Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-11-07
GASOLINE WASTED
| BY CARBURETORS
U. S. Chemist Estimates 80
Per Cent Wasted Through
Defects.

States is wasted through defects in
carburetors, according to DR.. a. c.
Ffeldner, supervising chemist of the
| United States bureau of mines eX-
| pertinent station. at Pittsburgh. Pa.
| of the Washington Section Of the
American Chemical Society in i, this
city.
The Investigations through which
this enormous loss is sustained We're
made to guide engineers in the Ven
tilatiOn of the Vehicular tunnel un-
der the Hudson river. for which
ground recently was broken. Several
preliminary reports have been filed,
and the complete results of the in
vestigaton we're presented Monday
last to the tunnel commission in New
York city. -
Elaborate tests. DIR. Fieldner said.
had been made for the, purpose of eX-
amining how much carbon mouoXlde
! would be discharged from the eN-
, haust of automobiles and trucks GO
| ing through the giant. bore, which
| some day is to connect the states OF
| New York and New Jersey. AS car
bon InonoXide is a deadly gas, ade-
uuate facilities must be proNlded LOT
the circulation of air in order 10 make
| the interior.>of the tunnel sale Tor
| human beings. The venulatlns enGl-
neers are aVailing themselves OF the
calculations of DR.. Fieldner.
Test OF Vehicles.
To determine the various factors.
Dr. Fieldner tested large number OIL
motor driven vehicles of all types.
which were so adjusted that he could
accurately measure the amount OF
carbon monoXide which would be re-
leased from them under tunnel con-
ditiOns.
Important and far-reaching as
these Investigations may be to those
concerned in the traffic under the
Hudson" said DR.. Fieldner, the sit
uation with regard to gasoline waste
should be of unusual interest to all
the owners of the 100000 automo-
biles and trucks in the United States.
We estimate that fully so per cent of
the gasoline bought by automobile own
ers is wasted, owing to imperfect COM
buStfon.'s,.r
|, According to statistics furnished
through the. courtesy. of the Automo-
bile Chamber Of Commerce, there are
consumed by the motor vehicles of
thee United States approximately
B. 400, 900 600 gallons of-gasoline every
year. AT the present Prices gasoline
is worth from 81 to "a cents Il gallon,
cality in which it is. purchased On
the basis Of S4..cents a. gallon Amer
lean automobiles. are making an eX-
ipenditure of 81, 156. 000.0 a. year: If
they save asvhigh as 80 per cEnt.of the
amount of gasoline now wasted ener
fuel bill would be cut by $34S-S00. 600.
Even at the, very conservative estimate
of 20 per cent saving, which DR.. Fielder
thinks at least should be realized, there
would. be a reduction of 1921 900 in
the bill of the American consumer
). Vehicles Unchanged.
DR.. Fieldner said that the important
feature Of the tests of the cars and
trucks was that the vehicles were
used in exactly the same condition as
they were when furnished by the
owners from whom they were bor-
rowed.
NO change in carburetor adjust
-ment was maaes. said the chemist.
ras the object was to obtain infOrma =
ton based on actual operating con-
dftions. and not the ideal conditions
Of careful adjustment under which
the usual tests of the automotfve en-
gineer is made. From the point of
view Of conservation the results OBJ,
disQufettng. From 20 to 30 per- cent
Of his gasoline which the average au-
tomobile owner and truck operator is
wasting comes. through the use Of
too rich a gasoline mix ture:S sPIsi imf5 :.
nary results of tests ON seventy rep =
resentative cars and trucks show an
average Of from to per cent DC.
carbon monoxide. and from to 8
per cent of carbon dioxide in the ex-
haust gas. This gas excess Is much
greater than necessary for good OPP,
Grafton in the great majority Of the
machines used" -
DR.. Fieldner stated that a true econ;
omy in the automobile world could
be obtained only By giving more at.
tention to carburetors. He declared
that these devices should be more
carefully adjusted by chaufreurs and
owners. and that saving could be car
ried to stiTl greater lengths II car
buretors wore made fool proof" BY
this he means that the carburetor
should be so contrived that 1T will
require little or no adjustment, -
Manufacturers Of carburetors, Iearna.
ing Of the investigations being made.
are in constant touch with the ex-:
pertinent station in Pittsburgh, and.
are making every effort to avail them :,
selves Of the facts which have been
asceftafned through the vehicuiar
tunnel researches. -.