THE EFFICIENT EMPL( ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
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THE great developments in the employment of the electric commercial vehicle which haVe occurred in recent years form a striking example of growth analogous to that of the sickly infant that becomes a robust adult. In its early days this type of vehicle was almost doomed by the over-enthusiastic claims made on its behalf by its progenitors and salesmen. It was brought forward as a rival, and possible displacer, of steam and petrol.vehicles.in spheres of action which, even now, can only be satisfactorily filled by the two latter types. In those early days the only accumulators which were available were not nearly so reliable or . efficientsas those which can be obtained to-day, and the vehicles themselves did not come anywhere near to the ...present-day standard of efficiency and strength:. The results of making extravagant claims for inefficient machines were soon apparent, and the electric vehicle trade suffered. for a considerable time in consquence. Fortunately, it has now been realized on all sides that the.electric vehicle has several distinct fields of action in which it gives the utmost satisfaction, and in which it can hardly be rivalled by any other type of machine. It is remarkably economical in eases where the number of stoppages and the time occupied by them bear high ratios to the total time during which the vehicle is in operation, and where the actual distance travelled is comparatively small. In town work, particularly Where there is a. large number of stops, it is a matter of difficulty for any vehicle to average more than 25 miles per day, and 'even this figure is often not attained.
The electric vehicle is now recognized as a direct competitor of the horse, it can displace from two to six horse vehicles according to the class of work on which it is employed, Ad many users find that for work in congested districts, there is nothing to compare with this type of vehicle.
The question of forbidding horsed vehicles to operate in congested districts of cities is receiving considerable attention. The whole of the. internal traffic could be speeded up by several miles per hour without danger if it were not for the presence of this slow, cumbersome and inadequate' means of transport. At present the faster traffic has to move in a series of spurts instead of being able to move at a comparatively high mean speed.. The electric vehicle is so very simple to control, and can stop and start with such readiness that it is eminently suitable for traffic work, although in actual fact its speed on long journeys is comparatively low, and this, combined with the limitations imposed by the capacities of its accumulators, prevent it from becoming a serious competitor of petrol and steam vehicles in long-distance work.
It is most important that the electric vehicle should not be chosen in an haphazard in a n. n e r. Prospective users should give the fullest possible particulars of the work which they intend shall he undertaken by the vehicle, and such details as hills to be negotiated, whether the vehicle is to be operated in wide or nar row roads, the average number of stops per mile, etc.., must all reCeive attention, as it is important to utilize the smallest size of bat tery consistent with efficiency and with the speed at which the vehicle
is intended to travel: A larger
battery may increase the radius of action and the hill-climbing capa
city of the machine, but the extra weight may be out of all proportion to the benefits derived. It must be remembered that the electric c16 vehicle can most satisfactorily be operated on corn paratively level roads. Owing to its weight the sin mounting of hills absorbs a large amount of current and in extreme cases the capacity of the vehicle ma.: be reduced from 40 miles per charge to 10 miles pe charge.
It may be interesting to enumerate its disadvar tages and advantages. DISADVANTAGES.—LOW speed on long runs an hills ; restricted mileage ; necessity for recharging. ADVANTAGES.—MeellartiSM extremely simple ; eas to control; quiet ; stopping and starting cause HUI strain or waste of power; light on tyres; larg capacity for continuous service ; large loadin space ; good view road; remarkably clean few mechanical repair required ; life of accu mulators g-uaranted.
In many branches o
icipal work the electric vehicle is pre-eminent, the use of it is spreading rapidly, particularly for work as the collection of dust and house refuse, necessitates a large number of stops and coin-. lively small mileage. In some cases the vehicles able to pay, partially or wholly, for their own
;er by collecting the refuse used for firing the ens of the electricity generating plants.
lust collection is often done at night or in the Ey hours of the morning, and, therefore, the clues' of silent running is of ,considerable importance ; h the electric vehicle the work can be. performed bout any fuss and without causing any annoye to the inhabitants.
awn horse-drawn ye es were employed for Ise collection, ladders . ahnost invariably to employed, as the lea were built high, in order to obtain large capacity so that the vehicle did not have to return to be discharged too often. The electric vehicle can, when required, be built with a very low loading line se that the bins can be tipped direct into the vehicle from the pavement; this saves considerable time, which is most essential where mechanically operated vehicles are employed, as much of the saying effected by these would be lost if theCduration of the steps was excessive. _ Enthusiastic reports on the behaviour and savings effected bythe use,of -electric vehicles are constantly being received from the various municipalities. In one places single electric vehicle working nine hours per day displaces six horse-drawn watering carts ; in another town the electric vehicle has proved 70 per cent. cheaper than the horsed vehicle for certain work.
In one large city the cost of collecting refuse is 2s. per ton cheaper when4done by electric vehicles than when performed by horsed vehicles. In Ipswich the cost of collecting refuse with horsed vehicles was 188. 3d. per ton, and with electric vehicles it is us. 4d. per ton. It was estimated that% with two electrie vehicles a saving of 11,500 per annum was made on the tonnage collected. Such instances are by no means isolated, and similar proofs of the cheapness of operating electric vehicles as compared with horse transport constantly reach us from users in many other branches of work.
