Motor Road Transport For Commercial Purposes
(Liquid Fuel, Steam, Electricity)

FUEL, SPARE PARTS, ETC. 147 well if the running charges were lumped together and not separated under their various heads. This matter is of considerable importance and affects the efficiency of a service very much. Economy may be effected in fuel consumption in the case of internal combustion engined vehicles by divers means, such as the fitting of an extra air or spraying device ; by the mixture of benzole with the petrol; or by the employment of some soundly designed atomizer or paraffin carburettor, such as is hereafter described. The author would like to add a word of warning in connection with this subject, namely, that those responsible for the service should make sure that the vans are not run habitually on too rich a mixture. Not only is this wasteful in fuel, but its evil effect on the engine is great, and increased expenditure will not be confined to the fuel item alone, but will extend to those of lubricating oil and repairs. Care should be taken to prevent waste in the storage of fuel and in the Alling up of the tanks on the vans. With the steam wagon and electric vehicle, tlie number of cwts. of fuel or of units of elcctricity used per working day, and their costs, should also be recorded in detail. In the case of the steamer, coke will very often prove a more economical fuel than coal. Generally speaking, the former is cheaper and—even in comparison to best Welsh steam coal—considerably cleaner. Since the quality of coke varies to a considerable extent the steam wagon owner will be wise if he experiments until he finds a kind suitable to his machine. One disadvantage—which may in some cases prove a determining factor against the use of the cheaper fuel—is that it is more bulky than coal.