Passing Comments
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Improved Conditions L'ASIER working conditions Promote and Streng.1--d and increased wages now than Staff Goodwill . prevailing for many operators' staffs appear, from reports received, to have brought about a state of much greater stability on the workers' side of the industry than existed a few years ago. What is called a rapid labour-turnover, whether it relates to employees changing jobs inside the industry or to those turning over to some other trade, is a wasteful feature. Creation of staff goodwill and the elimination of changes (often unprofitable to both sides) may in some measure help to counterbalance recent rises in wages and associated costs.
Good and Bad Points THERE are many miscon
About Battery SWceptions regarding the sul phation phation of batteries. In this
connection, Mr. E. C. McKinnon, M.I.E.E., Exide's chief engineer, points out that if a lead-acid battery will not sulphate it will not function. At the same time, the plates can be kept free from trouble, given the right kind of treatment. Discharge depends essentially on the combination of sulphuric acid and active materials On closed circuit forming lead sulphate in both plates. A certain amount of this material is beneficial for cementation purposes: without it, the active material might become too soft. Normal lead sulphate is, however, uncrystallized and becomes troublesome only when it passes to a crystalline state, formnib ing a hard, white deposit, which is a poor conductor. The cure is to pour out the electrolyte, fill with distilled water, give a prolonged charge, and exchange the electrolyte again for distilled water if it attains a specific gravity of 1.17. The beneficial effects of this desulphation process are greatest when charging in an electrolyte not denser than this. After the completion of the process it will,. of course, be necessary to refill the cells with acid of the correct working specific gravity. All this attention should be carried out properly at an official battery-service station.
Implicit Confidence " IN an emergency it is impos
Begot of Gross Ignor. I sible for any motorist of ance . . • average reaction time, travelling
at 30 m.p.h., with very good brakes, to pull up in less than 102 ft." This is no casual statement, but the considered view, substantiated by figures, of The Safe Driver, It is based on an ordinary driver having a time lag of 1.2 secs., which means that his vehicle travels 52.8 ft. before he starts putting on the brake. For an expert, the lag may be only 0.6 sec., but, on the other hand, the driver may be below average. That being the present position, a pedestrian who expects an unknown driver to avoid him under conditions with which motorists are only too well acquainted, is relying upon the violation of a law of nature. He might as well jump over a cliff in the hope that ho would remain stationary in mid air. REQUESTS for the book of rules and conditions applying to the 200,000 dollar prize programme, sponsored by the James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., have been received fromall parts of the world and from 1,000 cities and towns representing every, part of the United States. Companies are encouraging their designers and engineers to Much Interest Aroused by Arcwelding Competition The Burning Question TA ERE is a story which points —Should They Have t I the moral—travel by road.
Left It to Burnt Mr. R. Gresham Cooke, secre
tary of the British Road Federation, was recently travelling in one of those gas-lit trains for which some railways seem to have a sentimental regard, when one of the coaches caught fire. Passengers were justifiably alarmed by the issue of smoke from a hole adjoining a pipe that seemed to be for gas lighting. The communication cord had to be pulled twice before the train was brought to a standstill, and eventually the fire was extinguished at the next station by means of buckets of water
but not before the guard had noted the name and address of the person who gave the alarm I We should_ be interested to know whether the pulling of the cord in these circumstances constituted "improper use," bringing a penalty of £5. Some might say : "Let it burn I "
The Importance ofTHE pressures in tyres exer Maintaining Proper cise a great influence on vehicle running, apart from tyre life. The Schrader concern points out that an under-inflated tyre creates more rolling resistance and increases fuel consumption. Soft tyres make steering difficult and, however well brakes be balanced, the stopping effect is greater on a wheel the tyre of which is below its standard pressure. The worst effects are felt when the pressures are unbalanced on both front and rear wheels. Hard tyres subject springs and wheel bearings to violent stresses and add to the risk of skidding. It is, of course, often desirable to maintain front and rear tyres at different pressures, but the brakes should be compensated accordingly.
Tyre Pressures . .