Throttle

“ Often and often on the race track, with wide open throttle, every nerve taut, every pent-up ounce of energy concentrated in my arms, have I wished that I could infuse just a little more power into my engine, could give just a little more speed to my car, in order to draw away from the man whose car was creeping up to and overhauling mine inch by inch. ”

“ Bird, his hand on the throttle, kept his eyes on the twin ribbons of steel which slid along under the headlight. The road made a sharp turn and emerged from the thick wood through which it had been traveling. Hardly had the lights shot along the track in the new direction than Dr. Bird closed the throttle and applied the brakes rapidly. ”

“ No steam is ever used going down that hill; at the top of the incline the throttle-valve is closed and the speed of the train is controlled by the air-brake. But, as the stranger who had boarded the engine took his stand on the foot-board, I opened the throttle wide to give her a start, then put on the air until I had her under control, and then away we went. The runaway cars were fully one hundred yards ahead as we crossed the switch, and were moving apparently at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour with rapidly increasing momentum. ”

“ A. If the engine runs too fast with throttle fully retarded, unscrew the carburetor throttle lever adjusting screw until the engine idles at suitable speed. If the motor chokes or stops when throttle is fully retarded, the adjusting screw should be screwed until it strikes the boss, preventing the throttle from closing too far. When proper adjustment has been made, tighten lock screw so that adjustment will not be disturbed. ”

“ He is supposed to stand with his hand upon the throttle, looking to scan every rod of his fast-flying track, to note every crossing, every approaching vehicle, every straying animal, to observe every signal and every switch, while there are beside him in his cab from fifty to seventy-five levers, valves, cocks, gauges, handles, and what not, which he is expected to apply instantly as the exigency may arise, as danger may spring into view, or calamity confront. ”

“ A. The engine should always be run with as wide open throttle as the conditions will permit, regulating the steam admission to the cylinders according to work to be performed.
12. Q. What should be the position of throttle while drifting? [Pg 28]
A. The throttle valve should be kept slightly open while drifting, so as to admit a small quantity of steam in valve chamber and cylinder above atmospheric pressure, to prevent the inrush of hot air and gases which destroy lubrication, also to prevent excessive wear to valve, cylinder and piston rod packing. ”

“ As if comprehending the "cut off" or "uncouple" signal, and at the same time comprehending that something was wrong with the track, the driver closed the throttle, looking down the line of rails ahead. ”

“ If you want to be an expert you must begin with the throttle, therein lies the secret of the real expert. He feels the power of his engine through the throttle. He opens it just enough to do what he wants it to do. He therefore has complete control of his engine. The fellow who backs his engine up to the separator with an open throttle and must reverse it to keep from running into and breaking something, is running his engine on his muscle and is entitled to small pay. ”

“ He drew back on the stick for, with the throttle rather wide—because Larry had feared a stall as the nose went up and had thrust the throttle control sharply forward—the craft began to go down in a very steep glide, not quite a dive, but with engine on full gun, sending it in a sharp angle toward earth. ”

“ The long, flexible arms grasp the victim; its hundreds of suckers, acting like pneumatic holders, make escape impossible; and, as the long arms draw the object nearer and nearer, the other shorter arms add their multiplied disks, forming "a perfect mitrailleuse of inverted air-guns, which take horrid hold, and the pressure of air is so great that nothing but closing the throttle-valve can produce relaxation." This throttle-valve is the neck, as we have before described. ”

“ As soon as the engine begins to run properly, the spark is advanced and the throttle closed down to the required point.
The engine speed may always be maintained by the throttle under a constant varying load, by adjusting the throttle valve. A rich mixture may be obtained by throttling the primary air supply.
The throttle may also be a most effective means of economizing fuel when the engine has a first class sparking device, as in that case the throttle can be closed down to provide a very small opening. ”

“ In most cases, the force, officers and men, serve four out of twelve hours, but in foggy [Pg 47] or stormy weather officers stand at the throttles with peremptory orders to do no other work. In relieving each other great care is taken; those going on the platforms feeling the warmth of the bearings, examining the condition of the pins and shafting, testing the valves, locating the position of the throttle, counting the revolutions, and by every technical trial satisfying themselves before assuming charge that all is right. ”

“ You ought to seen 'em start out, nary a slip, cutting off square as a die, small one ahead speaking her little piece chipper and fast on account of her smaller wheels, and the ten-wheeler barking bass, steady as a clock, with a hundred-and-enough on the gauge, a full throttle, and half a pipe of sand. You couldn't tell to save you whether the little one was pulling the big one or the big one shoving the little—never saw a relief train start out in such shape in my life. ”

“ A. Under the steering wheel are two small levers. The right hand (throttle) lever controls the amount of mixture (gasoline and air) which goes into the engine. When the engine is in operation, the farther the lever is moved downward toward the driver (referred to as “opening the throttle”) the faster the engine runs and the greater the power furnished. The left hand lever controls the spark which ignites the gas in the cylinders of the engine. The [271] advancing of this lever “advances the spark,” and it should be moved down notch by notch until the motor seems to reach its maximum speed. ”

“ Where this system is adopted, a throttle is also used, which enables the operator to regulate the quantity of mixture, and thus alter the power of the explosion. For example, when the maximum power is required, the throttle is open to the fullest, and the sparking advanced to the utmost that the engine will take.
(2) Exhaust-Valve Lifter.—This operates by preventing the exhaust valve from closing after the exhaust gases have escaped. When the exhaust valve is held fully up, no explosive charge is taken into the cylinder. ”

“ A. A throttle engine is one in which the speed is controlled by throttling the steam with a governor, as opposed to an automatic engine in which the speed is regulated by varying the point of cut-off at the valve.
Q. What is the difference between a stroke and a revolution?
A. A stroke is the movement of the piston, from one end to the other of cylinder. A revolution takes two strokes of piston. ”

