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).
Reliability and suitability of automatically controlled radiator shutters.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 39\4\ Scan081 | |
| Date | 24th September 1927 | |
| To OY. from R.{Sir Henry Royce} c. to BJ. BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} X3499 R3/M24.9.27. X.8250 X.766 X.3875 X.3499 AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLED RADIATOR SHUTTERS. With reference to your OY10-E-91o27 we have had these automatically controlled by thermostat. We understood from you that such automatic control is not very suitable for U.S.A. owing to the use of alcohol. Our own point is that we did not like the responsibility of the automatic shutters, as in case of failure we could only blame ourselves for trying to be too clever, but our chief complaint against any thing automatic is that it cannot anticipate. For instance, we run our cars in summer with the rad. shutters opened to keep the water and everything as cool as possible, so that it is ready, and with a fairly low temp., for any great emergency. Alternatively, in winter one can keep the shutters nearly closed, and the water on the point of boiling. We have now introduced a little red lamp and a contact on the thermometer which has solved the difficulty of the driver forgetting his control and letting the water boil. We do not think the conditions to which you refer in your letter of Sept. 10 can be met at present. It was my intention originally, many years ago, to use an oil relay for the shutter control, but at the moment I think it is a little job that the driver can do without much thought or effort, and it is wiser not to introduce the complication, considering that we have many other important things to modify until they are more perfect. R.{Sir Henry Royce} | ||