El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-02-16

-HE two biggest items in the
motor car owners current eX-
! pense bill are gasoline ana tires
It is possible to cut down both these
expense items by exercising a little
reasonable care and in this article we
shall consider the proper means Of
reducing the fuel bill Moreover. be-
yond the personal profit end. the
comparative shortage Of gasoline
brought about by the war. makes It
a patriotic duty to save every pos
sible drop Jf this precious fluid.
To begin with IL is important that
the Individual motorist realize that
while his waste Of a small amount OF
gasoline every day may seem a small
matter. when these Individual leak
ages come to be multiplied by 5,OOO,-
900, the total number OF car owners
in the country, the condition assumes
quite a different aspect II every
mUtorist in the country wastes half
pint OF gasoline a day, the total leak
age IL $4,000 gallons each q hours
which is unquestionably serious sit
uation. Therefore II behOoves every
one OF US to eliminate all waste.
The first point OF attaek IN tne
campaign to cut down fuel consump-
ton is the carbureter- II has been
said that the average car owner runs
his engine on a fuel mixture nearly
twice as rich In gasoline as II needs
to be, In fact the engine viii give It's
best work on a mixture as lean as
possible. Practically all modern car
bureters have a wide range OF ADJUST
ment, so that all the air needed may pc
gotten by adjusting the instrument it.
SELF II Is a very simple matter 10
set the carbureter for more and more
at IT, TO p
proper operation and then turn back
until the engine is running smoothly
again with maximum air intake. This
question Of fuel mixture is very i'm
portaut one, since IL American motor
lists habitually ran on a mixture that
was twice as rich as need be, the con-
sumption OF gasoline would be Just
twice as great as the actual needs In
the interests Of patriotism, then, let
every car owner make sure that he Is
using a mixture just as lean as Is
consistent with proper operation
Moreover, the engine may actually
run better on the leaner mixture, to
say nothing Of the reduction Of car
bon deposits that will ensue.
Having adjusted the carbureter to
supply the proper fuel mixture. the
entire fuel system ought to be gone
over. Dirt In the pipes. rust in the
strainers or foreign matter in the gas
oline tank, help to cut down the eff
cheney Of the whole engine Leaks in
the system should be carefully hunted
down and eliminated. This means not
only actual leaks but power leaks. for
wasted power means additional con-
sumption Of fuel to make good the de-
ficieney.
In this category will be found a
muffler clogged with SCOT, resulting
In back pressure, which cuts down the
efficiency Of the engine Carbon de-
posits In the cylinders cause waste OF
power and excessive consumption OF
fuel II will be noted that this prob
lem OF fuel waste is cumulative In ef-
feet II the fuel mixture Is too rich,
il not only wastes fuel directly. but
produces carbon deposits in the
cylinders and SCOT IN the muffler,
which cause further useless dissipa-
ton OF the fuel energy. In connection
with carbon deposits. II might be de
sirable to install one Of the vaporing
devices. which inject water vapOr into
the combustion chamber. While these
vaporizers do not remove carbon de-
posite that have already formed, they
do tend to prevent future formations
Improper seating valves are another
source OF power losses They should