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What's new in service equipment

by R. D. Cater, AMInst BE

MAIN emphasis in the Earls Court gallery at this year's Commercial Motor Show will be on equipment designed and developed to reduce labour costs. Of this there can be little doubt. This is not to say that manufacturers have paid insufficient attention to the first-costs of their products. Most of the items shown for the first time, looked at from the point of view of what they can save rather than what they will cost, are quite reasonably priced.

More diagnostic equipment will be on show, also a number of new washing and cleaning machines, devices for assisting the tyre-man to speed up his operations and comprehensive hand-toot kits specially put together for transport maintenance.

All in all nearly every stand of exhibitors in this group will show timeand laboursaving equipment of one sort or another.

Several new items will be seen displayed by the Equipment and Engineering Co. Ltd. (Stand 335), including two vehicle-washing machines and a first showing of the Frank

mann electronic alarm system.

The first of the new washers will be a swing-arm model which can be installed in premises where there is insufficient room for the usual gantry-type of machine. The new machine, the Britannia, will fit into a 14.5ft-wide gateway but still leave a dear passageway when its anis are retracted. The pressure with which the arms come into contact with the vehicle being washed is hydraulically controlled, making the machine particularly suitable for washing veh ides with difficult shapes such as narrow cabs with wide bodies.

The second new machine will be the ECO Mk III which will wash the front, roof and back of a vehicle and can be installed together with the machine mentioned above, so providing the most thorough wash possible.

The Frankmann recorder is designed as a safety device which will warn drivers of low oil-pressure, excessive engine-temperature, low air-pressure, faulty stop or tail lights, or low water-levels in the cooling system. In fact the Frankmann can be rigged to sound an alarm for any system that is not working correctly. The device comprises a number of sensing units which are linked to a master alarm box. This incorporates a common alarm which can be set off by any of a number of malfunctions. On the sounding of the alarm, one of a number of panels is illuminated. Once the driver has pulled up he can then check which component is not behaving correctly.

The device is available in two basic models: the first will give warning of failure in five components while the second will cover up to 15 points of failure.

Although the Kentrerlder equipment shown on Stand 154 by Retreading Equipment Ltd. is not new it is worth mentioning because it is of particular use to fleet operators with a large turnover of tyres.

The Kentreekler equipment an show will include a variety of truck tyre-moulds having different tread patterns. One of the features of the gear is that it requires the minimum of space in which to operate.

No heat or pressure is applied to the side ' walls of' tyres being treated by the Kentredder system, no solution is used between the buffed surface and the new tread rubber and this results in an undistorted and completely reliable product.

The only services needed to run the Kentredder are a normal garage air-pressure system and three-phase electrical power. Also on the stand will be a tyre-inspection machine and control panel and these will be in operation.

On Stand 168 Britool Ltd. will have on display two new tool kits of interest to fitters and garage managers. One is a maintenance kit which has been put together specially for those concerned with breakdown work. The set is contained in a new cantilever toolbox and covers a full range of hexagon sizes.

Included in the kit are a complete set of socket accessories and supplementary tools. Combination wrenches are used throughout the kits which are available in metric sizes, American and unified sizes, or in Whitworth, American and unified sizes.

A new socket set containing a comprehensive range of American and unified sizes from 4 to lain. AF and metric sizes from 10 to 24mm is also shown. This set includes a 14rnm deep-socket for spark plugs, a speed-brace, ratchet handle universal joint, tornmy-bar and extensions.

Apaseal Ltd. specializes in tyre removal and repair equipment and on Stand 179 will be showing for the first time a new variant of the Multi Mast tubeless-tyre repair system called the Apaseal No. 8 Journey Kit. This kit has been specially designed for use with loNi-profile truck tyres but is also useful with normal truck tyres. As with other kits in this range the No. 8 kit provides for immediate on-the-wheel puncture repairs which are not only simple and safe but also permanent.

A tyre which has suffered 1,066 punctures, each one being repaired with Multi Plast, will be shown. It has undergone extensive testing during which it retained 30 psi while carrying a load of 8401b for 3,040 miles.

One other new item to be shown by this company is a high-grade tyre lever. It is a one-piece forging, hardened and tempered to a high degree of strength.

Three new items are to be shown by Tip Top Vulcanising Products Ltd. (Stand 188). The first will be an optional extra for the company's MWH tyre-changing machine, an air-powered bead-breaker. This attachment fits to the above mentioned machine and provides for rapid bead-breaking on all sizes of van tyres. The second unit shown is to be a portable air-powered bead-breaker, a very light and robust tool which requires only 30 p.s.i. of air pressure to operate it.

A new device for spreading tubeless tyres on to rims so as to seal them for inflation is to be shown. This has two arms which encircle the tyre, pressing the beads against the rim. It is air-powered, fitted with normal air connections and fully portable.

A tyre-inflation safety-cage will be shown in two models, one for installation in a workshop and one fully portable. In both cases the cages are manufactured from high-quality steel and are capable of withstanding bursts of the highest pressures.

On Stand 186 a new brush-wash for commercial vehicles will be shown by Esquire Meindenst and Co. Ltd., designed to suit the needs of the operator with limited resources. It is a one-man controlled unit featuring simplicity of construction and ease of operation.

Two models of the machine are available, one being lift 1 lin.-high and 16ft 9in.-wide and the other the same width but 1411 1 lin.-high. The first mentioned, model No. 6/767, serves normal height vehicles while the second, model No. 6 / 1167, is designed to accept high vehicles such as furniture vans and double-decker buses.

The Esquire wash unit moves on rails and has a brush which will rotate in both directions and at a wide range of angles.The water supply can be shampoo-infused and movements of the brush are controlled from a glass-enclosed operator's booth which travels with the machine.

