COAL-GAS CONVERSION WRINKLES.
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L.C.C. Warning.
The Public Control Committee of the London Count' Council report on gas filling installations at motorcar garages. As filling may possibly occupy a considerable time, there is risk of inattention on the part of the operator which may result in a serious ',leakage of gas. The Committee have therefore considered what 'precautions should be taken to avoid risks from installations fitted up at 'premises licensed to store petroleum spirit. It does not seem necessary to take any action if the gas-filling point is in the open air and at a distance of not Jess than 20 ft. from the petroleum storage place or filling point, neither does it appear necessary to raise objection to cars fitted with gas containers being garaged with petrol-driven cars if the garage is. artificially lighted by incandescent electric lamps and is well
ventilated at the roof level. As it is possible that, in the near future, an in'creasing number of these gas installa
Cons may be provided, the Committee are in communication with the owners of garage premises licensed by the Council ender the Petroleum Acts with a view to efficient measures being taken to obviate any risk of accident occurring during filling or from lighting. •
Gas Sleeve Attachment.
Our attention has been drawn to, a simple and effective sleeve attachment for gas bags which has been devised by Mr. Oldham, of Whitehouse and Oldham, Ltd., West Bromwich. To the end of the sleeve of the gas bag is attached a section of rubber tube 2 ins, internal diameter by 7 ins, in length, the junction between sleeve and tube being completed with Blakely taPe. The mouth of this tube is filled with a wooden plug provided with a strap, All that is necessary when recharging is Ito withdraw the wooden plug, and to slip the open mouth of the rubber tube over the gas connection, Ahich should preferably be tapered. When the hag is charged, and thesupply tap has been turned off, the sleeve is pulled off the pipe and the wooden block re-inserted to form a seal. By means of the strap the sleeve may be slung up out of the way: Joseph and Jesse Siddons, Ltd, of West Bromwich, find the attachment effective.
An Ingenious System..
To obviate the difficulty of housing a lorry and gas container in a somewhat Iow building, an ingenious arrangement for lowering the tray and container has been adopted by a Keighley firm. On the driver's canopy and on the back of the vehicle, too sets of wrought iron fittings have been placed, one set as high as possible, and the other some distance below. "Hooks" on the tray fit on to these, one set 'bringing the top of the tray well above th.e level of the canopy, and the other bringing the top of the tray level with the roof. For ordinary grocery delivery work the container is allowed to remain in the lower position, but the fitting is raised to givemorc, space underneath, when bulkier articles are to be carried. ,Tbe vehicle is a 16cwt. Argyll with 200 c, ft. container.
Supplementary Air Inlet.
. For the purpose of contributing towards the correct adjustment of the mixture of air andAgas, which, in turn, is likely to ehable a,,,greater.mileage per container charge totbe secured, our attention has been drawn to the hand-controlled Saunders extra air inlet, made by C. P. Preston Co., 112, High Holborn, London, W.O. This device is -identical in appearance and principle with the air inlet of the familiar incandescent, gaslighting burner, wherewith the proportion of air admitted for mixture with the gas is varied by closing or opening the ports, a revolving sheath being fitted to this end.
West Riding Gas Circuit,
Huddersfield's provision of fillincfacilities provides another link whicri almost completes -the thorough organization of the West Riding for-the supply of coal-gas for motor transport purposes. It is now possible to travel from one side of this busy industrial., district to the other almost entirely on coal-gas. Messrs. G. L. Greenwood, manufacturing cheniists and drysaiters, Keighley, cover practically the whole of the West Riding by motor lorry and without experiencing i
any difficulty n recharging. The accompanying illustration shows the ,Second vehicle they have had No for coal-gas, .a 2-ton Lacre, with a 280 ft. Barton container. With a full load seven to nine miles can be run on this supply at a cost of ls. So successful has been the experiment that a container 19 ft. long by 6 ft. by 61t. 6 ins'. is now on order. This firm acknowledges a certain difficulty in regard to the varying sizes of the supply pipes. Many. placesz have arloted the suggestion-of the-Manchester. Ge.poration that the pipes should he 2'1, ins, in diameter; but at one placethe supply pipe there is a 41 in. connection, whiCla is almost .beyond the Bartertlpipe.
Low Pressure Cylinders.
There is one. point,whichohould be borne in mind in connection with the use,r of cylinders both high and low pressure ifor the storage of coal-gas. They are invariably stamped with the pressure to which they have been tested. AccordnrOy charging should be carried out only to 'one-half of this peessure, inasmuch as it isk generally accepted to be necessary to have a margin of safety of 2 to 1.
The Wilton Carriage Co.„ Wacidon New Road, Croydon, report brisk conversion business. They have recently completed the equipment of a. four-cylinder Light Albion van to this fuel for the Patent Steam Carpet Beating Co., which we illustrate on the previous page. This represents their ,twentieth conversion completed to-the order of this firm. Each vehicle is provided with a contaMor of 7,00 cubic ft. capacity.
Gas Brevities.
Three public filling stations are being established in Birmingham.
Lookers, -Ltd., of Manchester, are experimentingwith a gas bag trailer.
. The Imperial Tramways, Ltd., of Middlesbrough, are experimenting with a 1000 cubic ft. container.
• An Austin lorry run by one of the Blackburn Co-operative Societies has been adapted tO coal-gas by Messrs. . Knapcs, of Burnley.
British Rubber Manufactures, Ltd., have ftsokeil last week's record-by hooking a single order for gas containers to the value of.10;-000.
The Motor vehicles of Messrs. Jacobs, the Dublin biscuit firm, running in the. Manchester and Liverpool districts have been fitted with the Brannen gas container.
Droitivich Gas Committee has decided upon a charge of 6d. per 100 cubic ft., including attendance. The filling. station is at the gas worka on the BirminghamKidderminster Road.
The Wallseud Motor Co. Ltd., 747allsend-on-Tyne, has installed "a charging equipment at its garage comprising a 1/.5011ight meter with a 2-in. outlet. With this installation a 280 c. ft. hag can be charged in 71 mini.
A three-ton Halley lorry in the service of the Salford Corporation has, been convertett by Lookers, Ltd., of Manchester, who have also adapted several vehicles belonging to the Lancashire Hygienic Daisies, Ltd_ and Messrs. Watts, the well-knossn Manchester warehousemen.: There is Me application of the high-compression system in its relation to mot& vehicles which is worthy •of mention_ The cylinders can be carried as a.reserva supply on vehicles equipped with the overhead flexible container, and can be utilized to inflate the latter When its normal charge has been consumed.
The Basingstoke Gas Co. has installed a filling station with. 2-in, connection at the gas works, Basing Road, within 100 yards of three main roads—London to Southampton, London to Salisbury, and:Southampton to Reading. The charge is 6d. per 100 cubic ft. between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays inclusive, Saturdays 7 a.m.' to 1 p.m. Extra charge after the above hours; and on Sundays is. per charge irrespective of quantity taken.