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KLAM RETARDER EFFECTIVE ON TEST was a big feature of

24th May 1968, Page 77
24th May 1968
Page 77
Page 77, 24th May 1968 — KLAM RETARDER EFFECTIVE ON TEST was a big feature of
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the action of the retarder; slowing down was much smoother than would have been the case with the service brakes.

Tests were carried out in an area with a couple of fairly long gradients—about 1 in 15 maximum—and on these, selection of even the first position was sufficient to slow the coach down let alone reduce the rate of increase in speed.

During the test it was necessary to use the wheel brakes of the Bedford only to deal with sudden slowing down of traffic in front and when finally coming to a stop. At all other times the retarder gave ample retardation and this confirmed the point made by Mr. Barrett that in the 9,000 miles that the coach had done, no adjustment to the brakes had been necessary.

Using the Klam retarder made slowing down such a smooth and effortless job that it should encourage its use rather than the wheel brakes and this is all to the good. It would not be very acceptable spending about £300 on a piece of equipment and carrying an extra 3cwt and then find that drivers do not take full advantage and still wear the brake linings out. Forgetting about the retarder on one occasion, I used the foot brake and the extra effort required soon made me remember that I had an easier method open to me.

Jim Barrett is so pleased with the results he has obtained so far with the Klam retarder that he plans to have them fitted on all vehicles he purchases in the future. Other operators appear to have this view and I was told of a Lancashire operator who had one on a coach for 140,000 miles—with no brake reline and adjustment only once or twice in the season—and on selling this vehicle had had the unit transferred to another.

Eesubrake is reported to give a good service to operators and this includes fitting the retarder at operators' premises. A price of £293 for the Klam 4 includes fitting charges but there is a slight addition if the operator's premises involve a long journey by the fitting personnel.

Virtually all the retarders sold by Eesubrake have been applied to p.s.v., the reason for this being that the additional weight does not bring penalties as would be the case with goods vehicles. The extra unladen weight would affect both licensing and taxation on a goods chassis and this is un

fortunate as a big advantage, apart from reduced brake lining wear, is that descent of long hills can be made without a chance of brake fade; exhaust brakes and other forms of retarder work to the same end but generally give a much lower braking effect often of the order of 7 or 8 per cent.

With an artic, 20 or 25 per cent retardation could induce jack-knife problems on low-adhesion surfaces and so the less powerful versions of the Klam would be more practical. An alternative would be to make the higher positions of the selector inoperative and on the Nightingale Bedford the fourth position could have been dispensed with.

Provided one or two basic rules are obeyed, use of the Klam retarder does not bring any problems. Energizing the coils while the vehicle is stationary can cause the unit to get overheated and after descending a long hill with the unit in use for two or three miles, the vehicle should not be stopped until the retarder has had a chance to cool down.

Taken all round the advantages of a retarder such as the Klam so far outweigh any possible disadvantages—at least as far as p.s.v. are concerned—that it is surprising that there is not an even wider use of them. But the day that this type of unit is a standard fitting on p.s.v. may come.

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