Paraffin Engines in Holland
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MEW developments in the field of non-standard fuels for
road vehicles come once again from Holland, where liquefied petroleum gas is making progress. The latest fuel to be used is paraffin, and after a four-year experimental period a fully automatic conversion set is now being put on the market to enable users of petrol-engined vehicles to convert them to run on paraffin. Results so far obtained have in most eases been satisfactory, particularly in respect of reduced running costs and increased engine life. Paraffin is sold in Holland at half the price of petrol and the fuel-consumption rates of engines running on this fuel are no higher than with petrol. Longer Life results from the fact that the paraffin is fully vaporized and mixed with air before it enters the cylinders. Lower compression ratios naturally have to be used, and a 10to 20-per-cent. loss in maximum power and torque out puts usually occurs. Conversions can, therefore, be made only on vehicles with sufficient power reserves. A conversion set, such as the Cargas equipment, costs from £50 to 180 in Holland, and consists of a small auxiliary petrol tank (for starting purposes), and a combined vaporizer and dual-fuel carburetter. This carburetter incorporates a thermostat for automatic change-over of fuels. At the beginning of this year over 1,500 vehicles were running on paraffin and a rapid increase in numbers is expected. Much more striking is the increased adoption of liquid propane gas. At the end of 1955 there were 22 gas-filling stations in the Netherlands, 19 of which are operated by Besse! Kok, two by Shell and one by Esso. It is expected that 25 more stations will be put into operation this year, and parallel developments in Germany will soon provide an I.p.g. link between Scandinavia and Italy.