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).
Comparison of the K.S. petrol gauge with the Nivex and Hobson models, detailing operational issues and improvements.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\T\2January1929-June1929\ Scan215 | |
| Date | 29th April 1929 | |
| To R.{Sir Henry Royce} from Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} c. to SG.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} c. to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} DA.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} c. to BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}3/LG29.4.29. ORIGINAL K.S. PETROL GAUGE. X 4038 For the past two years we have been experimenting with the K.S. petrol gauge. We consider that this gauge is superior to the Nivex, the only other reliable distance reading gauge for the following reasons: (1) The Nivex is a delicate Bourdon gauge, the Hobson purely hydrostatic. (2) The Hobson gives a reasonably accurate well-damped reading of the amount of petrol in the tank when the car is being driven on the road, the Nivex does not. The Hobson suffered from one trouble which we could not overcome. When the car was left standing for long periods the air in the air bell became dissolved in the petrol and so the gauge reading on the dashboard fell to zero. The only way of replacing the air was to run the car on the road for 10 miles or so. Therefore under these circumstances the owner could not tell how much petrol he had in his tank until he had driven the car an appreciable distance. This trouble is accentuated in tropical climates where the great heat accelerates the absorption of air by the petrol. To overcome the trouble we fitted a small hand pump similar to that of the Nivex on the dashboard to supply air to the bell. A stroke of this pump will always ensure that the gauge is reading the exact quantity of petrol that is in the tank. This is the type of gauge that is now running 10,000 miles on the S.S. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/R m.{Mr Moon / Mr Moore} | ||