Past, Present and Future Gas Activities at Newcastle
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Concentration Now on Low-pressure Bags. Possibilities Later of Reinforced-rubber 100 lb. per sq. in. Containers. High
pressure Gas Brought to Advanced Stage in the Past EVEN years ago Newcastle-uponOTyne and Gateshead Gas Co. began to interest itself in the use of town gas for vehicles. From Vickers Armstrongs, Ltd., 'and from •Bellis and Morcorn, Ltd., respectively, it obtained storage cylinders and a compressor. Containers for the vehicles, having a working pressure of 3,000 lb. per sq. in., and others for the stationary plant, working up to 5,000 lb. per sq. in., were acquired.
Then experiments were started in co-operation with the Northern General Transport Co., Ltd., a passenger, chassis being equipped to use this fuel. Following this step, two engines were. modified and their performances on gas investigated on bench tests. These trials led to outputs being obtained •that were comparable with those given with petrol. Then road testing was carried out.
Essential Pressure Equipment.
An item that was also developed was a pressure-reducing valve. Ultimately a device was evolved which delivered gas to the mixer at atmospheric pressure and conditions similar to those of an ordinary petrol carburetter were produced. A satisfactory mixing valve was also designed and made.
Considerable attention was paid to sparking plugs and upper-cylinder lubrication, the latter being found necessary in the case of .certain engines running at high r.p.m. Subsequently a body was mounted on the chassis and the vehicle placed in service.
Assistance was rendered by the Home Office and the Ministry of Transport, special permission to ese high-pressure cylinders on the vehicle being granted. For a year satisfactory
service was yielded and the results of the bench tests corroborated.
In twelve months it had been established that 262 cubic ft. of gas. of 500 B.Th.U. per cubic ft., were equivalent to one gallon of petrol. It was also shown that, with gas at 4d. per therm and electrical energy for compressing it available at 0.6d. per unit, the cost per gallon equivalent was about lid.
This figure was based upon the redemption of the gas-bottle equipment on the vehicle over three years. Since then the period has been increased to five years, also bottles have risen in price; the two changes approximately cancel out leaving the lid. per 262 cubic ft. unaltered. Further progress was not made— because the vehicle-type compressionignition engine at about that time came into the limelight—until just prior to the war, when investigations relating to the more efficient handling of high-pressure cylinders were instituted. Discovering, however, that these would be unobtainable for an estimated period of at least six months, likewise compressing plans, the company has turned its attention to low-pressure containers.
Gas-bag System Inexpensive.
It is now equipping its own fleet with 300-cubic-ft. bags which afford a 14-mile range on a 2-ton lorry. From the interest aroused it considers that there is fairly wide scope for this equipment. An attraction, it corn
ments, is the low cost of the bags and installing them, and the elimination of the high compressing charges. Furthermore, gas can be taken on at so many points. The price quoted is is. 3d. per gallon equivalent.
The latest turn this enterprising company's investigations have taken is towards medium-pressure reinforcedrubber containers. It anticipates that these will be practicable for pressures up to 100 lb. per sq. in. It appears confident of the possibilities here, but is up against the practical difficulty of a likelihood that supplies will be as scarce as in the case of steel bottles. Therefore it is proceeding, for the present, with its low-pressure gas-bag