The Washington herald., 1921-07-31
RETURN OF STEAM
AUTOS WITH MANY
new FEATURES DUE
Old Troubles Reduced to
Minimum By New
Inventions.

| one OF lnt IloSN
velopments of the last few months
in the automobile field has been the
apparent return of steam as a mo-
tive power to the active list after a
considerable period during which
IL has been used but little for driv-
ing road vehicles.
The Stanley steamer Is one OF the
oldest steam cars in the country,
and has been sold since the sos OF
the last century. but the output has
never been large. The Doble
started some five years ago, but has
not been put out In quantity, but lis
now about to be produced on the
Pacific Coast in considerable num-
bers.
Car for $1,000.
The Coats steam car in Indian
| apolis is a new venture in this field,
for II is to be priced at $1,000 and
is comparatively small car. Pro-
duction of this latter vehicle is
planned on a big scale, SO that
steam is likely to be a factor from
now on. Moreover. there are two
or three other companies planning
to launch steam cars and trucks
within the next few months. Alto
gether any one interested in the
automobile field will be glad TO
have outlined the principal points
of the modern steamer.
To begin with IL must be admitted
that the steam car in many char
acteristics, smoothness of operation,
quickness of getaway. hill climbing,
etc, surpasses the gasoline car.
| There are fewer working parts in
the steam driven mechanism. and
| these parts operate at lower speeds.
On the other hand the steamer has
certain pipes, valves and other con-
nections to get out of order which
the gas car lacks. When the
steamer does strike a snag the
owner will probably have to call a
| plumber.
The motorist who remembers the
steam car of yesterday with its
Unsuitable demand for water and
all sorts of other attentions will be
surprised at the nearly fool proof
character of the modern steamer.
which unquestionably possesses in
1 high degree f1exibility. high torque
or turning effort at low speed.
quietness of operation. simplicity of
control and great power per pound
Of weight with fewer moving parts
and remarkable absence of vibra
tion.
All Parts simple.
The modern steamer reduced to
its essentials embodies a boiler for
the water. a heater to turn the
water into steam which is then
| fah int tho
ratus for condensing the exhaust
steam and returning it as water
to the boiler again. Condensation
is accomplished by means of an or
dinary radiator. Control of the
engine consists of a single piece
of mechanism admitting the steam
to the engine. Clutch. gear-set,
transmission, etc, familiar in the
gas car, are all eliminated. OBJ
viously then operation of a steamer
is an extremely simple perform
ance.
In the old days the operation of
a steam ear involved replenishmen mt
of the water supply every few miles
i'm some instances a filling would
not last more than % miles-while
failure to give the engine water
whec needed meant a major repair
This had as much to do with the
passing of the early steam car as
any other one factor. But the ques-
tion of starting was also a prob
lem of no mean proportions. Light
ing the fire under the boiler was
bad enough, but after that a wait
for the generation of steam was
necessary, and this would never dc
for the hasty American
Both Troubles Gone.
In the modern steamers botf
these troubles have been eliminated
The system of condensing the ex,
haust steam and returning il TO the
boiler makes reflling necessary
only after anywhere from 200 &c
1000 miles of running. An electric
starting apparatus makes the oper-
alton no different from that on any
gas car of approved design and
methods of rapid steam generation
made the start just as quick as ir
the gasoline driven vehicle. Further
the steamer burns kerosene or gas
oline or a mixture of the two with
a mileage of perhaps twelve to fif-
teen per gallon.
Under the hood of a modern
steam car will be found steam
boiler Unconventional fire tube
water level design. Water is sup
piled to the boiler from a reservoir
located beneath the drivers seat
The water is maintained at a con-
slant level by means of pumps and
automatic controls. Whenever the
water in the boiler falls below
certain point valves are automa-
tically opened to increase the sup
ply up to set level when the
valves are automatically closed
again. So it will be seen that this
once troublesome function is now
performed automatically and with
out the driver even being aware
Of 1t.
Fuel Supply Controlled.
The fuel supply is also automatic
ally controlled. As soon as the
pressure in the boiler falls below
certain point the fuel line is auto
matically opened and kerosene is
supplied to the main burner. On the
other hand, when the pressure in the
boiler reaches a certain pre-deter!
mined point the fuel line is auto
\ matically closed, and no more is
burned until the steam already gen
Grated is partly used up. This Is as
simple as the operation Of any en-
gine could be, and is. as VIII be
noted, absolutely automatic. Ihe
driver has nothing on his mind ex-
cept the ordinary precautlon OF re-
plenishing his water supply once
day or so, and this is no more than
refillinp the fuel tank OF the gaso-