THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE

Southland Times, Issue 18770, 19 March 1920, Page 6

THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE

IN THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. i During tht last few years the motorisation of all forms of horse-drawn equipment has proceeded at an amazing rate, and is now making itself felt, in the farming industry—a domain that has hitherto been sacred to the “friend of man.” Demonstrations at the recent agricultural shows held throughout the dominie n have convinced many hard-headed farmers that, while the horse will always be a sine qua non on the farm, much of the work can be done more speedily and -more economically by selfpropelled equipment. Just when most farmers were becoming accustomed to the innovation of the übiquitous benzine motor, their interest has been further aroused by the advent of the electrically-propelled vehicle. So far the class of- vehicle exhibited at the recent shows irl Christchurch and in Palmerston North is used solely for road haulage or passenger service, but farmers will not be astonished to find some day that the storage battery has been harnessed to meet the more immediate requirements of the farm. The exceptional facilities enjoyed in Christchurch, owing to the proximity of the Lake Coleridgt hydro-electric power station, have had a favourable effect on the development of electric trucking in that city, and the Christchurch City Council has just passed plans for the erection of a garage to accommodate sixty electric vehicles. Other municipalities are following suit, and today Edison storage battery vehicles are owned by the borough councils of New Plymouth, Napier, Gisborne. Dunedin and Invercargill. Dairy companies are also finding a profitable field fox this new method of haulage, owing to the exceptional facilities every dairy factory possesses for charging electric trucks. The dairy companies at Rongotea, Kaupokonui, Hawera and Awahuri now possess their own “electrics” and a five-ton Edison battery truck has just been installed at the Patea Freezing Works. Rongotea Dairy Company hgs pioneered this type of vehicle in the dairy industry, and claims to have cut its costs for haulage almost in half. In its balance sheet issued last month the following comparison is given of the actual running expenses of two petrol lorries compared with two “electrics” :

Petrol. Electric. 1915-16. 1916-17. 1917-18. £ £ £ Fuel ..?... 168 230 46 [Tyres So 150 68 I Maintennncc .. 177 163 63 Wages . . .. 300 325 369 £728 £B6B £546 Revenue earned .. £ 68 £728 £B6B £478 The simplicity of the mechanism and control of these vehicles attracted a good deal of attention at the recent shows. There is only one moving part in the truck, apart from the wheels, and there are no change-speed .gears, friction clutch, radiator, oil tank, water tank, or carburetter, etc. All that the driver has to consider is a steering wheel, a controller handle, and two brake levers. As a life of ten years at least is claimed for the Edison battery, this type of vehicle would seem to possess its own economic sphere of influence.