Care And Repair Of Gas And Oil Engines

CONTENTS. Internal Combustion Engines - - - - - - 3 Compression - - - - - - - - - - 13 Carburetion - - - - - - - - - - 20 Ignition - - - - - - - - - - - - 28 Lubrication - - - - - - - - - - - 37 CoolingSystems - - - - - - - - - - 40 Installation of a Gas Engine - - - - - - 44 C o p r i g l t1,9 14. Tile I ldustrial Press, Publishers of M a c r s s r, 140-148 I. sfagett. Street. Spa-York Citj PREFACE This Reference Book has been prepared mainly from a series of notes comlpiled by J. L. Hobbs, who has had a long and varied experience with the care and repair of gas and oil engines. Much valuable information has also been abstracted from the publications of various manufacturers of gas and oil engines, especially from material obtained through the courtesy of the International Harvester Company of America, the De La Vergne Machine Company, and the Westinghouse Machine Company While there are a great many books dealing with the theory and design of gas engines, as well as their operation, there has been a great lack of information relating to the care and repair of gas engines. Those that have devoted themselves t o t h e work of gas engine repair have largely obtained their knowledge of the subject by practical experience. The author of this treatise on gas engine repairs has been forced to obtain his knowledge in this way, which, after aI1, IS the best, although it is often a slorv, expensive and difficult one. In order to make it easier for others who are engaged in this work or who intorid to enter into this field, the most important points relative to the care and repair of gas engines have been put down in the following chapters, thereby providing a means by which others may Rnd iteasier to become familiar with this subject. There has aIways been an air of mystery surrounding the gas engine. Often everything seems to be in the best condition and yet the engine may refuse to s t a r t or may not develop its rated power. The fact is, however, that, as a rule, the troubles likely to arise are easily detected, providing one T18as the knowledge to look for the causes of the dimculties at such points where they may arise. Under the four heads of Compression, Carburetion, Ignition and Lubrication, practically all of the ordinary difficulties that arise in gas engine operation are dealt with special chapters on cooling systems and on instaIlation have been added, the latter giving information to owriers and others to whom the installation of a gas engine plant may be entrusted. It may be said, in a general way, that any gas engine v ich has proper compression and receives the proper mixture of fuel and air from its carburetor, and, in addition, ignites this mixture at the proper time, and the moving parts of which, incIuding the inside of the cylinder and the outside of the piston, are properly lubricated, will run and will develop the power it is intended to develop. When anything goes wrong with any of these conditions, the engine will give trouble, and i t is the purpose of the following chapters to explain how these troubles may be avoided or remedied. Princi lss of the Internal Combustion Engine The gas engine and oi1 engine are practically identical as far as the principles of their power producing qualities are concerned, both being internal combustlon engines, that is, engines which derive their power from an exparision of gases caused by burning a mixture ofgas, or a gasified liquid fuel, and a i r i n their cylinders. Of the varfous fuels 4 . . 0...