EXHAUST LEAKS

Taranaki Daily News, 11 March 1933, Page 13 (Supplement)

EXHAUST LEAKS

DANGER TO HEALTH. CARE NEEDED IN CLOSED CARS. The Fisher Body Corporation of ■ the United States, probably the largest business in body construction for motorcars in the world, has announced a new ventilating system for closed cars. The new system is claimed to be one of the most important contributions to motoring comfort since the introduction of the closed car itself. Details of the construction are not yet available, but if the system will keep out the dangerous carbon monoxide ‘contained in exhaust fumes, then a very definite advance has indeed been made in closed car body construction. Recently, the English journal, the “Autocar,” published a warning uttered at the Public Health Congress as to the danger to health from carbon monoxide. In certain conditions in city streets, it was stated, carbon monoxide concentration might rapidly attain to a dangerous value. Improper combustion, of course, means a preponderance of carbon monoxide in the exhaust. That even in the “open air” of a traffic block the gas may not be harmless should forcibly bring home to people the extreme danger of running an engine in a garage. Nevertheless, from time to time cases recur of drivers who have been poisoned by the fumes in their garages, arid most of us, probably, have had experience of dizziness or headaches caused by doing some adjustment to the car with the engine running, not realising that on a windless day. the mere opening of the garage door is not necessarily a sufficient precaution. In cold weather many people make a habit of shutting the windows of their closed cars on almost every possible occasion, and it may well be that a car will be driven for miles with the interior improperly ventilated. These people would be wise to run over the exhaust systems of their cars to make certain that no leak allows any carbon monoxide to enter the body. It must be emphasised that this gas is colourless and completely odourless; even a very small defect in the exhaust system might allow sufficient to enter to cause sleepiness to the driver. Those who are troubled with headaches after a run should satisfy themselves that carbon monoxide is not the cause.

THE BATTERY.

A FINE SERVANT. Probably there is no component of a motor vehicle that does so much for such a long time as a high-grade battery of suitable capacity for the machine on which it is used. The average motorist knows very little about the battery of his car- He appreciates the fact that, on pressing a button, the battery will start up the engine, and keep the headlights and other lamps burning for hours at a time. The only thing he is asked to do is occasionally “top-up” the cells with distilled water. Although it is such a fine seryant, few motorists really have any idea, apart from its ordinary duties, of what a fully-charged 75-ampere hour battery is capable of doing. While it is not recommended,. a lightweight saloon car can be propelled from 40 to 50 yards along the level by its own battery. It can be moved further if the plugs are removed to avoid engine compression. Most batteries when fully charged are capable of 25 consecutive starts of engine. Given brief intervals in which to recover the number of starts can be nearly d °A t fully-charged battery will keep the side and tail lamps, when the vehicle is parked, alight for about 30 hours, or supply current for coil ignition for about 70 consecutive hours. The storage battery, occupying a space of about 15in by 6in by 9in, and weighing about 601 b, nowadays does an immensity of work for which it gets little thanks and usually no care. That it does its many duties so well and with so little fuss is a tribute to the manufacturers of this essential component. THE SPARKING PLUG. ITS TWO ENEMIES. • The sparking plug has two enemies—heat and oil. Heat tends to , break down its insulation; oil to foul it, and so lead to “shorting.” If the plug be made too insensitive to heat it may not be able to bum away fast enough the oil that gets through and past the piston rings, and, of course, if it be not. sufficiently insensitive it will bum itself out and fail to function. Years ago all engines relatively were cool Pinning, because compressions and crankshaft speeds were low. To-day invariably they are hot running, because compression and crankshaft speeds are high. But compressions vary sufficiently, as do crankshaft speeds, to require a number of variations in plug characteristics. Then come a number of gratuitous handicaps in the shape of unsuitable lubricant, inefficient driving, faulty carburation —sometimes due to the fuel, sometimes to the. engine, sometimes to the driver or his requirements. As in everything else connected with the motor-car the sparking plug manufacturer is expected to provide an article which, by a nice compromise, will function efficiently whether the car be driven about, town in short spells, during, which the engine scarcely gets heated, or in the open country at high speeds over tong distances, when the engine is fully loaded and conditions are favourable to overheating. He does so; but actually, if the best results are essential, it is necessary to fit to the same engineif of the high-efficiency sort-one type of plug for town driving and another for fast cruising. In the one place a plug is required that will gather sufficient heat to burn away excessive off or soot caused by slow running and rich mixture, in the other one is needed that will keep cool and efficient under the heat accumulated by long-continued duty under heavy power load. In almost every case the engine maker decides the type of plug best suited, for the particular use it is intended to fulfil. But often the character of an engine changes with age and the inevitable loss of its pristine efficiency, when the adoption of another type or pattern may yield superior results. Where such a need or such a suspicion arises, it is wise to obtain expert advice from those having the requisite experience to enable them to suggest the best cure.

Black waterproof boot polish rubbed into a twill hood with a brush and then “polished” with another brush or with a velvet pad is claimed to produce a definitely waterproof surface on the hood. Rain will run off immediately; thus there will be no need to leave the hood erected for drying when the weather is again fine.