to take this opportunity of congratulating you on the excellent way in which you arrange to produce a very interesting paper, full of news and good illustrations, every Tuesday morning? F. MASON SLATER, Consulting Engineer.
Derby.
Using the Mains for Engine Starting.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3344] Sir,—In reply to Mr. Lucas on the above subject, I am of the opinion that his scheme is impracticable. First, the cables, switch and connections from the starter to the dashboard would have to be very heavy and capable of dealing with at least 200 amps. Secondly, a resistance is only suitable as a definite voltage reducer, when the current passing through it is constant, and as the current taken by a starter motor varies from 200 amps. down to about 15, the voltage would rise, as the current dropped, to a potential that would probably break down the insulation of the motor, etc. Also, a fuse inserted to " blow" at a pressure of 15 volts is impossible, as it is amperes that melt a fuse, not volts. The only safe way in which the mains could be used for this purpose wad be to have a motorgenerator, the mains supplying the motor and the generator being compound wound and having an output of 12 volts 250 amps.
Personally, I do not think that the scheme is worth while, as the expense would be as great as, or greater than, a proper engine starter, such as the Eqwhipple.
Liverpool. WALLACE BLACK.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3345] Sir,—I trust that none of your readers will attempt to put into practice the idea put forward under the above heading in your issue of February 17th.
Any garage electrician will soon see the impracticability of the proposal. No factory lighting circuits, or even power circuits, are capable of carrying, or are fused to carry, such current flow as is required by the modern commercial-type starter motor.' Again, fuses cannot be employed in such a circuit, and, in any case,
can never be used to control voltage as suggested by "blowing at 15 volts."
With modern batteries and equipment, kept in good order,. the fleet engineer can rest assured of the ability d the battery to meet this sudden and heavy load. In unheated garages, and with new or " gummy " engines, it is, of course, the usual practice to free the engine.
For those who have any trouble in this way, there are, of course, one or two good proprietary engine starters for coupling to the starting handle. The electric model would, of course, enable one to carry out indirectly your correspondent's idea via an electric motor.
Where expense is a consideration the following suggestion could be carried out in any way suitable to the types of vehicle in use and according , to the fleet engineer's own ideas.
On a small wheeled truck mount a good largecapacity battery, one pole connected direct to a large terminal post, the other connected to another post via a starter switch. Have affixed to the terminal posts a pair of starter cables, as heavy as obtainable, and, say, 6 ft. to 8 ft. long, according to the positions of the starters. At the ends of these cables affix Walker, or other high-grade, battery clips.
One man could soon wheel this outfit around to any of the " offenders " and clip direct on to the starter terminals, see the cables were clear, and close switch.
Belfast. C.W.M.
[We would suggest that this idea of a large-capacity spare battery, kept especially for starting, could be enlarged to cover some neat and cheap trickle-charging device by which this battery could always be kept fully charged from the mains and thus be available, if necessary, for starting a considerable number of engines.—Enj
Wasting Money on Unsatisfactory Roads.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3346] Sir,—One after another grandiose arterial roads and by-passes have been constructed of expensive products imported from other parts of the country, and even from abroad, when simple materials, such as tar and British stone, could have provided adequate highways at half, or less than half, the cost in material— and, incidentally, would have given more local employment, to the further relief of the rates.
If the extravagant methods of the Ministry of Transport had resulted in roads that were safer or more durable, one would have no cause for complaint. But they have not. The Great West Road, to quote one instance, has a tragic record of accidents owing to II'S slippery surface. The Kingston by-pass, as a recent traffic census has revealed, is actually being avoided by the traffic it was intended to attract, owing to the premature disintegration of its surface. It is no longer a by-pass ; it is a byword.
As president of the National Federation of Property Owners and Ratepayers, therefore, I protest against this state of affairs. The Road Fund report shows B29 that the worthy ideal of providing unemployment relief by additional road work during the past year has been used merely as a cloak or excuse for further extravagance and wastefulness.
Were the money wisely and economically expended, the same mileage of roads could be dealt with at half, or less than half, the cost; or, alternatively, twice the mileage of roads could be built or reconstructed and more employment provided. B_ERTIE (of Thame). London, S.W.1.
The Working Hours of Owner-drivers.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3347] Sir,—I operate a 30-cwt. vehicle and have contract work which takes me out on two 20-hour journeys, which consist of Wednesday and Wednesday night, Saturday and Saturday night. The vehicle is driven alternately by me and a partner, and we are both present on each journey. We would like to know as owner-drivers are we classed as such or: as ordinary workmen, as we have seen no distinction in your journal, which we read regularly? Also, does the Act allow for two drivers to do one journey between them without either of them leaving the vehicle after doing his 11-hour stretch?
Seeing that we work only two shifts of 20 hours (40 hours per week) between us, both being unoccupied from Thursday morning until Saturday morning and from Sunday morning until Wednesday morning, do you consider that we come within the scope of the Act? It is impossible for us to leave the vehicle, as there is no accommodation except that which is beyond our means. Possibly we could put' our case before some authority ; if so, will you please advise us? B. GRIFFITHS. Manchester.
'There appears to be DO doubt but that section 19 of the Act applies to owner-drivers just as much as its does to paid drivers, as it makes it an offence, in the case of the classes of vehicles which are dealt with, for any person to drive or, Cause or permit any person employed by him to drive, for periods longer than those which are specified: There is nothing in the section to prevent a driver remaining on the vehicle .during " his hours of rest," CO long as during that time he is not engaged on • "other work in connection with the vehicle or the load carried thereby." In your particular ease .there should be no difficulty in arranging that neither driver drives for more than 51 hours consecutively, or for more than 11 hours " in any period of 24 hours commencing two hours after midnight" The point to consider is how the driving can be arranged so that each driver has at least nine consecutive hours for rest "in any period of 24 hours calculated from the commencement of any period of driving." In your case nine hours of rest will be sufficient instead of 10, because each driver will be able to have 12 consecutive hours of rest during the following 24 hours.
The following chart shows how the times may be divided between yourself, "A," and your partner, " B ": A drives. B drives.'
A starts to drive 6 a.m; A drives until 11 a.m. 5 hrs.
B starts to drive 11 a.m. B drives until 4 p.m. . 5 hrs.
A drives until 9 p.m. 5 hrs.
B drives until 2 a.m. 5 hrs.
Under the above table A rests from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m., which gives him nine consecutive hours' rest during the 24 hours from the time when he .first commenced to drive, and B rests from 2 a.m. until 11 a.m., which gives -him nine consecutive hours' rest during the 24 hours from the time when he first commenced to drive.
The above table runs matters very fine and leaves no time for stopping on the way, and in practice it will be better if the time of driving be arranged more on the following lines:— A drives. B drives.
A starts to drive 6 a.m.
A drives until 11 a.m. 5 hrs. A and B rest until 12 noon.
A drives until 5 p.m. 5 hrs.
B starts to drive 5 p.m.
B drives until 10 p.m. 5 hrs. A and B rest until 11 p.m.
B drives until 4 a.m. 5 hrs.
Under these times A rests from 5 p.m. until 4 a.m., while B rests from 4 a.m. until 1 p.m., both of which allow nine hours' rest within the 24 hours after they respectively first drive.
The only eases in which the Minister of Transport is allowed to make exceptions to the provisions of the. section are where applications are made by such a body as a joint industrial council or organization representative of employers and warkpeople. He has no power to deal with individual eases.—ED.1