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).
Arguing against the need for a filling plug on the autovac tank for the 20 HP model.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 49\3\ Scan269 | |
| Date | 11th December 1924 | |
| 44266 To <del>R.{Sir Henry Royce}</del> from Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to <del>BJ.</del> E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} c. to <del>DA.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design}</del> BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}2/LG11.12.24. AUTOVAC TANK. X3579 <del>44266</del> The question of a filling plug for the autovac tank was carefully considered at the time we introduced the autovac on the 20 HP. We have now made over 1000 20 HP. cars fitted with an autovac and we have not had on either experimental cars or production cars a single complaint which would suggest that a filling plug was either desirable or necessary. We believe the Sales Dept. request for this is because they are not aware of how easy it is to fill up the autovac. If we take a case when the whole petrol system has run dry, we believe a lot of people then assume that it is necessary to fill up the autovac tank by hand - this is not so. As long as petrol is put into the rear tank it is only necessary to <del>fill-up-the-autovac-t</del> shut the throttle and turn the engine over for a few seconds, either with the starter or by hand and the autovac will prime itself. The Sales Dept. are wrong when they say that the filling plug is also desirable in cases where the rear tank is punctured. As long as there is any petrol at all in the rear tank, the autovac will always operate no matter whether the tank is sound or punctured. As we have never had a failure of an autovac either on experimental cars which have run well over 200,000 miles, nor have we heard of a single failure in customers hands contd :- | ||