Brig Gas Producers

During WWII, Sidney Crawford and his team of 40 staff at Commercial Motor Vehicles created the Brig Gas Producers as a substitute to petrol due to rationing. In the Saturday 25 May 1940 edition, The Mail (Adelaide, SA) ran an article along the following lines :

Many new and unusual features are incorporated in the Brig gas producer, which has been developed over four years. The Brig Gas Producer inspired the need to eliminate many undesirable features previously associated with mobile gas producers. New features include a fully automatic mixture control, fully automatic water injection, automatic power boosting for emergencies. The unit is compact, lightweight and easily fitted to all types of vehicles with very little maintenance required. The ashes and dust are easily and cleanly removed. There is an efficient double-cyclone dry cleaner and oil bath security cleaner, rectangular hopper and easily cleaned grate, no refractory linings, good appearance, and reasonable cost.

Automated Operation

The automatic workings of the Brig Gas Producers are beneficial. The mixture adjusts for idling and going downhill, so it always works as expected. Furthermore, the automatic water injection saves the hassle of continual adjustment. Upon fully opening the accelerator, the power booster activates automatically. Consequently, this feature is incredibly convenient, as the booster avoids a loss of up to 45% of power output when using gas on an unmodified engine. The only extra control needed is the change-over button from petrol to gas.
The change-over button enables the original carburetor to work correctly. During brief trips, gasoline can power the vehicle without affecting its operation. On trucks, the hopper conveniently fits underneath the tray. Equally important, the live load-carrying area is unaffected, apart from a small box to refill the hopper.

Above is the advert for Brig Gas Producers as it appeared in the Examiner (Launceston, Tasmania) on Saturday 1 August 1942.