THE PATERSON CARBURETTOR
THE KECENT ROAD TEST SATISFACTORY STATE OF THE ENGINE MR/ P. R. CLIMIE'S REPORT. Tho report of tho supervisor, SLr. P. 1?. Climie, concerning: tho stute of the engine on tho Chevrolet car which made the return trip from Christchurch to Dunedin a fortnight ago to demonstrate tho wondrous economy of tho Paterson carburettor, is how available. For tho benefit of those who have not closely followed the matter, jt is well to review the iaots. This baby grand Chevrolet, carrying fivo passengers, journoyetl to Dunedin and back, usuik tar oil tuel, at a fuel cost of 4s. IUI. per passenger ! The foots were published m Tub Dominion on Tuesday, January 22, Mr. Climio's official report on Thursday, January 2-i, and in course of this report ho gave the following summary:-— Distance—472 miles (speedometer reading). . . ~ Weight of car with estimated load--I.BM tons. Tar distillate consumed— gallons. Cost of tar distillate—ls. 3d. l>or gallon. Running time—l9hr. 55mm. - Average speed—23.7 miles pel lioiu. Consumption of fuel 23.9 miles per gallon. Ton miles—U.2. . Cost per car. mile (fuel only) .u2Bd. Cost per head of five passengers-Is.
lid. , . The test was undertaken to demonstrate the fact that tho Patereon carburettor would enable an engine to run satisfactorily upon almost any kind ot liquid fuel containing hydrocarbons. Very economical results hail been obtained on. petrol ami kerosene in actual road tests. The impurities in the tar distillate'used, to quote Mr. Climio s report, "all played their part in assisting to make tho test a severe oiio for the carburottor, tho performance of which, under such conditions, I consider eminently satisfactory." , , ■ . , Mr. Climie himself tested tie cars running on the hills and oil the Hat, and then had the engine cylinders removed, in order to closely observe the offect on the ongino itself. His resort, published below, fully hears out the highly complimentary remarks ot the other independent experts who made it tlieir business to he present when the inspection was made, and tho text is confidently submitted to tho motoring public as follows:— THE PATERSON CARBURETTOR. REPORT ON CONDITION OP ENGINE. "In accordance with' my expressed' desire, I have been given the opportunity of examining the engine ol the Chevrolet car, which, by means of tile Patcrson carburettor, has run about 700 miles on tar distillate. . . "The pistons being of an aluminium alloy wore necessarily of a loose fit within the'bore of tho cylinders, in consequence of tho fact that the alloy has a considerably greater co-efficiont ol expansion that cast iron.' This looseness lmtnrally resulted in a considerable amount ol lubricating oil finding its way on to the tops of tho pistons where carbonisation was inevitable. In confirmation of this fact, small .pools of lubricating oil were actually found on' tho pistons when tho cylinder tops wore removed, while a. fair amount of- deposit was also apparent, both on tho piston heads and upper cylinder walls. The difficulty was to determine whether this deposit was duo to the excess supply of lubricating oil. or whether it was due to incomplete combustion of the fuel. I am inclined, however, to the opinion that such was duo to both causes. The material itself was found to bo exceedingly soft ana readily removable, while I do not consider the quantity excessive under the circumstances. . The working portions or the cylinder walls woro found to be in porfect condition. , "Tho Valves.—On examining !:ie valves of tho engine, rather an unuslial condition of affairs was revealed, inasmuch as tho exhaust valves woro found o bo clean and free from carbon, while rho head and upper stem of the intake valves woro coated with a black substance, which, on carefully examining sumo, T found to consist wholly or mainly of pitch. It would appear, themoro, that this matorial was present in some considerable quantity .in the hydrocarbon, and that had the engine operated at a higher working tem.porature, the deposit would in all probability have been consumed, leaving the cylinders and mtako valves in a condition somewhat similar to tho exhaust valves. Tho fact that no over-heating of tho engine had occurred during this long and severe journey on 6ucli crude fuel certainly speaks woll for tho operation of tho carburettor. . . , . "Carburettor—On examining tho interior of tho Patcrson enrburettor itself, there appeared to bo nothing to call tor special comment, and apart from tho Blight discoloration 1 of some the mixing chamber the carburettor borG no signs of usago. 1 "General Remarks. —On summing up the main points of the trial I #ni convinced .that while the performance must bo considored satisfactory, the possibilities of the carburettor have by no means beon exhausted. I Bhould not bo at all surprised therefore if a more striking result still could bo obtained if more attention wcro paid to detail, such as the positioning of, tho carburettor relation to tho engine. "In conclusion, I would like to record my appreciation of tlife fact that every facility was afforded mo for a thorough examination of the car, and on no occasion was I refused permission to inspect any of the vital parts. "Tours' faithfully, _ TTlrrl jii (Signed), "P. R. CLIMIE. In making comparisons between the Paterson carburettor and the Claudel Hobson previously, tho Patcrson was given insufficient credit. It P rod »«® d thirty-one miles to the gallon on petiol, against the Claudel Hobson's mneteen miles, whereas it was previouslj stated that tho latter did twentr-nxne Full details of these tests, and of tho proposals of the Australas:ion t nr c Limited, can be obtained lrom a. T. 'Bate and , Knch. Featliorston Street, Wellington, (lublished by Arrangement.)
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Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 113, 5 February 1918, Page 7
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935THE PATERSON CARBURETTOR Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 113, 5 February 1918, Page 7
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