The Sphinx, Vol. 14, No. 214

              March 9, 1907.
THE SPHINX.
9
Automobile Notes.
HINTS FOR NOVICES—IGNITION.
(Continued)
Next to this comes the ordinary H.T. with dry batteries, called primary batteries. In using these, remember the carbon on the positive plate is the centre one and the negatiue one the zinc, which can be distinguished as the wire usually comes out at the side of the cell. The amount of amperage required is about eight, i.ot less. They are good things to carry as spares, because they do not spoil by not being constantly used, as an accumulator does, and being cheap they can;be purchased almost anywhere and can be readily connected up. A word of warning—Do not measure an accumulator with an ampere meter, as it will ruin the ampere meter. One of the cheapest forms of a volt meter is to buy a 4-volt lamp: only buy one with the glass contained in a wooden box, or, if not, have one made : otherwise it is sure to get broken. If the volt lamp gives a bright white light, the battery is fit for use; if it gives off a dull light, it is unfit and should not be used, except for emergency only.
The forms used with accumulators and dry batteries to break the spark are three in number —the make-and-break, the wipe with a trembler coil, and the trembler blade. Then there is the magneto H.T. using a magneto plug and the low : tension, in which the spark is broken inside the 1 cylinder, and finally the low and H tension magneto used with the ordinary H.T. battery and coil. With the two latter forms I should strongly recommend the use of dry cells. It is so seldom that one requires to use a battery—which means the magneto has broken down (as the saying goes)—that in all probability the battery will be useless, besides which, wet batteries of all forms and descriptions are a nuisance. A man who employs them is never free of trouble. The Simms-Bosch H.T. magneto is, to my idea, perfect and I should not dream of fitting up an auxiliary except on a big-powered car fitted with the
L.T. magneto, which requires the crank to be revolved somewhat rapidly to start the engine. With a battery and coil she will start much easier.
I often think that people owning a high-power- | ed car which is difficult to start (which some are) should build their car-house up an incline : then it would only be necessary to flood the carburetter, put the reverse in and let her run down backwards till the engine started and so save all the labor and bother of starting her. I owned a 40 de Dietrich which I daily started from the cold by pushing her along about 6 yards and then slowing, letting in the cluch, the first speed being in, and off she went. When I stopped her, I usually did so on a slope, adopting the same method, so difficult was the engine to start, although she was fitted with batteries giving off about 12 volts.
WATER CIRCULATION.
The next thing is the water circulation. Note what kind of pump is used and whether it is driven off the fly-wheel with a friction drive (Panhard system) or off the two to one gear, usually called the “timing gear”. Note also the way the water is driven, whether from the top of the radiator to the bottom or vice versa, and note approximately the amount of water carried. In hot countries likel the Malay Straits and other Eastern countries I should strongly advise purchasers to either fit an extra tank, or increase the size of the one fitted, or better still, note this as part of the bargain before purchasing, or, if this cannot be done, increase the radiating or add a larger fan. The circulating water on a car should never be allowed to boil: it is impossible to lubricate an engine properly if it gets so hot that the
water boils, and something should at once be done to prevent this occuring again. The only other form of engine-cooling is by means of what is termed the thermosyphon system, that is, the cold water pushing up the hot, and the hotter the engine becomes, the faster is the circulation. It means doing away with all paraphernalia of pumps and wheels, but it also means carrying more water, fitting larger pipes to convey the water and drawing in the air through the radiator by means of a fan fitted to the fly-wheel. The idea, as fitted to a Renault, is to my mind perfect, and I have never known the water to boil, even when driving in the traffic of London on a hot summer day, and the tank only three parts full. The idea of fitting a fan behind the radiating plates in order to create a draught, chiefly while the car is at a standstill, is to my mind monstrous, and it is one of those things that makers continue to do without thinking, because others do it. If it is necessary to have a fan, which I must admit (owing to the poorly constructed radiators, small pipes and inefficient running) it perhaps is, then let the engines be separated by a dust-shield from the fan and radiator, and so prevent the dust entering the bonnet and smothering everything to the detriment of the engine and working parts, and so allow the hot air, which is drawn through the radiator, to escape below the car, instead of being blown on the engines, etc.
The Oil-Holes.
Now we come to one of the most important points, that is, to know exactly where the various oil-holes are: make sure you know every one before the car is used, otherwise they may get bunged up with dust and dirt and forgotten. Also note where the drops run to and the destination of each pipe. One way of finding out how much oil is necessary to ensure good lubrication for the piston, etc., is to pump in by hand sufficient oil till the exhaust begins to eject a light smoke; then stop, or adjust the drops into the base chamber till the same white smoke appears, noting the number of drops per minute ; some cars take more than others : about ten a minute is an ordinary average for most small cars. The base chamber of a car should by rights be divided, so as to ensure each cylinder getting its right amount of lubrication when travelling up a hill otherwise the oil will run towards the fourth cylinder, flooding it out and in all probability fouling the sparking-plugs, while No. 1 cylinder will get none at all. The next step will be to learn which is the mixture and which are the advance spark handles, noting in the former one, which is open and which is shut, and in the latter, which is the advance and which is the retard. On the Doug-emere (?) carburetter two handles will be seen, one which is operated from the steering column, and the other which is set to whatever the engine works best with. It is usually marked “F” for ferine [shut] and “O” for ouvert [open]; this refers chiefly to the mixture. Note also where the petrol tap is for turning off the petrol from the tank. This should be fitted to every car. In case of a backfire, which might set the carburetter alight, the petrol could be turned off and the fire would soon burn out. Also, it will be necessary to turn off the tap before taking the carburetter float out.
The amount of petrol the tank will hold should be ascertained and the approximate distance the car will run on an ordinary surface per gallon. This can be got at by following method—Place the car on the level, fill up the tank, then cut a stick long enough to just reach the bottom of the tank. When out for a run, get out of the car every half-hour and measure the petrol.
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