HEAVY FUEL.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20550, 19 May 1932, Page 14

HEAVY FUEL.

— ! —♦- —' USE IN PETROL ENGINES. In all parts of the world much attention is being directed towards perfecting a, mechanical sj stem whereby t heavy fuel oil can be successfully used with petrol engines. Many attempts I have met with partial success, and standard spark-ignition petrol engines have been run on heavy oils, while even greater success has been achieved [ with the use of power lieirosene as fuel (which costs more than fuel oil), but little pemianent advancement ' appears to follow in the train of these experiments. Realising that the subject was one that called for much -research and technical knowledge, a company was formed in the United States some time ago with a view of enlisting the services of experts and corporations with a complete knowledge of the subject. The outcome was the Thu.rberator Corporation. This concern, as the result of its investigations and experiments, i 3 now stated to have perfected a device that, makes possible the use of fuel oil with a petrol engine without, any, .radical change in standard design. The " Thurberator," as the device is called, has been tried out in motor-bus engines, and its' operation has, it is claimed, been, successful from a commercial standpoint, and the' power and fuel economy obtained have been better than when the same vehicles were. operated with petrol on the same route. In the "Thurberator" the fuel oil is heated by the exhaust pipe,- which passes through a fuel oil chamber. The exhaust pipe, as far as oil tank, has a jacket in which air is heated. A small stream of this hot air is projected .into the oil chamber and mixed with, the hot oil, producing a liot air and oil mixture much too rich for combustion. This mixture is fed to a chamber, and is carburetted by the automatic admission of. cold air, and then fed to engine in the usual way. The carbuiation device is provided with petrol lloat chamber, which enables the engine to,, be started, from cold, but When the oil fuel reaches its proper working temperature the petrol supply is automatically shut off. Ordinarily the driver of a motor-vehicle, with the device fitted in place of standard carburetter equipment, cannot detect when engine changes from petrol to oiJ fuel. . ■ ; The main claims made for.the berator" are low fuel cost, reduced car-bon-monoxide gas content in exhaust, gas, no smoke during operation of engine, more power,, less carbonising of cylinders, and fire' risks, .reduced. to -a minimum. The development is certainly an iateresting one, aid appears to, be a futthetf step towards commercially solving the problem of applying the use of fuel oil to the conventional, petrol engine.