A NEW FRENCH GAS-PRODUCER.
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An Appliance With a Horizontal Furnace and No Boiler.
A NEW gas-producer for industrial •motor vehicles made its debut at Blois some months ago, during the charcoal gas congress held in that town. Known as the Tractor, the machine in question possesses certain features which distinguish it from other French gas-producers. Whilst the producer portion of the Tractor appliance is designed on normal lines, the outfit is specially arranged for the use of " enriched " gas— that is to say, charcoal gas mingled with a certain quantity, of petrol vapour. For this purpose a special mixer-carburetter has been designed for the Tractor firm by the Griffion Carburetter Co.
The Tractor gas-producer, as already mentioned, is on more or less normal lines. At the same time there are several points about the appliance which are worthy of special notice. The air, instead of entering at the top or bottom of the furnace, and traversing the fire in a vertical direction, as in the classic type of French gas-producer, enters at one end of an oblong fire-box, traverses the fire horizontally, and leaves at the other end. The disposition of the air intake and gas outlet results in the production of a combustion zone, which is insulated from the exterior by a layer of non-incandescent charcoal.
A special feature of this arrangement is the fact that the quantity of water vapour supplied can be regulated to a nicety from the exterior without any trouble at all. Another advantage of this arrangement is the fact that, in the suppression of the boiler, which is sometimes a rather fragile and inaccessible member of the apparatus, certain sources of trouble are eliminated.
The usual type of hand-starter fan is fitted to the Tractor appliance. A dry process of cleansing is employed for the gas. The scrubber and purifier consist of a chamber, roughly oblong in form. In the interior of this chamber are fitted a great number of small pyramids formed of sheet-steel. The gas enters at the bottom and leaves at the top of the chamber. During the -progress of the gas through this chamber dust and other impurities are collected on the under surfaces of the pyramids, and finally fall back to the bottom of the chamber. No other process of purification is employed.
The special mixer-carburetter is designed with a view to ohviating the loss of power consequent upon the use of charcoal gas as compared with petrol vapour. The chief feature of the carburetter is the special throttle arrangement, by means of which the driver changes over from petrol vapour to gas, and from thence to practically all gas, simply by pressing on the accelerator pedal. The tractor apparatus has already proved Its practical value. The machine is in full production, and has receritly been adopted with great success by the Conapagnie Generale des Navigations. This concern runs a service of barges between Le Havre and Paris, and also between Paris, Lyons and Marseilles. The barges are drawn by powerful motor tractors, and several of these tractors have already been fitted up with the Tractor gas-producer. The addreSs of the Tractor firm is : Gazogenes Tractor, 55, Rue de Rivoll, Paris.