What a drip! Uttoxeter fuel torture.

In a word, or two, its a simple matter of gas velocity/mixer efficiency. Put it under load and the problem will go away. A smaller venturi in the mixer would also serve. ttfn

Thanks, both, for the interesting responses. Perhaps if I drag the corn mill out of the cobwebs at the back of the cowhouse and couple them up, this will solve the problem, otherwise I'll get in touch about a bucket, Dave.

I'm told Petters give different trouble in this situation. On the way to Astle Park, I saw an ACCIDENT BLACK SPOT sign, with the ACCIDENT crossed out and PETTER put in instead, what could the graffiti artist have meant? ;-)

Regards, Arthur G

carburettor?

Roland, Interesting thoughts, I have a Lister"A" which dribbles when running and its load is usually a flour mill with which I actually grind flour and it makes the "A" bark but it still dribbles.

Martin P

Roland and Celia Craven wrote:

Roland, Why are you worried about digging, just remember to take a ladder so you can climb out. :-)) I run off load with the choke shut down to as little as possible and the fuel closed right down to the bare working minimum and this is reflected in a clean plug. One thought though is what I would describe as a blow back which is noticeable but not violent, just like a puff but I checked all the valve timing so illiminate a valve open slightly in the wrong place but found nothing wrong. I may just do what Chris suggested and employ a miniature bucket.

Regards as usual,

Mart> Normally I stop digging but I'll blunder on this time. The choke

Now I will be the first to admit that I have trouble even recognising an engine such as this. However, on more modern stuff, the symptoms you describe are indicative of a high fuel level in the carburettor float chamber. This may be caused by needle valve problems or floats not set or working right.

John

- and my Crossley 1075 does exactly the same thing. It also collects petrol in the floor of the inlet tract that has to be drained every hour or so or its presence richens the mixture to the extent that it soots the plug. The tortuous path provided for the induction charge does not help either.

I think there are two problems here: one - as Roland so correctly says - if we loaded our engines, the throttle would be more open than shut and the mass flow would ensure that the petrol vapour stayed vaporised until the inlet valve suit behind it!

The other problem is the extreme simplicity of the carburettors, often little more than a pipe with a hole bleeding petrol into the air column as it chugs past. By the twenties, perfectly capable carburettors were available on engines intended for every other use under heaven. But - rightly or wrongly - the manufacturers of our Iron Toys took advantage of the fact that their engines would spend little time on tickover and that the operators were (literally) straight off the farm and could not be expected to either read the instructions or follow them if in the least complicated. Only as the years progressed and it became easier and cheaper to fit a standard product from Solex, Zenith et al did the problems get sorted out properly. The Solex on my '38 Petter PU2 compressor is simple enough, but I can make the plug as white as the driven snow by careful adjustment of the pilot screw!

Finally, they are old and frequently worn out. The springs are unlikely to be at the same tension as they were when first fitted and valves operate in slack guides as often as not. There is a curious "extra" poppet valve in the Crossley's carb that farts away to itself, splashing petrol about the place with gay abandon. It is loose in its guide and needs fixing. Until I get that done, I can't really complain, can I?

Regards,

Kim Siddorn.