Chapter I: Preface

The great and increasing importance of internal combustion motors is perhaps scarcely realized by the general public. For industrial purposes they have for many years been steadily gaining favour, and now hold an assured position. It is only in the last few years, however, that we have begun to recognize the drawbacks of horse-drawn vehicles, and the immense advantage gained by propelling them mechanically.

The suitability of oil engines for the purpose has awakened a widespread interest in them. The Editor therefore hopes that this little volume will be especially welcome to non-technical readers who like to keep ahead of the times in matters of such universal importance.

One chapter deals exclusively with the theory of the gas engine, but the non-technical mind should have no fear, for mathematics have been as far as possible avoided. It may also serve to dispel wrongful notions concerning the practical limits of the efficiency of gas engines which, we are sorry to say, exist even among persons living in a scientific atmosphere.

We have not spoken in the text of the extremely interesting results obtained from the oil engine invented by Herr Diesel of Berlin, because it has not yet been proved that this motor is strictly practicable. If, however, it turns out to be a commercial success, we hope to add a description of it at some future date.

_May 1898._

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. HISTORY OF THE GAS ENGINE 1

II. THE WORKING PRINCIPLES OF THE GAS ENGINE 13

III. DESCRIPTION OF EXISTING GAS ENGINES 23

IV. CARBURETTED AIR ENGINE 67

V. PETROLEUM ENGINES 77

VI. GAS GENERATING PLANT 103

VII. ENGINES FOR USE WITH POOR GASES 121

VIII. MAINTENANCE OF GAS AND OIL ENGINES 130

INDEX 139

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIG. PAGE
1. Early Lenoir Motor 24
2. Bisschop Motor 25
3. Bénier Motor 26
4. Forest Motor 27
5. Plan of Dugald-Clerk Engine 30
6. Benz Gas Engine 32
7. Otto Gas Engine 36
8. ” ” ” (vertical type) 38
9. Lenoir Gas Engine 39
10. Koerting-Boulet Motor 40
11. Niel Gas Engine 44
12. Martini Motor 45
13. Lablin Three-cylinder Motor 46
14. Crossley Gas Engine (X type) 47
15. Crossley Gas Engine 48
16. Pygmée Gas Engine 50
17. National Gas Engine 52
18-19. De Forest Gas Engines 54
20. De Forest Double Piston Motor 54
21. Diagram of Atkinson Mechanism 58
22. Section of Charon Motor 58
23. Charon Motor 59
24. Roger Vertical Gas Engine 60
25. Vertical Gas Engine of the Compagnie Parisienne du Gaz 62
26. Maurice Motor (de Cadiot) 64
27. Durand Carburetted Air Motor 72
28. De Dion Motor Tricycle 75
29. Campbell Oil Engine 81
30. Section of Grob Motor 83
31. Exterior View of Grob Oil Motor 84
32. Capitaine Gas Engine 86
33. Horizontal “Balance” Motor (Capitaine) 87
34. Capitaine Two-cylinder Gas Engine 88
35. Hornsby-Akroyd Oil Engine (section) 91
36. Exterior View of Hornsby-Akroyd Oil Engine 92
37-38. Sections of Ragot Petroleum Engine 94
39. Carburator of Ragot Oil Engine 96
40. Crossley-Holt Petroleum Engine 99
41-42. Griffin Oil Engine 101
43. Dowson Gas-producing Plant 108
44. Taylor Gas-producing Plant 114
45. Simplex Gas Engine (Delamare-Deboutteville) 123
46-47. Governor of Simplex Engine 123
48. Combined Simplex Engine and Buire-Lencauchez
Gas-producer 124
49-50. Bénier Engine and Gas Plant (sectional plan and
elevation) _face p._ 127
51. Section of Simplex Gas-producing Plant 135
52. Agricultural Oil Locomotive 137

GAS AND PETROLEUM ENGINES