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THE AGENT'S INTEREST IN PRODUCER GAS.

17th May 1921, Page 8
17th May 1921
Page 8
Page 8, 17th May 1921 — THE AGENT'S INTEREST IN PRODUCER GAS.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Pointing Out to Motor Agents the Importance of Producer Gas as a Rival to Petrol, but Recommending Caution in Advising Users to Adopt It.

By "Vim."

THE MOTOR vehicle has already proved itself able to compete with and beat the railways at their own game of transporting goods and passengers in bulk, even with petrol at a wholly unjustifiable price level. Any invention, therefore, that holds out hopes of the cost of fuel for anternal-combustion-engined vehicles being reduced, not by a trifling percentage, but by a really considerable amount, must have the greatest interest for motor agents, because there is little doubt that, if the railways "pulled up their socks," they could yet wrest back from the road much of the traffic that, has passed to it owing to their present high charges.

The agent for commercial vehicles -will, therefore, agree that it is of the utmost importance to him that. every possible effort should be made to bring down the cost of fuel for internal-combustion engines. Road transport scores heavily with its " convenience" ; but the cost of its fuel is a factor that has a very vital bearing on the future of the agent's business. The high-price of petrol has been possible only because no serious competing fuel has been on the market. Benzoic, had its production and distribution been managed on broad and statesmanlike lines, and had preparations to that end been made long before the end a the war, might have had a marked effect on the market value of petrol. In this respect, benzole has so far failed entirely to fulfil its function as a national fuel. You will understand that this view is my own, and not necessarily that of The Commercial Motor. If producer gas—which is a fuel that is manufactured by the vehicle, as it travels, from British-made materials—shows itself in practice to be a satisfactory alternative to petrol, both on the price question (there can, in fact, be no doubt as to the answer to that point), and on the question of simplicity and reliability of working, then the agent for commercial vehicles will have good cause to push producer gas plants for allhe is worth.

Evidence is not wanting that the restriction of the demand for petrol, through its unnaturally high price, has produced the natural result of such tactics ; that, in short, supply now greatly exceeds demand. When the price agreement between the petrol companies breaks down -under the stress of this position, which they themselves have created, we may expect to witness a keen fight between them, and a wholesome -drop in the price of their spirit. But producer gas is so very cheap to manufacture, -that if it is commercially adaptable to motor vehicle use, it need not fear the most, drastic price-cutting in petrol that is possible under any conditions. Furthermore, the coming of producer gas for motor vehicles, even the threat of its Coming, cannot help but hasten the fall an the cost to the public of motor spirit and to keep it down to its proper level when supply and demand become stabilized again. It has long been the dream of inventors to make a plant for manufacturing producer, gas sufficiently portable. to be carried on a standard internal-combustion-engined road vehicle. The gas is so impure that when it has been made (by passing air and steam through anthracite, coke, charcoal, or a similar fuel, in a state of combustion) it is totally unfit for employment withoutfirst being thoroughly cleansed and cooled ; and these subsequentprocesses are far more necessary to be adequately performed where the gas

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is to be consumed n a.delicate car engine, than when it is for consumption an a stationary gas engine, for which latter class of power unit it has been proved a cheaper servant than town's gas. But for stationary engines, the weight of the plant is a matter of no serious consideration whatever, nor does its size matter very much ; whereas, if the plant is to be carried ou a road vehicle, it must be both extraordinarily light and occupy the very minimum of. space.

The Parker system, with its weight of 8-10 lb. per b.h.p. of the engine, and its size, which permits of its being carried attached to the dashboard on the near side of the vehicle, where it takes up no useful space, does appear at least to have surmounted these two great obstacles of mass and dimensions. Also, it has undoubtedly proved itself to be a practical apparatus during the protracted tests which the inventors have made with it since it passed out of the purely experimental stage. Yet I believe that agents for commercial cars, many of whom are finding themselves beset with inquiries from their customers on the question whether it would be worth their while to have the Parker plant installed, should, in the interests of all concerned (not forgetting those of its makers), advise a go-slaw policy, rather than wholesale conversions. Owners of large fleets should get one installation fitted up, and try That out, as the Americans say. They will then be able to decide whether it will pay them to equip all their lorries in the same way. The experience so gathered by a great number of independent firms testing their plant will be of the highest value to the. makers, and will enable them to overcome any drawbacks that may become evident.

Go Slow Until the Driving Talent is Available.

To be candid, it occurs to me that. the variations and rapid-fluctuations in the speed of a lorry engine set up conditions that must be extremely difficult to meet witha producer gas plant, especiallY with one so small as to be portable. it is essential that the gas production should instantly answer the demands of the engine, whatever they may heat a -given moment. To accomplish this the fire must haveno tendency to die down during lengthy periods of slow running of the engine, while, at the same time, the consumption of solid fuel must be proportional to the work done. Clever driving could avoid furnace irregularities, but the ordinary user cannot always count on obtaining skilled drivers of the requisite type. Another point that needs settling beyond doubt is whether such impurities as pass into the engine with the gas—and I should say that only in theory is it practicable to render it truly pure, the beet that can be done commercially being to make it pure enough to be comparatively harmless—are injurious in any way. So long as.the filter, scrubber, and cooler provided in the Parker plant are maintained in a state to perform their recce-ethic duties, I can imagine the gas will be to all intents and-parpopes -harmless; but since the filtering materials must quickly be fouled (and this would depend mainly on the quality and class of the materialemployed for the fire) the success of the plant must largely rest on the care exercised by the driver in preventing the filters from becoming useless. This risk tan, of course, be obviated by putting the vehicle in charge of a really intelligent man, but this kind, as I say, is not always easy to find. Petrol does possess the advantage of being fool-proof, and producer-gas plants will have to be as nearly fool-proof as makes no odds,. or they will give trouble to average us.ers.

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