Heat While • Charge While
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You Charge
You Heat
OPERATORS will appreciate the benefits which result when, in cold weather, engines ran be easily started, and the vehicles driven away without the need for a preliminary warm up. They will not need to be told "what this means to the general life of the engine, as it isaisually conceded that the greatest degree of cylinder wear is brought about during the first few minutes of starting up from all cold.
There are several systems in use whereby the cooling water of the engine is maintained at a temperature which wakes for easy starting, from installations costing hundreds. of pounds to
individual • fitments of modest price. Included in the latter class is the Caldwell_ heater-charger. which not only maintains cooling-water temperature, even under the coldest eonditions, hut gives the battery a trickle charge all the time the heater is in operation.
The Caldwell heatercharger is comprised of two .units—the .heater, which is piped tiP to the cooling system of the engine, and a charger unit, which serves to pass a trickle charge into the battery at the rate of I amp. per hour.
The heater consists of a small cylindrical vessel, which does duty as a boiler, into which is fitted a nickelchrome heater element. The boiler is provided with suitable connections tor piping-up to the normal cooling system of the engine, the points to which they are taken beiaig governed by the particular unit to which it is fitted.
With the heater installed and plugged in to a convenient mains socket, the immersion beater keeps the water in the bailer at a fairly high temperature_ Thermo-siphonie action is responsible for keeping the whole of the water system at a. temperature comparable with that which obtains when the engine is running.
As the charger is wired in the same • circuit it also comes into operation, so that even on the coldest morning the starter can be used, as the battery is well up and the engine easy to turn. As a metal rectifier is employed in the charger, it will last for ever if it be not abused.
The makers of this outfit, Messrs. Caldwell Heaters, 448, Barking Road, London, E.6, have concentrated on producing a piece of apparatus that shall be universally applicable to all types of engine. To this end, several kinds of adaptor are available, in addition to a form of bracket for mounting the boiler, which should meet every possible requirement.
In the majority of cases the boiler is coupled to the cylinder block by utilizing core-plug holes, and to make the connection and a perfectly watertight joint, the makers supply an ingenious form of coupler.
The current consumption is said to be from I kw. to kw., according to type, and as the apparatus would normally he in use only at off-peak periods, there is no question of straining our electricity supplies.
Prices range from £.16 10s. for the Major pre-heater-charger Model for use on engines over 24 lap., to 17 10s. for the Minor model, which is a pre-heater only It may he oi interest to mention that Caldwell equipment has been on the market for a number of years, and is used by many big undertakings throughout the country. It is soundly made, extremely robuSt, arid Should give satis factory service for many years. It carries, a five-year guarantee.