Three new items will be shown by Armstrong Patents Co. Ltd. (Stand 169). A new trolley jack of 1.5-ton capacity and equipped with a removeable handle so that it can easily be carried in a small service van is added to the Service range of garage jacks. The range now covers models from 1.5-ton to 10-ton capacity. Two other pieces of heavy equipment will be shown: a new general-purpose hydraulic crane with a capacity of 1.5 tons and, a new range of axle-stands of from 2-ton to 8-ton capacity.

The crane is mounted in a four-point supporting frame, the jib being able to slew through 360deg. The hydraulic pump supplying the power is double acting, the fluid being piped through a rotating gland into the jib assembly.

An engine stand specially designed for the overhaul of Vee engines now becoming more popular will be introduced by V. L. Churchill and Co. Ltd. (Stand 155). It is supplied with universal engine mounting plates and has a manual worm and wheel with which the engine can be rotated through 360deg to allow access from all angles.

A kit of gauges to facilitate the testing of line-pressures present in articulated combinations and a photo-electric tachometer complete the new items to be shown by this company. The air line gauges are contained in a neat metal case and supplied with a set of brake couplings to allow connection to either trailer or tractive unit lines.

The tachometer utilizes a light beam and will record the rpm of any rotating part. It has a split scale covering two ranges of rpm from 0 to 1,000 and from 0 to 5,000 rpm.

A hot-water washer and a steam-cleaning machine will be shown for the first time by Modern Devices Ltd. (Stand 176). The Vestin hot-water washer will dispense water at up to 200deg F at rates up to 2 g.p.m. and at pressures up to 600 p.s.i. It has a 2gal-capacity detergent tank and is supplied with 30ft of high-pressure hose. The water pump is of the twin-piston type and the machine will burn 28 or 35 Redwood second domestic fuel oil.

The steam cleaner, also bearing the name Vestin, is a larger version of a previous model. It will convert water to steam, at 100 p.s.i., at the rate of 95 g.p.h. and will operate for 4 hours on one charge of 8gal of fuel. A 6-gal capacity detergent tank is fitted and the machine is supplied with 20ft of high-pressure hose tested to 400 p.s.i.

A British designed and made battery

charger/starter booster is to be shown by A. C. Withnell (Stand 153). The unit, the Hercules, is available in three different models, two, being of I2V and the other of 24V. The smallest and cheapest at £32 lOs has a 30amp charging output and a starting output of 150 to 200amp. All three can be mounted on a small-wheeled trolley in just 60sec making them fully portable. The second 12V unit has a higher output at 50arnp for charging and 150 to 200amp for starting.

The 24V unit has an output of 30arnp at 6, 12 and 24V and again gives 150 to 200amp for starting. All the units have double-polarity protection with automatic circuit breakers and a green-for-go test circuit. The price of the two bigger units is £45.

Recent additions to the range of industrial cleaning equipment will be on show by Taus Super Vacuum Cleaner Ltd. (Stand 159). The GV 21 is ' a powerful vacuum cleaner for both wet and dry pick-up and is shown in conjunction with two scrubber polishers with which it should be used to achieve the best results. The scrubber polishers, models 400 and 500, are of similar design but the 500 is the larger. Both have attachments for removing caked dirt.

A comprehensive range of wheel-balance weights will be exhibited by Air' vert Ltd. (Stand 323). In addition to normal, popular usage weights a new type designed for

Michelin-type wheels or others having half-circular rolled-rims, and known as the 0014 weight is to be shown, it has a unique feature in that it is the only weight for this particular application which is of one-piece construction.

Also shown here will be a range of weights for use on the heavier types of commercial vehicle.

Wickham Industrial Equipment Ltd. (Stand 170) will have three washing machines which have not been seen at previous commercial motor shows.

One which will be more applicable to the petrol station than to the fleet garage, is a self-service wash and wax unit.

Of particular use to the goods vehicle operator, however, are the Torrent highpressure. cold-water washer and the Tempest hot-water washer. Both these machines are portable, although the hot-water washer is electrically powered and must therefore have a source of supply. The output of both machines is identical at 80 g.p.tn, at 400 p.s.i., power for the diaphragm pumps being generated by .a 0.75 hp electric motor on both machines with the cold-water washer alternatively powered by a 150 c.c. petrol engine making it fully portable.

Operators of the hot-water machine have full control of water detergent and the burner, at the gun, while on the cold-water machine water and detergent can be controlled from this point. Both machines are mounted on Bin.-diameter rubber-tyred wheels. •

Another new washing machine will be shown by Emanuel (Garage Equipment) Ltd. (Stand 185). Model TS 35, it is an addition to the Automec range and will handle vehicles up to 7ft 7in.-high. The

washing action is by three rotating brushes and automatically dispensed detergent. On the return (rinsing) run of the washer a special polish which aids drying is also applied automatically. A feature of the unit is the hand-held control panel which enables the machine to be operated from any convenient position.

On Stand 164 Joseph Bradbury and Sons will be showing two new vehicle lifts. Both models incorporate the Bradbury wheel-free method of lifting, one is of 8-ton capacity and the other of 14 tons. The smaller version is a four-post lift while the larger will be a six-post lift. The vehicle lifted by either of these two models can be supported at selected working heights while the main

platform is free to travel the full distance between the ground and the underside of the chassis, thus making the handling of heavy components a simple proposition.

Vane Electrical Instruments Ltd. (Stand 163) will be showing two new items. Model 3000 Super Tunescope is an electronic engine analyser, the main features of which are its wide range of advanced testing capabilities and its extreme simplicity of operation. Vane_ will also show a manual or automatically controlled dynamometer which will absorb up to 400 bhp and record torque, bhp, road speed, acceleration times and engine rpm. This item is expected to cost well below £2,500 complete with radiator and cooling fan.