A Useful Water Motor.

Progress, Volume I, Issue 3, 2 January 1906, Page 56

A Useful Water Motor.

Engineers in charge of garages and motor-running sheds will be interested m the "Hector" water motors, which are constructed by Mr. Percy Pitman, of Bosbury, Ledbury, Herefordshire. The directcoupled type, which we illustrate, is specially designed for the charging of accumulators. It possesses the advantage of being suitable for connection to either the ordinary house water supply, where the pressure may vary between 40 and 6olt». on the sq. in., or to a hydraulic supply. The charging set consists of a direct-coupled dynamo, bolted to the same bed-plate as that which supports the water motor, all parts being accurately machined and finished. A half-inch supply pipe is provided, and the approximate speed of running is 2,000 revolutions per minute. If the water is furnished from a hydraulic supply mam of high pressure, as is obtainable m London and many cities, one b h p. can be obtained for a consumption of two gallons of water per minute, and higher powers in exacn proportion. The water motor illustrated is at improved Pelton type wheel, fitted with three interchangeable nozzles, one only being used at a time, the bore of these nozzles being i-i6th, i-Bth, and 3-32nds of an mch. When the pressure is 40ft. on the sq in., the consumption of water does not exceed fifty gallons per hour for a dynamo to provide a current of five amperes at an E.M.F of ten volts. This current and pressure is suitable for the charging of motor vehicle accumulators, and the low price at which the whole of the outfit is marketed — twelve pounds, complete, with voltmeter and ammeter — should lead to a free enquiry and numerous orders for so compact and useful a fitting. If the water pressure is below 40H). on the sq. in, belt driving is necessary 111 place of direct coupling, whilst Mr. Pitman is prepared to supply special sets to run under a 6ft. head of water only, which is equivalent to only 2.6 ft. on the sq. in. He points out that, in order to obtain the highest efficiency m working his motors, the supply pipe should be free from sharp elbows or bends which tend to throttle the flow. A supply pipe should be larger than the actual inlet to the motor to avoid factional losses in the pipe line, and the exhaust should have a free outlet so that waste water cannot back up on the wheel. Knowing, as we do the wasteful methods which are in use in many garages

for charging batteries, we thmk that this small adjunct to the equipment of such an establishment is one that would very quickly earn its first cost for the purchasers. Water motors have obvious advantages over most other motors, among which may be mentioned cleanliness, economy, and simplicity.

That we are " on the brink of a tremendous future " is the opinion expressed by Sir William Preece, X.C.8., in the address he delivered at the banquet of the Motor Van and Wagon Users' Association, when he pointed to the fact that out of 26,000 motor cars registered 111 this country no fewer than 3,500 were being used for commercial purposes, and this, too, at a moment when we are only just beginning to profit from the facilities offered by the industrial motor vehicle. Speaking as an enthusiastic believer in electricity, which,

he added, was equivalent to " writing himself down as a crank," he felt convinced that the future did not he in the steam engine or the petrol motor, but in electricity, which would in time offer a solution of the whole difficulty of public and industrial transport. Colonel R. E. B. Crompton, C.8., insisted upon the far - reaching influence of the commercial vehicle, which he said, concerned every class of the community, including public bodies, such as municipalities, the railway and shipping companies, and carriers generally, as well as the landowner and his tenant farmer, and, finally, the general public who use the streets. They who were pressing on the cause of commercial automobihsm believed, he said, that it had a great future, because it would do something for all.

The above depicts the famous 80-h p. " Peerless " racing car, which is patterned after the American touring cars, whose name it bears The motive power is furnished by a vertical four - cylinder gasolene engine. Bevel gear transmission with a direct drive on high speed is one of its features. The speed gear is of the sliding type, and is connected with the bevel gear on the rear axle by means of a universal shaft. Ball bearings to reduce the friction and aluminium to eliminate excessive weight have been used as much as possible The wheel base is nine and one-sixth feet. The wheels are thirty-two inches in diameter and are equipped with 3-J inch tyres.