DEMONSTRATING A PARAFFIN GAS PRODUCER.
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I T IS well known that for some years
Commercial Cars, Ltd., the builders of the famous Commer Car lorries, have carried out exhaustive investigations and a vast amount of experimental work in the designing and construction of an apparatus which will enable paraffin oil to be .used successfully as fuel for internal-combustion engines working at the speeds required for road vehicles.
Success has now apparently, crowned their efforts, as their apparatus is claimed to be the most satisfactory type yet produced for this purpose. It has passed from the experimental to the practical stage, and, in order to prove its capabilities, a party of those particularly interested in its development is to-day visiting the Luton works. in order to examine the apparatus in detail and to participate in a demonstration rim, which will include a consumption test and dismantling the mechanism for inspection after the road test has been concluded.
We shall publish full details of the apparatus in our next issue, but for the moment we give some of the results which have been obtained in previous tests, and a few details of particular interest..
It is claimed that engines may be started from dead cold on paraffin with the same ease as if they were running on petrol, and that there is no visible exhaust. with the exception of a slight. trace occurring momentarily when starting from cold. Once the cooling water is warm, the engine will idle for long periods and will then accelerate with practically no signs of smoke. One of the disagreeable features., hitherto attendant on the use of paraffin has been dilution of the lubricating oil, and it is stated that this fault has been obviated.
To obtain full efficiency from paraffin, it has formerly been necessary to increase the compression ratio, but this is notrequired with the new apparatus.
The importance of compactness has been realized, and the new device, which is a self-contained unit, weighs very little more than an average carburetter, and can be fitted in place of this.
Tests on the bench show that the power closely approaches that given by petrol, and in no instance has a loss of more than 25 per cent.. been registered, and against this the tests have shown an average economy of 16.5 per cent., as compared with petrol, when developing full power, this economy rising to 30 per cent. with the throttle partly open.
It. is stated that these results have been eonfirmed by extensive road tests carried out on a, Commer Car 3-34-ton demonstration vehicle, in which the average fuel economy against petrol exceeded 32 per cent., and ample power was available for negotiating the steepest gradients with the vehicle fully loaded. With, a gross weight of 7 tons 2 qrs.-, this vehicle averages 9g nep.g., which is approximately 66-ton inles per gallon.