None of the very small single cylinder engines that are now marketed have close enough regulation, that is, they do not run steady enough, to drive a dynamo so that the current can be taken off directly from the latter and used for lighting incandescent lamps.
To do this successfully a storage battery must be connected to the dynamo and charged by it and then the current can be used from the battery and lamps which are lighted by it will not flicker.
A large single cylinder engine which uses either gas, gasoline or oil can, if it is fitted with a good governor, be employed to run a dynamo, and the current generated by it be used for lighting without the intervention of a storage battery.
Where an engine drives a dynamo for lighting and a storage battery is not installed the plant must, of course, be kept running all the time the lights are on. But where a storage battery absorbs the electric energy from the dynamo and then gives it up to light the lamps, the engine can be shut down and the current supplied entirely by the storage battery.
Further, if you want to light more lamps than either the dynamo or the storage battery can singly generate or deliver enough current for, you can carry the peak load by driving the dynamo and using the current from it and the storage battery at the same time.
When the current from a dynamo is used only for heating and power purposes the regulation of the engine need not be anywhere nearly as close as for lighting. Small portable electric motors can be bought, and with these you can do nearly any kind of work anywhere by simply plugging into an electric light socket.
Fire Underwriters' Rules for Installing and Us ing Internal Combustion Engines. Installing Gas Location of Engines. (a) The engine should, wherever possible, be located on the ground floor.
(b) In workshops or rooms where dust or inflam mable flyings prevail, the engine should be enclosed in a suitable compartment, well ventilated to the outer air at floor and ceiling.
(c) If the engine is located on a wooden floor, the floor under it and for 24 inches outside of it should be covered with metal.
(2) Piping.—(a) This must be provided with a shut-off valve located in an accessible place on the service side of the pressure regulator.
(b) Piping and connections must be run as direct as possible, and be thoroughly tested before being placed in service.
(3) Igniter or Exploder.—Electrie ignition only must be used. Hot tubes and any provision for their installation on engines are prohibited.
(4) Muffler or Exhaust Pot.—(a) Exhaust pots must be placed on firm foundations, and mufflers and exhaust pots are to be kept at least one foot from woodwork or combustible materials.
(b) Exhaust pots of the closed type must be pro vided with plugged opening, placed near the bottom and below the exhaust pipe connection.
(5) Gas Bag or Pressure Regulator.—(a) Gas bags, if used, must be enclosed in a substantial air tight drum, of approved construction, vented to the outer air through a pipe used for no other purpose.
(b) Where it is not otherwise provided for, the regulator should be arranged with an automatic gas shut-off to prevent the flow of gas into the room in case the engine shuts down from any cause.
(6) The Exhaust Pipe.—This pipe, whether di rect from engine, or from mufflers, shall, where prac ticable, be carried above the roof of the building in which the engine is contained and above adjoining buildings. When buildings are too high to make this practicable, the pipe shall end at least 10 feet from any wall opening.
No exhaust pipe must be within 9 inches of any wooden lath and plaster partition, ceiling, or other combustible material. Where exhaust pipes pass through combustible partitions they shall be guarded by galvanized iron ventilated thimbles at least 12 inches larger in diameter than the pipes, or by gal vanized iron thimbles built in at least 8 inches of brickwork or other non-combustible material.
Exhaust pipes must not, under any circumstances, be connected into chimneys or flues, except thai iEe pipe may pass up in flues which are used for no other purpose. No exhaust pipe shall pass through any floor, nor through a roof having wooden framework or covering.