FUEL MADE IN CHRISTCHURCH

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 227, 25 September 1928, Page 16

FUEL MADE IN CHRISTCHURCH

BENZOL MOTOR SPIRIT

SUCCESSFULLY USED IN GAS

COMPANY'S CARS

For several weeks past Mr. I. W. J. Belton, engineer to the Chiistchurch Gae Company, has been producing benzol spirit from tar and using it successfully in the company's cars. The benzol ia purely a by-product of the tar aud is extracted during the refining process, arid although it has proved entirely suitable as a motor spirit, Mr. Belton has no expectations of being able to produce it in marketable quantities. In explaining the method of producing the benzol, Mr. Belton stated that in the distillation of tar for loading purposes a eertain series of ojls wae recovered. The heavier portions of these oils were used in the manufacture of a disinfectant, a wood preservative, and a weed killer. The lighter portions of the oils were' then used in the production of benzol which the company wae mixing with first-grade petrol in equal proportions and using for driving its cars. The mixture was the satne as that produced by the National Benzol Association in England and was made to a definite specification. Mr. Belton said that he had not yet worked out the cost of producing the benzol as he had only recently commenced the final rectification process. although he had been storing the crude oil for some time past. He did not «.„- pect that with the company's output of tar it would he possible to produce more than about 1500 gallons a year. The benzol produced at the gas works, said Mr. Belton. was richer in carbon than ordinary petrol, and in using it in motor-cars it was nocossary to "irk to a finer adjustment of the carburetter. As a tpst one. of the cars at the works hed horn rinniins on benzol only for about n month and the result? had bci'Ti nnt'reJy «;iti«factory. GREASY ROADS. Too much stress cannot bo laid on the fact that all the actions of controlling a car on a greasy road must be much lighter and more delicate than on a dry road. There is much less adhesion between the tyres and the road, due to the fa-ct that there is a medium of j lubrication between them, namely, fine oily mud. Corners should be taken slowly, and the steering wheel should be turned with a persuasive movement rather than forcibly wrenched round. The same rule applies to braking; the brake nedal should be depressed with a delicate touch, and left alone if possible when the car is turning a corner. Brakes lock the wheels of a car more easily on a greasy road than on a dry one. and it is when the wheels of a car are locked on grease that a skid is most likely to occur. WHITE HOUSE NOW ENTIRELY MOTORtSED. Disposal of the aorse aud carriage which has been the tradtional perqeisite of the housekeeper of the White House marks the passing of the last vestige of a once extensive White House stable. The presidential residence is now completely motor ised. According to tradition, Andrew .Jackson rode up to the White - •••i horseback to begin his stormy tenancy, and horse-drawn carriages were, or course, the usual mode of presidential progress up to the beginning of the present century. The first President of the United States to ride in a motor vehicle was William McKtnley, and he indulged in a brief spin merely for the experience of riding in one of the new "horseless carriages." The first President actually to drive a motor ear wu Theodore Roosevelt.