THE FRANCO-BELGIAN GAS-PRODUCER TRIALS.
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The End of the Road Test of 1,250 Miles and the Commencement of the Bench and Laboratory Tests.
WE have already briefly referred to the trials of vehicles equipped with internal-combustion engines, the source of fuel supply being gas producers. The trials have covered rather an extensive field, including road trials and laboratory tests, as well as an examination and comparison of various features connected with the use of the gas fuel made on the spot.
They started on September 18th and were completed, so far as the road trials were concerned, on October 11th, the road journey covering a distance on French and Belgian roads of 1,250 miles. Competing in the trials were 14 of the leading manufacturers of lorries, including such names as Renault, Panhard, Berliet, Saurer, and Bovy, and the capacities of the vehicles ranged from 11-lon to 3i-ton.
Some trials of this sort had already been organized in France, notably in 1922 and 1923, and although they were on a smaller scale than the trials which have just been completed they 'showed very promising results in respect to the possibility of substituting charcoal for petrol as a fuel for use in engines of commercial vehicles. This system', of course, is especially interesting in the Colonies, where road transportation is seribusly hampered by the scarcity and high price of liquid fuels and the danger attaching to them because of their inflammability.
The trials were organized by the Automobile Club of France and the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, and they have been attended by officials of interested Ministries of both countries, such as the Departments of War, the Colonies and Agriculture. The Minister of War‘in the French Cabinet himself was present at the departure of the lorries from Paris, and when they. reached Brussels on September 20th the Belgian Minister of Colonies, M. Carton (already, by the way, well posted concerning the technical side of the problem), devoted some time in obtaining from Professor R. E. Mathot interesting data concerning each vehicle and its gas-producer apparatus. Professor Mathot is president of the Technical Committee of the Belgian Automobile Club and a member of the jury, and very largely this account is based upon his own notes; which he has expressly sent to The Commercial Motor.
• A number of important French and Belgian experts constituted the jury which met in Brussels, and Great Britain sent over four delegates, who were the guests of the promoting clubs.
Although severe conditions had been imposed upon the competitors, only two mechanical breakdowns were reported in the course of the trip between Paris and Brussels, which took five days with an average distance covered daily of 65 miles. These mechanical breakdowns, it may be mentioned, were not in respect of the gas plant.
Every night the lorries had to be locked up, and the drivers were allowed only 30 minutes before the departttre the next morning to attend to their engines and plants for the purpose of cleaning and inspection. For the driving of the lorry and for attendance upon the gas plant, two men only were allowed on the front seat of a lorry, together with an observer appointed by the promoting clubs, the duty of the observer being to watch the behaviour of the lorry, check the fuel consumption and report upon any incident.
Each gas producer had to be loaded with sufficient fuel from the driver's seat and without stopping the lorry, whilst the fuel stored on board, as well as the water for cleansing the gas, had to be sufficient to cover a distance of 75 miles. A quarter-gallon of petrol could be used every day for starting an engine after the blower had been operated by hand or otherwise in order to get the fire to start.
The amount of charcoal consumed during the day and the distance of each daily trip were recorded. The average speed at which the lorries had to travel, maintaining a distance of 110 yds. apart, was 15 m.p.h., but a maximum of 22 m.p.h. was allowed. Gradients up to 14 per cent. had to be negotiated at a speed of not less than 2.72 m.p.h.
On arrival of the lorries in Paris at the .end of the journey, their engines were dismantled for inspection, and a sample of the carbon deposit on the pistons and in the combustion chambers was collected for the purpose of analysis. The members of the jury generally were surprised to see how little deposit had formed on the surface; in some cases it did not amount to more than what is expected from a motor running on petrol, which is remarkable, particularly when it is considered that a large proportion of this carbon deposit may come from the lubricating oil. The chemical analysis which will be made will give some interesting data on this matter.
Gas producers fed with wood are liable to produce some tarry matter which may get past the scrubbers into the cylinder and cause the valve to stick when cold, but no appreciable quantity of this matter was observable, although, in Professor Ma.thot's opinion, some of the producers using wood had not incorporated in their system any very elaborate means of cleansing the gas.
After the general inspection of the vehicles at the end of the road test, the engines are to be allowed to be cleaned and their valves ground, but repairs or alterations in the adjustment of the moving parts will not be allowed. After cleaning of the producer and connecting pipes, the engines of the vehicles will be removed from the chassis and fitted up on test benches for b.h.p. tests by connection to a dynamo, using, of course, the gas plant which has been used throughout the journey. Experimental dust collectors will be employed for ascertaining the degree of cleaning and purifying of the gas. Each engine is to be submitted to a week's trial comprising: (a) a test for reliability of control and speed variation; (b) six hours' full load test at the power for which the engine is rated, the fuel consumption being recorded during this test ; (c) a test under variable load during which the producer gas and exhaust gas will be analysed.
It is calculated that only one engine will be tested weekly, so that the trials of the engines will last a couple of months. Some makers, it may be remarked, have already withdrawn their engines at the conclusion of the real trial, for unstated reasons.