Opinions from Others.
Page 21
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The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects conneded with the use of commercial motors. Letters . should be on one side of the paper only and typewritten by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no responsibility for views expressed is accepted.
Petrol-paraffin Mixtures.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1382] Sir,—Regarding the present scarcity of petrol, we thought it might interest your readers to know that G.M.C. trucks and Oaklands cars will run on a 50 per cent. mixture of paraffin and petrol without any alteration to the carburetter, although, of course; by re-adjusting the carburetter better results will accrue.—,-Yonrs faithfully, .
, THE ANZAC MOTOR CO., LTD. G. HEADLAND, sales Department.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1383] Sir,—The use of paraffin and other low-grade fuels to spin out our petrol supplies appears to be the only way to keep motors going. In view2 however, of the fact that the shortage is a war condition and not likely to be permanent, many people hesitate to invest in an expensive paraffin or two-fuel carbutAter, apart from the fact that only one or two of these are yet available in quantities, and therefore offer relief to only the minority. We are, therefore, putting on the market a. two-fuel adapter valve, which will enable motorists to use lowgrade fuels to the best advantage with their present carburetter. Any carburetter will run on a certain proportion of paraffin when the engine is hot, bat the difficulty has been to introduce it properly and also readily to ascertain the proportion of admixture which any particular engine and carburetter will take. The quantity can be arrived at by trial and error, but this takes time, and what is wanted is to arrive at the maximum amount of admixture permissible, quickly. This the, adapter valve provides. It also enables petrol to be used for the start, which is an advantage, as, when working from an already mixed supply, it is not possible to use so much of the heavier fuel, because with as heavy a mixture, as the engine will take when warmed up to its work, the engine will not start readily ; so that in order to secure the possibility of ready starting, the motorist is compelled to use a less heavily adulterated fuel than he would otherwise be able to do, and so is not working to the best advantage. Ordinarily, an admixture of from 10 to 30,per cent. cif paraffin can be used, and by adjustment this can often be exceeded.
The device, for which patent application has been made, is very simple and consists of a, cross-shaped hollow casting, with a control cock in the centre. The petrol supply is connected up to one arm of the cross
and the carburetter to the other, whilst the paraffin supply enters at the top, and the lower arm, which is furnished with a tap, serves as a drain by means of which the carburetter can be cleared of either fuel when needed: The handle of the control cock is connected up.by means of a. Bowden wire with a sector on the steering post, which is provided with an adjustable handle and &graduated scale. By this means the engine c'an be started up on petrol, and, when it has got warm, the paraffin supply can be let in and increased to the maximum which the engine will take. A very little trial will enable this to be ascertained, so that when once going, the driver can quickly put his engine on to the most economical mixture it is possible to use with it, and can put it back on petrol only, for starting, whenever desired, whilst provision is also made whereby the fuel, by a little more movement of the lever, may be turned entirely off, and the engine then takes in only air, cooling it, saving fuel and acting more efficiently as a. brake.
The-device is not an experiment, but has been on the American market some months, where it is meeting with greatsuccess, and the ma-kers are finding themselves behind with their orders. We have permission to impoft a limited number and are now booking orders in strict rotation for earliest delivery. The price is 55s.—Yours faithfully, BRAMCO, LTD. 1, Ellys Road, Coventry.
[1384] Sir,—It may interest you to know that in
• several parts of the country we are making-special arrangements to convey the workers of various munition factories to their work. The majority of the larger factories are, for obvious reasons, erected some little distance from any populated spot, and considerable difficulty has been experienced in many cases in arranging for the employees to reach their work.
We have recently cometo an arrangement with the manager of one very large factory, Who was rather surprised to hear that them were facilities available, and it has occurred to us that, possibly, there may be other factories where the employees are having difficulty (living some distance away) in arranging for conveyances, and may be glad to hear that we shall be rpitte prepared to undertake any reasonable service.— Yours faithfully, COMMERCIAL CAR HIRERS, LTD., Caxton House. Westminster, S.W. J. C. MOTH.