THE CARBURETTOR

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18500, 22 February 1930, Page 10 (Supplement)

THE CARBURETTOR

NEW INVENTION. To anyone who has motored for a number of years it is obvious that there is still a great field for improvement in carburation. The modern carburettor is a very perfect instrument of its kind, but there is . still much to be done to get the last ounce of efficiency out of the fuel. An interesting invention has recently been testd by the American army authorities which, according to their report, gives excellent results. It is known as the Godward Gas Generator and is designed to utilise petrol, paraffin, gas oil or fuel oil. In the normal carburetter the fuel is vaporised by passing air through or over it at a high speed and in the induction system much of the fuel recondenses on the walls of the pipes. The Godward system provides for the slowing up of the charge, taking advantage of the dropping out of the wet particles which are delayed until they glassify. This is done by a chamber, the capacity of which equals one cylinder in area. The chamber is so constructed that the incoming charge is subjected to centrifugal action which throws outward all wet particles contained in the charge rather on the principle of a cream separator. There are, however, no moving parts as the speed of the vapour itself supplies the energy. The unvapourised fuel spreads itself on a curved vertical plate surface heated from the bottom of the chamber. The heat ascending the plate by conduction, furnishes a varying temperature from a maximum at the bottom to a minimum at the toop. The wet fuel spread in a thin film upon the plates by the action of the air gravitates toward the heat. In cold weather the whole range of wet fuel gravitates further toward the heat than in summer, and the less volatile the fuel, the further it has to descend the plates to find for itself the necessary heat and other factors for evaporation. The device can be attached to the intake manifold of any internal combustion engine and it is also provided with a flange for the attachment of the usual types of carburettor. In the report it is stated that the addition of the GodWard apparatus to an internal combustion engine does provide for the alternate use of a number of fuels, such as petrol, kerosene, fuel oil or alcohol, and that additional power with the added advantage of greater fuel economy results.