Very interesting... Perhaps you can answer a question that's been bothering me for a long time -- what happens to gas that's excess to the instantaneous requrements of the engine? And how do folks deal with the rather astounding toxicity of the stuff? I mention in passing >It must, however, also be understood that use of producer gas vehicles >involves certain risks. These have been described in Chapter 2, but it >should be mentioned in this context that the experiences in Sweden of a >rapid introduction of producer gas vehicles at the beginning of the Second >World War were fairly unfavourable. There were several fatalities caused >by carbon monoxide poisoning and a marked increase of the frequency of car >fires. After enforcement of strict safety regulations, and strenuous >efforts to educate drivers, these types of accidents became less frequent. >The number of persons annually diagnosed as suffering from "chronic >effects" of producer gas poisoning nevertheless increased. In total about >10000 persons in Sweden were recorded as cases of chronic poisoning during >the period 1941-1945. It should be understood, however, that the symptoms >do disappear after a time if a person suffering from poisoning is no >longer exposed to the gas. There appears to be no permanent damage, but >poisoning is still a problem because of lost working days. > >It is possible that this experience was a result of the habit of bringing >vehicles indoors in the winter to facilitate starting and that the risks >may be less in a warm climate, but it appears to be very important to >minimize the exposure to gas of drivers, passengers and persons working in >garages and service workshops. The least that can be done to avoid similar >unfavourable experiences is to follow the safety regulations developed in >Sweden for installation of producer gas systems in vehicles. A translation >is provided in (23). If vehicle gasifiers are introduced on a large scale >without adequate precautions, there is a real possibility of unnecessary >human suffering and economic losses. Government control of any producer >gas vehicle programme therefore appears to be necessary. david
David Beierl - Providence, RI http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/ '84 Westy "Dutiful Passage" '85 GL "Poor Relation" |
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