“ The throttle and ignition levers must be placed underneath and to the right of the steering wheel, their movement being independent of any movement of the steering column. Increased engine speed must in each case be produced by moving the levers forward. The total movement must be 90°, and the handles must be at right angles to the main axis of the vehicle when in the centre of their travel. This, again, means that a driver who is accustomed to producing a given effect upon his engine by a given movement of the ignition or throttle is in no way confused by being put on to a different car. ”

“ It was formerly the custom to use a carbureter for each cylinder but the practice has been abandoned, because it is obvious that a single carbureter will, owing to the continuous suction, supply a mixture of more nearly uniform character than two or more, even though they should supply the mixture to a common manifold.
The Throttle.—Much of the economy in running an engine depends on the manipulation of the throttle. As an example, with a certain motor and carbureter it will be found that for maximum speed the throttle should be open about one-eighth of the way. ”

“ No. 999 did famously, as she always did under the guidance of the vigilant young engineer. Ralph was learning a good deal lately, and his mind was always strictly on the business of the moment when at the throttle. He was learning that there was a science in running a locomotive a good deal deeper than merely operating throttle, brake and lever automatically. ”

“ From technical data relating to airspeed and propeller blade angles it was shown that with the 52-degree angle there is no throttle position at which true airspeed could be less than 295 knots. Because this airspeed is excessive it is entirely logical to assume the throttle would have been closed to slow the aircraft. With the throttle closed a 52-degree blade angle reflects a true airspeed of 335 knots, which is 15 percent in excess of the Viscount never-exceed speed or about 5 percent in excess of D, the maximum speed demonstrated in certification. ”

“ In general, in the traction engine, look to the convenience of arrangement of the throttle, reverse lever, steering wheel, friction clutch, independent pump and injector, all of which should be within easy reach of the footboard, as such an arrangement will save annoyance and often damage when quick action is required. ”

“ I felt the throttle under my left hand come all the way back. The engine noise quieted down, and the engine exhaust popped a few times. The ship nosed down into a glide. It made another left turn in the glide and then straightened out. We were gliding toward the little field we had just taken off from. It was a little field near Brooks that the Army Primary Flying School used as a practice field.
“That was lousy,” I shouted back. “You jerked your throttle open. You veered across the field on your take-off like a drunken man. Are you too weak to kick rudder? ”

“ It is true that you can regulate the aeroplane engine by the throttle to run from as low as three hundred revolutions a minute to as high as sixteen hundred; but except when testing the motor there is rarely any reason for slowing it up while in the air. ”

“ The throttling engine regulates the speed of the engine by cutting off the supply of steam from the boiler, either by the hand of the engineer on the throttle or by a governor working a special throttling governor valve. Railroad locomotives are throttling engines, and moreover they have no governor, the speed being regulated by the engineer at the throttle valve. Traction engines are usually throttling engines provided with a governor. ”

“ If upon rather sudden opening of the throttle the motor backfires, it is an indication that the high speed mixture is too lean, and in this case the high speed screw A should be opened one notch at a time until the tendency to backfire ceases. ”

“ A. When you have from 25 to 40 lbs. of pressure open the throttle valve a little, allowing the cylinder cocks to be open also. Some steam will condense at first in the cold cylinder, and this water must be allowed to drain off. See that the crank is not on a dead center, and put on just enough steam to start the engine. As soon as it gets warmed up, and only dry steam appears at the cocks, close the cylinder cocks, open the throttle gradually till it is wide open, and wait for the engine to work up to its full speed. ”

“ The Throttle on an engine is the valve which allows the steam to enter or be shut off from the cylinder and should always be left wide open on a governor engine when running, as the governor regulates the quantity of steam required to run it at its proper speed and is much more economical. ”

“ Then the secondary valve is suddenly thrown out of action, gives the leak full play, and causes the throttle to open quickly so that the steam may be cut off only for a moment. By the turning of a small milled screw-head a couple of inches in diameter the pace of 5,000 h.p. engines is as fully regulated as if a powerful brake were applied the moment they exceeded "the legal limit." ”

“ Close throttle grip by turning fully outward.
(2) Turn ignition switch on.
(3) Operate foot starter crank to start engine.
(4) When hot engine does not start readily after two or three strokes of the foot starter crank, it is usually due to an overrich (flooded) condition, and the proper procedure then is to open throttle wide so that more air can enter: close throttle quickly after engine starts. CAUTION: After engine has warmed up to a normal operating temperature, do not allow engine to stand idling for longer than a 1 minute interval. ”

“ The steadiest running is probably given with [122] the throttle control, which diminishes the supply. On motor cars this method has practically ousted the "hit-and-miss" governed exhaust valve; but in stationary engines we more commonly find the speed controlled by robbing the mixture of the explosive gas in inverse proportion to the amount of the work required from the engine. ”

“ This refers, of course, to the clutch, brake, and throttle pedals. In cities, running through crowded streets, the foot throttle should be used, so as to keep both hands free; but in the open country, where change is not required so frequently, this control is usually by hand.
The Crucial Point.—The crucial point of every learner, is starting the machine. The first duty is to note that the transmission lever is at the neutral point, and that the emergency brake is set. The spark control lever is then set at the proper point, and the engine cranked, if it has no self starting mechanism. ”

“ Where the throttle fails with the valve closed, and the engineer finds it necessary to take the dome-cover off to prevent his engine from being hauled in, he will generally find the trouble to lie with the connections mentioned, or with the bolts belonging to the bell-crank, that is located near the bottom of the stand-pipe. ”