Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/306

 290

��Popular Science Monthly

��Homemade Hot Air Intake for a Carbureter

TO increase the mileage per gallon of gasoline, the air should be slightly- warmed before it enters the carbureter. A very simple and practical method of supplying this heated air is shown in the

��I Urtake^pipeJ 1

���Tin can on the exhaust connected with metal pipe to supply hot air to the carbureter

illustration. The main body of the device consists of an oblong tin can cut out and fitted over the exhaust pipe, as shown. A hole is cut in the bottom of the tin can and the end of the piece of flexible metal pipe, such as is used for electric wire insulation, is slipped into it and connected with the air-intake of the carbureter. This is a satisfactory homemade accessory which will give more miles to the gallon of gasoline, quicker acceleration and less carbon. — P. P. Avery.

��Adjusting the Foot Pedal to Prevent Wear on Gears

IT may be difficult to believe that the adjustment of an automobile clutch pedal has everything to do with the life of the transmission gears and the clutch parts. If the pedal is set so that it moves through a greater part of its arc before it commences to release the clutch, then it is more than likely that it will not wholly separate the clutch members. In that case, the gears will clash in "changing" and they will be prematurely worn out. Besides "changing" will be a noisy opera- tion. If the pedal is set so that when it is "back" it strikes the floorboard, it is almost certain that the clutch members are not engaged as tightly as they should be and that they are slipping though so slightly as not to be noticed — with a con- sequent wearing of the surfaces. Worse than this, the clutch is being held "out"

��all the time against a powerful spring, and the part that takes the thrust of this spring at such a time, is an expensive ball bearing, which is sure to show the effects of such service.

��Circulating Water in a Gas Holder to Prevent Freezing

THE ordinary observer would think that a gas holder is sturdy enough to be unaffected by freezing water. But the fact that the upper drum, holding the gas, is surrounded by, and moves up and down in water, renders it necessary for the gas companies to safeguard their holders against freezing, as it is vitally important that the holders move freely. One gas company prevents the water from freezing by keeping it in circulation with a system of steam siphons, placed at intervals around the holder. The water ejected from the nozzle of each siphon, communicates a forward impetus to the water in front of it and in this way the water is kept in continuous

��iteam main

���Siphons made of gas pipe and operated by a steam jet to keep water in circulation around gas holder. This prevents freezing

movement around the holder. The siphons are built of 1-in. pipe excepting a short piece which is made of 1^-in. pipe. The steam main is, of course, the largest. — James M. Kane.

�� �