Some of the biggest companies in London and other large towns now employ electric vehicles almost exclusively for delivery work within the confines of the town and to suburbs which are not too distant. Harrods Ltd., for instance, have nearly 100 electric vehicles employed on delivery work. Electric vehicles arc also used by such firms as William Whiteley, Ltd. ; Gamages Ltd. Selfridge and Co., Ltd. ; Boots, Ltd. ; Tate and grins., Ltd. ; the General Electric Co., Ltd. ; Hovis, Ltd. ; John Dewar .a0 Sons Ltd. ; J. Lyons and Co., Ltd. ; Aylesbury Dairy Co., Ltd., and others toe numerous to mention, including many of the large railway companies, coal dealers brewers, millers, etc., proving that the electric vehicle, when employed within its capacity, can be utilized for almost every class of work.
Its mileage can be considered as from 45-50 for the 15 cwt. vehicle, 45 for the 39 cwt. vehicle, 35-40 for the 2i--tonner, end 30-35 for the ak-tonner, except, as we have p'reviously stated, in districts which am particularly hilly.
The chief reason for the Increase in the use of this • type of vehicle is the great. improvement which has b-een effected in the accumulators employed. There are two types which are employed almost exclusively. These are the Ironclad Exide and the Edison. The first-named is similar in many respects to the old lead type, but is constructed scientifically to resist the effects of the vibration which must necessarily occur on a commercial vehicle. It is usually guaranteed by the makers for at least two years, and very often gives every satisfaction for much longer periods than this.
The Edison accumulator is of a, different type altogether, and is known as the alkaline. It is constructed almost entirely of steel, and is therefore very strong. It is usually guaranteed for four years, but cases have been known in which it has given continuous service for as long as eight years. Actually there is very little to choose between the two types, because, although the Ironclad Exide accumulator does not have such a long life, it is considerably i cheaper than the Edison type, and, in addition, t has the advantage of 'having rather less internal resistance. Some of the makers of electric vehicles will, however, supply either type of battery.
Considerable progress has also been made in the design of the chassis and accumulator containers. The chassis are, in some respects, similar to these employed for petrol vehicles, and are, of course, .remarkably simple; in fact, to thosewho examine an electric vehicle for the first time, the most remarkable feature is its simplicity and the small number of moving parts. In some electric vehicles there are efily ten moving. parts: in the whole machine thus, its upkeep charges can be kept remarkably low, and, as the accumulator guarantees are Very comprehensive and 'excellent' service is usually given by the, numerous inspectors of the accumulator manufacturing companies, a user can cempute almost exactly the cost of upkeep of this part of the vehicle.
Manufacturers have not been slow to realize the possibilities Which this type of vehicle presents, and at least two manufacturers are about to place new machines on the market. A development in their employment is the small electric truck, but we have already dealt with this very fully in a previous article, and therefore cannot do more than refer to it in this. It is probable that the coming . Olympia Show will bring to light many interesting developments, but for the moment we cannot divulge these. ' In spite of the feet that electric vehicles are being used in a great many municipalities as well as by co-operative societies, universal providers, etc is certain that we have as yet only touched fringe of the developments which may occur.
A considerable number of users employ petri steam vehicles for Journeys outside a certain ra and electric vehicles within that radius, and is a, practice which is likely to increase. Tiler now little difficulty in oh:taking current in all large towns, or even in many of thesmaller ones.
Many of the large stations will not only pro the necessary current, but will actually garage maintain vehicles for their clients, and thus a is enabled to compute almost exactly his over] charges and running costs even :before the vel is purchased.
For districts' where power cannot be obta, readily, • small generating sets with a dyn arranged to give the correct voltage can installed. In such cases, owing to the comparati large outlay, it is preferable for users or potei users of electric vehicles to -combine, and thu: share the -expenditure. Those who are intere in the /charging arrangements of electric vely weuld do well to refer to an article on the Kul which appeared in our issue dated May 24th, lf.
It may be of interest to describe briefly the n features of the better-known electric vehicle cha marketed in this country.
The Garrett is made in three sizes-1/ tons, 21 1 and 3/ tons. The last-mentioned has a single RI 1 driving through a silent chain to a countershaft thence by roller chains to the rear -a heels.
Two 2-21 tons types of Orwell electric vehicles made by Rarnsornes, Simsand Jefferies, Ltd. On fitted with front-wheel drive, with two indepenc compound motors swivelling with the road wile and the other is a chaip-driven vehicle, with ir pendent motors embody-mg a reduction gear. addition to these there are two further chain-dri models—a 31 4 turner and a 41.-5 tonner, these bf of similar construction to the 21 ton model.
Electromobile, Ltd., produce five types I/ capacities ranging from 10 cwt. to 5 tons. The a smaller models have concentric gear drive, with motors, whilst the two larger models have each of four wheels driven through internal gears he separate motor.
Vehicles ranging from 1 ton to 5 tons are menu tured by Newton Bros. (Derby), Ltd. The two it pendent driving motors' which are geared to the x driving wheels, are carefully spring mounted. Met cars, Ltd., market the Walker and E.A. type Edi accumulator chassis. The former has an interest type of balance drive with the electric motor andi ferential enclosed in a torpedo-shaped rear axle. E.A. type has an independent motor, driving thro, a cardan shaft to each rear wheel.
The General Vehicle Co., Ltd., at present br three types with load capacities of 2 tons, 31 tons 5 tons. The motor is supported in front of the r axle and drives forward to a countershaft and the by roller chains to the-rear wheels.