For DRIVERS, MECHANICS & FOREMEN.
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A PRIZE OF PEN SHILLINGS is awarded each week to the sender of the best letter which we publish on this page; all others are paid for at the rate of a penny a line, with an allowance for photographs. All notes are edited before being, published. Mention your employer's name, in confidence, as evidence of good faith. Address, D., 31. and F., "The Commercial Motor," 7-15, Itosebery Avenue, London, B.C. I.
Lamps Alight.
On Saturday, 14th December, light your lamps at 4.19 in London, 4.35 in Edinburgh, 4.5 in Newcastle, 4.20 in Liverpool, 4.21 in Birmingham, 4.29 in Bristol, and 5.3 in Dublin.
Engine Starting on Cold Mornings.
The sender of the following communication has been awarded the los. prize this week.
[1923] "B.B." (London) writes :—" Following the suggestion recently embodied in a. short paragraph on the 'D., M. and F.' page, I venture to submit for your approval and for publication on that page the following tried and provedmethod of starting engines in cold weather. My opinion—and it is based on long experience—is that the best method of obtaining an
easy start is to prime the induction manifold of the engine with hot petrol. The accompanying--sketch [We have had it redrawn.—En.] shows an apparatus whith I have used for many years, and which is remarkably efficacious in this regard. It can be made by any efficient tinsmith, and, when properly constructed and in accordance with the dimensions on the sketch, will outlast the engine upon which it is used. It is, moreover, cheap, being made throughout from sheet metal. The outer casing or hot-water container should be constructed from lead-coated sheet iron ; the inner chamber, for petrol, of thin, tinned steel—thin because it will then more readily transmit the heat to the petrol within. The conical sheet-steel bottle has a large screwed stopper in its base, which is suitably recessed so as to accommodate the stopper without interfering with the stability of the bottle when it is stood on the bench or on a shelf. Sweated into this bottle near the narrow end is a eylindrical container with a, conical, top to match the shape of the main bottle ; this cylinder projects downwards into the bottle itself, and at its junction with the metal of the bottle hermetically seals the latter, which then serves to hold hot water. The inner container is fitted at the end with a stop cock and portion of a, union, as illustrated in the sketch. Into the-cone of the union is screwed a discarded carburetter jet. A substantial handle is fitted to the bottle itself.
"In use, a quantity of petrol is poured into the inner container through a stopper provided for the purpose in the position shown in the sketch. The 'outer casing is filled with boiling water and closed. The union at the outlet of the petrol chamber is coupled to a prepared nipple on the induction pipe, and the cock is then opened. The heat of the water causes the petrol to emerge from the small jet in a fine spray, and the wholeapparatus can be left in position on the induction pipe, while the starting handle is turned and the engine set in motion. This arrangement is particularly useful in a garage. ham which a. number of cars are operated, as it can rapidly be transferred from engine to engine as they are started up in turn."
A Puzzling Magneto Failure.
[1924] " W.F.1)." (Battersea) writes :—" A puzzling magneto breakdown occurred recently in connection with a petrol lorry which I drive, and, in the result, the cause proved to be most unusual. No doubt many of your 'D., M. and F.' readers will be interested to learn of it. •
"The magneto concerned was that known as the Simms 8D4 type. The trouble evinced itself in the 'beginning by occasional misfiring. This was at first investigated by following the usual methods, but without any tangible result. The irregular sparking continued, and in a short time so developed that it was impossible to get the :engine to run satisfactorily at all. Finally, the ignition failed entirely. As the usual examination of contact breaker, distributor, etc., failed to disclose the trouble, it was decided to dismantle the magneto entirely, when a small hole was noticed in the ebonite insulating sleeve on the spindle of the distributor-brush holder, and it was quite evident that this had caused shorting of the current, and this was the source of the mysterious trouble.
"As a temporary repair, the hole was filled in with sealing wax, and this sufficed for a few days, pending the acquisition of a new sleeve. I attach a rough sketch of the spindle [We have had this redrawn.— En.], and have indicated upon it the position of the hole which was the cause of the trouble.