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).
Evaluation of Amplokon spark intensifiers, concluding they are not worthwhile for the company's engines.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\I\July1922\ Scan24 | |
| Date | 17th July 1922 | |
| COPY. EFC8/T17.7.22. To Wd.{Mr Wood/Mr Whitehead} From EFC. c. to ROY.{Sir Henry Royce} X.3581 - AMPLOKON SPARK INTENSIFIER. We now returning the two sets (each of four) of Amplokon spark intensifiers, and should be glad if you will have these returned to:- Mr. A.H. Bate, 2, Market Square, Stafford. These, as explained in our EFC1/T28.4.22, were left here by Mr. A.H. Bate on 'sale or return' terms. We have now made fairly extensive tests of these on the bench, the general result of which is as follows :- We find that the Amplokons behave in every respect in the same way as any external gap in near location to the sparking plugs, and do not have any further advantages than this arrangement is known to possess. It also suffers from its disadvantage. The disadvantage is that for sparking plugs in perfect order, the external gap has no beneficial effect, but makes starting a little more difficult. With dirty (leaky) plugs on the other hand, an external gap always has this advantage, that it renders a spark at the plug points rather more certain than without. So that in any case the use of such devices is only a means of overcoming an evil which is hoped not to exist, and which in the case of the R.R. engines, owing to exact carburation and lubrication, does not usually exist. Therefore, though we agree that the Amplokons may in some instances be a definite advantage, we do not consider that in the case of our R.R. chassis engine, any slight advantage that might accrue in the unlikely event of carburation and lubrication conditions being bad, is worth the extra complication. EFC. | ||