Evening star., 1915-11-28
Never Fail to Start Promptly.

| to the present time we have not
| thought of failure in starting with our
battery-driven apparatus and no piece
has been out of service a minute since
| they were installed.
The battery in the aerial truck Is
| two years old. 1t Is my belief that.
| making due allowance for the operation
| of the batteries under adverse condt-
! tions, the cost of maintenance OF
piece of apparatus is as follows;
Renewal of separators On two years.. 90 ~
Charging 5 ss batteries On four years, at $50 ..o %
Broken M jars lfour years. at 81 per year,. $500
ro.a, :, ,our re,r .s7ss 90
IN other words. / estimate 5000 per
battery driven aerial ladder truck OF
such size and capacity as was formerly
| drawn to fires by three horses
When 1t is considered that the main
varies from $500 to $500 per year. It is
evident why Chief Daggett is so enthu-
| siastic in his report of the electric ap-
paratus.
Experience Of other Cities.
In Baltimore, Md, engine No. 80 of
the fire department is equipped with a
storage battery tractor, which. says
Fire Chief Enrich, "is the most reliable
and economical apparatus in the whole
| department, and can always be depend
ed upon
The city of Akron, Ohio, owns a
sixty-five-foo aerial truck, equipped
with electric tractor. which. at dem
onstration of speed and climbing
grades, went up 13 per cent grade
when carrying a full complement OF
men and equipment and attached 10 the
| truck at the rate of eleven miles per
hour, and on level streets the tractor
| propelled the truck at the rate of
| twenty-six miles per hour without any
trouble or showing in the least any
| loss of power.
I'm my Judgment" said Chief Mertz.
| "the storage battery has solved the
problem Of converting se-drawn
steam fire engines and hook and ladder
trucks of any fire department to self
propelled apparatus from practical
standpoint"
horse is being superseded by self-pro-
PEELED vehicles, it will not be long be-
| fore every fire departmnt of any size
will be entirely motorized.
| 1t is now a question which will prove
the more efficient means of propulsion,
| petrol or the storage battery. 1t is an
| established fact that the electric We
hicle is more economical to run than a
gasoline car Without a doubt the
gasoline vehicle has it's own sphere,
| and, as Chief Avery of Worcester,
Mass. states, its use In suburban dis
tricts will not be superseded, but for
| the exacting work in the congested and
| business centers ''the electric vehicle,
he states, will be the future machine
for fire fighting"
Economy Of Operation.
rb. econor,v of oneratinp an electric
is due largely to it's few working parts.
AS against the gasoline motor and
| Transmission and the large number of
working parts, a number of which are
reciprocating in their action, the cleo
| trio Is driven by one, two or four mo-
tors the case may be, and the
movement is revolving one, the least
wearing of all movements. In addi-
| ton, these motors are revolved by
electric magnetism and not by de-
atructiye explosive forces. The cleo
! trio car has less than one-half the total
parts required with a gasoline car.
The life of the storage battery in this
| class Of service Is estimated at upward
of five years with one renewal. This
estimation is given by Chief Daggett of
Springfield, who has had considerable
experience with electric fire apparatus.
| AS for reliability. many Of the above
statements of various fire chiefs bear
,
| of the electric. Its ease of operation and
lpromptness of action arouse utter con-
| hdence in it. THE battery tractor has
the advantage of the gasoline appara-
| tus," states Chief Walker, "in answer
| ing alarms. due to the fact that 1t is
simply necessary for the driver to get
| on the seat, throw on his controller and
| it is under headway in less time than
| is taken to crank the motor 1t elm
| mates the Characteristic ignition and
carburetor troubles in starting the
motor in cold weather, and the at
| tendant radiator troubles of freezing
and leaking"
| Another characteristic of the electric
| fire apparatus which should commend
| itself to the heads of fire departments
| is its absolute cleanliness The electric
| does away with the offensive odors of
horses and the customary litter dirt
and flies. allows more room In the sta
tion, eliminates all odors of gasoline
and oil. reduces the element of fire,
which Is characteristic Of gasoline
| no grease IL is much easier to keep the
apparatus clean and of good appear
ance, all of which adds very greatly to
the sanitation Of the station
| Although fire apparatus usually has
| the right Of way there are times when
| II has to be held UP on account of con-
| gested traffic, or for other reasons At
| such times as these the simplicity of
the electric becomes all the more ap-
| parent. The quick. positive control is
| a big factor In operating ponderous
machines in crowded city streets The
electric stops instantly. and in starting
there is no delay in acquiring momen-
tum again, there being no time lost in
gear shifting. This positiveness of con-
| troll plays great part in the safety
| element of the electric, which is one of
| its prime virtues.