An Interesting Oil Vaporizer for Bedford Vehicles
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KNOIArN as the Hulberene-Economiser, an interesting oil vaporizing device suitable for Bedford engines is marketed by J. Cowan Hulbert, 111, Grosvenor Road, Loudon, SAVA. The fitting of this vaporizer involves no structural changes to the engine, the standard petrol system being retained and used for starting and idling.
Two accelerator pedals are used, and the change-over to oil operation is effected by transferring the foot from the petrol accelerator to the oil accelerator. The action of using the oil accelerator pedal instantly puts the petrol carburetter out of action, whilst the moment the oil throttle is closed, the petrol carburetter comes into immediate operation.
The petrol and oil systems are entirely separate and the fitments provided with the vaporizer include a8-gallon oil tank and a separate fuel pump and filter. An accompanying illustration shows the device, and it will be noted that the standard down-draught carburetter and the induction pipe remain unaltered. The vaporizer may also be fitted to the earlier Bedford models without alteration to the induction system.
On changing over to the oil system the fuel is fed to a single-jet carburetter mounted on the end of a vapour tube, air being drawn in through a filter and pre-heated before entering the carburetter. After leaving the carburetter the mixture is passed through a nest of perforated copper tubes to break down any remaining particles of fuel in the mixture. It then passes through a vapour tube taking heat from all the exhaust parts, and finally through a neutral
zone within the heat chamber, the temperature of the gas being reduced so that it enters the cylinders through the standard induction pipe, in a proper form for combustion and at cylinder-wall temperature.
Gases escaping past the pistons are extracted from the crankcase by a controlled evacuation system and are returned to the oil carburetter to be used again as fuel. At the same time a certain amount of engine-oil vapour is taken into the cylinders to give top-cylinder lubrication. The amount of oil vapour taken from the crankcase is, however, controllable and an adjustment is provided for this purpose.
It is claimed that a saving of over 50 per cent, of fuel costs may be effected by the use of this device, and that when running on oil, over 90 per cent. of the maximum engine power (running on petrol) is available. The changeover is simple and instantaneous, and starting and idling are automatically controlled by the standard petrol carburetter. The device is well made and is of British manufacture, whilst the price, including fitting and testing, is