The Washington herald., 1919-06-08
HOW TO REDUCE
POWER LOSSES
Car Owner Should Keep
Eye Pealed to Prevent
Waste.

The average motor car owner vii,
be startled to be informed thar OH,
OF all the power that is generated BY
the explosion in the combustion cham.
Der, less than one-elghth is delivered
In actual driving force at the rear
wheels Astonishing as it seems, th,,
Is actually tue. II. then. seven-ssuh,bs
OF the original power is lost on the
way to the driving wheels, how vita,,v
important is 1t for the car owner 10
nv ,urther and unnecessary
'osses occur curing the journey.
combustion chamber ss Ioo nar -,
we hnd that the first loss nn,o,,pts ~
ID per cent. which Is dissipated ,n ,hs
cooling water. Another a5 nor cor,
is lost through direct radiation ana
In the exhaust gases, The axbsu.,
pipe and muller account for a f,rther
per cent. and friction in tho rnotor
Tor nearly . per cent. Wind Resistance
uses up per cent of what 4. Ieft
and there is n loss through the tires
OF nearly per cent. The TRANSMITS
sion accounts for a further suhtroc-
tion OF practically 8 per cent.
Not Hard to Control Power
As long as these power losses are
Kept at their normal proportion
there Is no cause for worry. bur LEI
the car owner get careless in main
tanning the vehicle and the losses
immediately mount upward in a
geometrical ratio. Fortunately. bv
taking heed. IL is not hard 10 keen
the power dissipation under control
as we shall show.
The first item on our list power
lost through dissipation in the cool
ing water, can scarcely be CON
trolled by the ordinary car owner
Within the past year or two envI.
neers have taken up seriously Tho
problem of reducing this item Of
waste. BY means of thermo.tatic
control II Is now possible to keen
the temperature of the engine at or
near its point of maximum efficiency
Heat is simply a form OF power
But unfortunately the nature Of the
internal combustion engine prevents
more than a certain degree OF TEN
perature being utilized, because be-
yond that point the oil film, The
protecting lubricant, would be
broken down snd the engine would
be quickly ruined. However, by the
use OF thermostatic devices, design
ers have been able to reduce the
amount of heat. which means power,
wasted in the cooling water.
What he can do. however, is to
see that there is no leakag. from
the engine; this includes gas Ieak-
age. ignition leakage, oil leakage,
etc. The gasketing of the cylinder
head, II there is such. must be good
all the time and there must be no
leaks at the plugs or petcocks. In
gasketing the head. be sure to see
that the gasket itself is perfectly
clean and is mounted on clean sur
faces. There must be no nicxs or
dents in metal or gasket The head
must be frightened carefully to avoid
springing. 1t is admirable to give
the threads of the spark plugs
valve plugs. and any other threaded
device in the engine. a thin coating
of stove backing. which prevents OF
stops leakage and also makes re-
mOval of the parts eaty at any fu-
ture time.
Lubricant Important Issue.
1t must not be forgotten that the
various accessories and devices To-
Gated on and driven by the engine
consume power; in some cases as
much as 8 per cent o fthe total. Add
to this the inevitable friction gen.
Grated by the various moving parts
OF the engine and we get a tidy to.
tai. The car owner cannot cut down
the consumption of power here. but
he can keep 1t at it's normal poin,
by seeing that all these parts and
accessories have a liberal quantity
of lubricant of the proper grade
and quality. The careful study oil
and attention to the directions on
the, fabrication chart are the safe
guard here.
Again, carbon deposits in the com
bustion chamber are excessive
wasters of power. A vigilant eye
in this direction and removal OF
such deposits before they have a
chance to reach serious proportions s
Is necessary. In some cases owners
who have excessive carbon trouble
may be well advised to install a
water feeding device on their en-
gines after the cylinders have been
thoroughly cleaned. Water injected
thlS way III toEEH DI Sled01 IcnQs
to prevent the formation of carbon
deposits in a clean cylinder
There Is one form of power waste
that is not to be caused and that
is through the use of too rich a
mixture. This simply means that
more gasoline than is necessary is
being burned up and going out of
the exhaust possibly even in the
form of liquid. And what Ia this
but the most direct and criminal
sort OF wate. which the owner can
stop any time he desires
In addition any liquid fuel In the
combustion chamber may work
down past the piston rings. into the
crankcase. and there contamina te
the oil and increase the loss further
by lowering the iubricating EN-
cheney.
Bad Clutch Burns Power.
The clutch wastes little power as
long as It is running properly, but
the minute ii gets out of order and
slips. il fairly burns power up. Keep
the clutch properly adjusted and lu-
bricate the thrust bearing and throw
out collar at stated intervals. A burn
ed or dry throwout collar may cause
a drag. and in addition may make
clutch operation and gear-shifting dif-
ficult.
The transmission inevitably wastes
some power through friction. but IL
this unit Is not kept well lubrica ted
and properly running, it becomes a
prodigious waster. NWhen there Is any
derangenent in the transmission.
bearings worn. shafts out Of align.
n1ent. etc. power wastes are enor-
nous. Trouble in the transmission
should never be neglected.