Heat Content. All of the fuels used were made up from the four fuels-gasoline, kerosene, benzol and alcohol. The heat content of these fuels was formed by the use of a Parr Calorimeter, in which a known weight of fuel is burned and the rise in temperature it will cause to a definite amount of water is noted. The difficulty of getting the accurate weight of the fuel used was overcome by making some small very thin walled glass bulbs. These bulbs were weighed, then filled with the fuel, sealed and again weighed, thus giving the correct weight FIG. 4. THE MOTORCYCLE ENGINE WITH GEAR CASE COVER REMOVED TO SHOW THE ACTION OF THE CAMS AND VALVE RODS. Alcohol-C. Hs O H+6 0-2 C O+3 H, O. from which the water formed per pound of fuel is: Kerosene-1.395 lbs. water. The heat of vaporization of water is 970 B.t.u. so when one pound of steam condenses into water 970 B.t.u. are given out. Then the heat due to the water formed in each fuel is the product of the lbs. of water and 970 B.t.u. Then the lower heating values of the fuels is as follows: under his arm. Vibration is almost entirely eliminated, due to the fact that the pistons are not reciprocating; there is a constant application of power in one direction, and as almost all parts of the engine revolve, the fly wheel is dispensed with, or in other words, the engine acts as its own fly wheel. The photograph of the engine making 2500 r.p.m. is convincing proof of its absence of vibration, for the motor is not bolted to the trestles on which it rests. MR. WALTER MACOMBER, THE INVENTOR, HOLDING A 12-HP. MOTOR UNDER HIS ARM. The engine is air cooled, of unusually simple construction and the wiring is reduced to a few inches instead of many feet as in a standard gas engine. These points make for simplicity of operation, low cost of upkeep and cheapness of con struction. The inventor built his first model about six years ago from odds and ends, but produced an actual operating engine. At that time he was foreman on a pumping plant in the desert near Mohave, Cal., and had few facilities and little material to work with. A wagon tire and a brass cartridge were among the objects that he used in making parts of his miniature engine, but it worked. Since then a plant has been operated in Los Angeles and the perfected engine has been developed. One of the most important features of the Macomber engine is the entire absence of reciprocating parts. The ordinary engine has a stationary cylinder containing a piston which is forced rapidly from one end of the cylinder to the other by pressure of steam or exploding gas. This piston is attached to a crank by a connecting rod which converts the reciprocating motion into a rotary motion. It is a well known fact that a large amount of energy is consumed in the ordinary. engine by the act of stopping and starting each piston, as it requires energy to start a weight and an equal amount of energy to stop it, and when done rapidly it results in vibration. To reciprocate a piston rapidly, say from one to four thousand times a minute, results in vibration very destructive to the bearings. The pistons of the Macomber rotary do not reciprocate, but the marvelously simple method of connecting these parts of this engine, the cylinders, pistons and shaft all travel at the same speed, but in slightly different planes of rotation, so there is neither inertia nor momentum to overcome. The results are far greater power for the amount of fuel consumed and much less wear and tear on the engine. This is not merely theory, but the results of exhaustive tests, for one of the fifty h.p. seven-cylinder Macomber engines has been run for more than 10,000 miles under very trying conditions, giving perfect satisfaction. * Gasoline contains fourteen times as much energy as dynamite |