U. S.

DEPARTMENT 01' COMMERCE

NATIONAL BUREAU 01' STANDARDS

RESEARCH PAPER RP1698

Part of Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards, Volume 36,

February 1946

ENGINE TESTS WITH PRODUCER GAS

By Frederic A. Middleton and Clarence S. Bruce
ABSTRACT

Bench tests with a four-cylinder stationary engine were made with gasoline
and producer gas from charcoal as the fuels. A comparison of their performance
revf'aled that maximum power from producer gas from charcoal is about 55 percent of gasoline power, and that about 11.4 pounds of charcoal is equivalent to
1 gallon of gasoline. When operating an engine on producer gas the spark should
be advanced beyond the setting for maximum power with gasoline.

CONTENTS

Page

I. Scope and obj ective of investigation ____________ __ ____ ___ ____ ______
II. Test equipmenL ____ ______________________________________ ______
III. Test procedure _ _ ___ ____ __ __ ___ _ __ ___ __ _ ____ __ ___ _ __ __ __ __ _ __ __ _
1. Spark setting _ ___ _ __ _ ___ _ ___ __ ___ ___ _ ___ __ ___ ___ _ __ __ _ ___
2. Power and economy tests _ _ _ __ __ __ ___ ___ ___ ___ _ __ __ __ _ _ __ _
3. Variations of power with speed __ _______ ___ _________________
4. Fuel-gas analysis _________________________________________
5. Analysis of charcoaL _ __ __ __ ___ ___ ___ ___ __ _ ___ ___ __ _ __ _ __ _
IV. Test results __ __________ ___ _________ ____________________________
1. Spark setting __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ ___ __ ____ _ __ ____ __ __ _ __ _ __ _
2. Power and economy tests ____ __________ ___________________
3. Variations of power with speed __ _______ ____________________
4. Fuel-gas analysis _________________________________________
5. Analysis of charcoaL _ _ __ _ _____ _ __ ___ ___ ___ __ ___ _ __ __ __ ___
(a) Calorific value ____________ ________________________
(b) Ash ____ __ __ ___ ___________ ____________________ ___
V. Operating characteristics of the charcoal burneL _ _ _ _ __ ___ __ _ _ _ __ __ _
VI. Conclusions ______________________________________ __ ______ ____ __
VII. References ___ _____________________________ ____________________ _

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I. SCOPE AND OBJECTIVE OF INVESTIGATION

The work reported herein is a portion of an extensive investigation

[1]1 of substitute motor fuels, conducted by the National Bureau of
Standards for the Foreign Economic Administration. The objective
of this phase of the investigation was the evaluation of charcoal as
a fuel for automotive purposes and the determination of the performance both of the gas producer and of the engine when operating
on producer gas from charcoal.
II. TEST EQUIPMENT

The engine used for this study was a four cylinder International
Model U-4 with a displacement of 152.1 cubic inches. It was designed for multifuel uses and was supplied with a combination gas1

Figures in brackets indicate the literature references at the end of this paper.

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