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Show Qualities of Diesel Engines Related By Expert April 26, 1941 Hon. D. C. Watson, Mayor Saint George City Corporation, Saint George, Utah. Honorable Sir: In accordance with your telephone request of today, we will try to answer your questions regarding the operating oper-ating characteristics of diesel engines. The following data is based on our experience with our own engines which are heavy duty, slow speed, stationary sta-tionary type, power plant engines. We do not pretend to say what other makes or types of engines will do; however, how-ever, it is to be expected that other engines of similar design de-sign will give similar operating results. RADIO INTERFERENCE: Your first question was whether diesels caused radio disturbances. There is nothing about a diesel engine to cause any radio interference. So the answer is definitely, NO! There is not even an ignition system on a diesel engine such as is found on gasoline or natural gas engines. The only possible thing that could cause disturbance on radios would be the electric generator, and then only if it were not correctly made and installed. You can ge.t radio disturbance from transformers and other electrical apparatus even though you have no generator in the town or within a hundred miles of the town, if they are not correctly made or installed. However, there is no need to have electrical disturbance from the generator on a diesel engine. Any reliable electrical manufacturer will guarantee his generator to operate and give no radio interference. It is simply a question of designing and building the electrical elec-trical apparatus correctly. So, the answer to this question is no diesel engine generating set need give any electrical or radio interference. interfer-ence. We have never heard of a unit giving trouble of this kind in this district. VIBRATION: Your next question was regarding the vibration of an engine being noticeable over a wide area. All mechanical equipment has some vibration this means everything from a sewing machine to plants having hav-ing machines weighing hundreds of tons. However, vib-.ration vib-.ration in a machine need not go beyond the machine if proper precautions are taken. First, you can select an engine that has . a small amount of vibration. That means you should select a heavy, slow speed engine correctly designed and balanced. Engines with certain numbers of cylinders will be smoother I than others. A single cylinder engine is naturally rough. . However, just having more cylinders does not necessarily mean a smooth engine. For example a 3 cylinder engine is smoother than a 4 cylinder engine. Ordinarily 3, 5, 6, 7 or 8 cylinder engines are operating in a satisfactory manner. Second, you can eliminate any noticeable vibration in any piece of mechanical equipment in some degree. However, How-ever, the vibration of engines can be confined to the engines and the power plant alone. Hundreds are operating oper-ating in places where vibration is much more objectionable and harder to eliminate than in a power plant. We can say definitely that you will have no vibration felt beyond be-yond the power plant if the plant and foundations are engineered en-gineered correctly. ODOR: Your next question was as to whether there is any objectionable odor given off by a diesel engine. We presume you refer to the exhaust gases. The exhaust ex-haust gases of engines vary in character with different types or ruei on. xno two are tne same, some nave a more pronounced odor than others. However, gases are exhausted ex-hausted in the air above points where they are not noticeable notice-able by people on the ground. Exhaust gases may or may not have an unpleasant odor. In any event, the exhaust gases are not as unpleasant in odor as the odor of coal smoke which every town has more or less. The exhaust gases are discharged at about the same level in the air as the average chimney discharges dis-charges smoke. However, the exhaust from an engine is much cleaner than that of a chimney and much less objectionable. ob-jectionable. An engine in a power plant does not give off 1 of the gases being exhausted into a town every minute. The exhaust of automobiles is much more objectionable and so are the odors from hundreds of other everyday things. Our answer to this question is that the odor of the exhaust of a correctly installed diesel engine is definitely not objectionable in any way. We know of no case in this district where there has been any noticeable odor from a diesel exhaust nor of any complaint of any such odor. NOISE: Your last question was as to how much noise an engine en-gine made. A correctly designed, slow speed, power plant diesel engine, with correct mufflers can be made as quiet as you desire. ALL noise can be confined to the power plant if you desire. Like vibration, it is simply a question of making mak-ing a suitable installation to eliminate noise. Once again we say all machinery makes some noise. Even your electric mixer or fan in your house makes some noise. However, all objectionable noise can be eliminated. At points where power plants are ordinarily installed, the noise of a plant can ordinarily be brought down to the general noise level of the district by simply installing a suitable muffler on the engine exhaust. However, if need be, two or more mufflers can be used. Intake mufflers can be used, and the power plant can even be insulated. The main thing to consider in the question of noise is that you simply require the noise level of a power plant to be 'that of the general surrounding noise level.- Even the quietest place in your town has a noise level, and a diesel power plant can be built that will operate at that level. That is the answer to this question. CONCLUSION: ! In conclusion, we will say that none of the above j points need cause you any bother. A correctly installed i plant will give you trouble on NONE of these points, j To prove this, you need only go where there are I plants and talk to the people who live near them. Or, if you cannot go to plant, write to people that have them. We attach two articles describing power plants using engines in buildings occupied by people. One is a department store and the other and office building. We know of other plants in apartments houses and hotels. If engines operate satisfactorily in such places, it is absurd to say that they would give you trouble in a town from such causes as listed above. In addition to this, there are hundreds of power plants in all parts of the country, privately and publicly owned, which are giving trouble-free trouble-free operation without radio interference, vibration, odor, or noise trouble. Surely, then, you can install a plant that would give equally satisfactory service. We hope that the above data will give you the information you require. If you have further question, please feel free to call on us. Very trulv yours, WORTIIINGTON PUMP & MACHINERY CORPORATION Paul E. Wilson, Denver District Sales. |