The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-09-03

OTK.
cent. The Diesel engine has an
efficiency of 33 per cent.
This means that the Diesel en-
CINE has a thermal efficiency al
most twice as great as that of the
gasoline engine and more than
five times as great as the steam
engine.
AS a result, the Diesel engine
consumes only half as much fuel
per hour as does the gasoline en-
CINE of equal size.
In addition, it must be remem-
bered that the Diesel runs on
cheap fuel. 1t does not require
gasoline. Fuel oil, the sort you
burn if your house is heated by an
oil furnace, is the sort on which
the Diesel normally runs.
4 FEW weeks ago, Clessie L.
IA Cummins of Columbus, Ind,
drove his Diesel-powered auto
mobile from New York to White
Sulphur Springs, w. Va. a dis
lance of 1876 miles, on "a cents
worth of fuel oil. CThe tax added
an additional 38 cents to his fuel
bill.) His mileage was 40.2 miles
on each gallon of fuel.
The Westinghouse Electric &
Manufacturing Co. made a study
of the comparative costs of Diesel
and steam locomotive switching
operations and found that the
Diesel cost per 100-ton hours was
25 per cent of steam fuel cost,
with fuel oil at 5 cents a gallon
and coal at So a ton.
1t is generally admitted that any
great shift from gasoline to fuel
oil throughout the United States
would mean a rise in the price of
fuel oil and a rise in the tax on it.
But even so, the price would not
rise to that of gasoline.
And the fact remains that the
Diesel does twice as much work,
or goes twice as far, on a gallon
of fuel oil.
The question of the nations
petroleum supply also enters the
picture. Many authorities feel that
il it were not for the cracking
process by which the heavier on
stituents of petroleum are broken
up into gasoline, the nations sup
ply would be dwindling.
BY yielding more gasoline from
the same amount of petroleum,
the cracking process has pro-
longed the life of the nations oil
supply. But even so, many
authorities think it will begin to
dwindle in another generation.
A switch to fuel oil would add
N further to the life of the ma
tons petroleum supply. And even
when it does give out, as most
authorities think it eventually
will, the task of making fuel oil
by the INCORPORATION Of coal will
be simpler than that of manufac-
turing gasoline. That, however, is
a generation or more in the future.
Unless you have had occasion to
survey the field, you will be
amazed to find how widespread
the use of the Diesel is becoming.
Most of the development dates
back to 1880, but a number of i'm
portant companies have been in
the Diesel field since almost the
start Of the century. Westing-
house built its first Diesel in 1910.
The Winton Engine Co. of
Cleveland has been turning them
out since 1918. Other companies
have been in the field equally
long.
The first Diesels were used
chiefly as stationary engines to
run pumps, electric power plants,
and the like. AS a mobile power
unit, the Diesel made its debut
attached to the propeller shaft of
a boat.
A boat was a good place for the
early Diesels. Their excess weight
didn't matter much. Their slow
speeds we're all right for marine
purposes. Attaching the engine
directly to the shaft eliminated
difficult problems of coupling.
DUT the Diesel made progress
- as skilled engineers turned
their brains to the problems in
volved. Weight per horse power
began to come down. The R. P. M.
revolutions per minute) began to
go up.
AS the Diesel gained mobility by
reason of reduced weight and in
creased speed, it began to find new