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).
Visit to Vauxhall Motors Ltd. to discuss the reliability of thermostats supplied by the British Thermostat Co. Ltd.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 156\1\ scan0257 | |
| Date | 17th September 1937 | |
| To By.from Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Std. c. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} File 1328 Report on Visit to Messrs. Vauxhall Motors Ltd., to discuss reliability etc. of thermostats supplied by the British Thermostat Co. Ltd., On Wednesday, Sept.15th. the writer visited the above mentioned works in connection with a discussion on thermostats. The reason for this was that the thermostatic unit which we are standardising with the dummy radiator shutter assembly on Bentley (to drawing EB.3410) is practically identical with the units used on the 12 H.P. and 14 H.P. Vauxhall cars. In view of this we wished to reap the benefit of Messrs. Vauxhall's extensive experience with these units. Mr. W.A.Larking, Asst. Power Unit engineer gave the writer the following information concerning this matter:- (1) The percentage of failures of these units which they have experienced is less than 0.5%, i.e. does not appear on their complaint list. (2) The failures which they have had (loss of charge etc) have been almost entirely due to leakage occuring at the point shown on attached sketch, due to defective design of the attachment of the valve stem to the bellows plate. This has now been rectified and we shall of course, ensure that this modification is incorporated on the thermostats which we buy. (3) They have never experienced a failure of the type which we had on two experimental thermostats supplied to us by the British Thermostat Co. - i.e. at the soldered junction of the bellows to the bellows plate. This bears out the above Co's assertion that this trouble was due to the experimental thermostats not being made on their production lines. | ||