The results of an endurance test on a Type VL.45 distributor and coil.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 164\5\ img108 | |
| Date | 3rd December 1931 guessed | |
| REPORT ON RESULT OF ENDURANCE TEST ON THE ROLLS ROYCE TYPE VL. {V. Lewis / Mr Valentine} 45 DISTRIBUTOR AND COIL. ------------ The above equipment was run on the standard endurance test at 1,600 distributor r.p.m. on 14 volts, the spark gaps used being the usual 8 KV concentric type. After 216 hours the contact breaker lever seized on its pin due to corrosion and rusting of the latter. The bush in the lever is a phosphor bronze one. The interior of the distributor was in a rusty condition and the total wear on the contacts was .021", this being approximately half the total thickness of tungsten; the actual condition of the contact faces was good, although this wearing rate is high compared with our ballast coil in which the average rate of wear per 1,000 hours is .026". The lever has been damaged in removing it from the pivot pin and the test has been discontinued. Details of the equipment as received are given in report E.456, in which the extremely large capacity and large leakage of the condenser were noted, and it is probable that the high rate of contact wear is accounted for by the condenser. The wear of the fibre heel was .0005", pressure on the contacts at the end of the test being only 10 ozs. | ||
From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).