At the same time some degree of protection is offered by the roof of the shed and when enough wood has been sawed for a period the belt may be removed from the pulleys and the saw from the arbor and both stored away while the saw frame may be covered with a piece of canvas which will afford sufficient protection. The view at Fig. 150-A shows the interior of a home workshop in which the power plant is housed in the same building as the machinery it operates. This shows the various machines which can be conveniently operated by power and which save time and labor. Obviously, the shaft could be extended through into a house alongside in which the tractor could be run when it had done its work in the field and be made to furnish power for this shop as well as for the other machinery in the repair shop. By using a tractor engine in this manner through the winter months, it is kept properly limbered up and the machine is always ready for use. If the tractor house is unheated an anti-freezing compound may be used in the radiator or cooling system and no damage can result when the temperature is low. Housing a tractor in this manner insures that it will receive attention during the idle period as it is an inducement to the workmen to make repairs on a machine that is comfortably housed, whereas they would not desire to work around the same machine if it was in the open and exposed to the elements. The view at Fig. 151 shows the appearance of the shop and tractor house outlined at Fig. 150 when viewed from the front. Combination structures of this character may be built by using concrete blocks or reinforced concrete construction for the tractor house while the adjacent shops may be made more lightly from lumber. This is a good combination, as the tractor house is fireproof and wooden structures are adequate to house the various household and repair equipment. A hard dirt floor should be provided in the tractor house, this being sloped either toward the center of the floor or to one end where a drain should be placed that will allow any drippings from the tractor to run out. The tractor house should be well ventilated in order that no gasoline fumes can accumulate and some means should be provided for disposing of the exhaust of the engine so this will be directed to the outer air, instead of being confined in the tractor house. A hood of sheet metal may be placed directly over the exhaust pipes so the exhaust gases will be directed through the roof or a pipe with a quickly detachable connection that will fasten to the exhaust pipe of the engine may lead the gases to a muffler if it is desirable to reduce the sound of the escaping exhaust. A good muffler for this purpose is easily and cheaply made by filling a hogshead with large stones leaving it open at the top and connecting the exhaust pipe to the bottom. The stones will break up the exhaust gases and muffle the sound so that it will not be objectionable. A cowl should be placed over the hogshead so that rain cannot get in but at the same time sufficient opening should be left around the edges so the gases will escape freely to the atmosphere. Fuel Storage Methods.-An important problem confronting the man who takes care of either his own tractor or automobile and stores it in a special motor house in close proximity to a residence or other building is that of gasoline storage. There are three methods available. A very dangerous one commonly practiced is to keep this highly inflammable liquid in five or ten gallon cans in the tractor house, the second is to have a separate structure especially for gasoline storage, while the third is to install an underground tank, there being several excellent types in the market. The last mentioned is to be preferred from the viewpoint of safety, though the average farmer does not take kindly to this because of what is considered the high first cost of even a simple storage outfit of first-class construction. Storing the gasoline in cans is not desirable for FIG. 152A.-A Simple Home-made Underground Gasoline Storage System That is Economical and Easy to Make. several reasons, chief among which is that storing the fuel in this manner makes for considerable loss by evaporation and by leakage or spilling when filling tanks directly from the container. An underground storage outfit of excellent construction and of simple design, which should not prove costly, is shown at Fig. 152. In this the fuel is stored in a large tank buried underground outside of the garage or tractor house, while a hand operated pump of the suction type is inside the shelter and protected from the elements. At Fig. 152-A an underground gasoline storage outfit which can be installed at low cost and made by any one of average mechanical intelligence is outlined. This consists of an air-tight copper or steel tank, well coated with asphaltum paint, preferably, though a galvanized iron container can be used if desired. The construction should be such that the tank will resist air pressures up to 40 or 50 pounds per square inch. Three spuds are placed in the top of the tank, one to take two-inch standard iron pipe, the others to fit one-half and one-eighth gas pipe respectively. A two-inch pipe cap, to which a piece of one-half by one-quarter inch bar stock is attached by machine screws or rivets, is used for a filler cap at the end of the piece of large pipe. This is cut of sufficient length so that the tank can be buried underground below frost line and still leave four or five inches of pipe projecting above the surface after the hole in which the tank was placed is filled. A special reducing fitting is made to fit the spud, tapped one-half inch pipe size, this to take a piece of one-quarter inch pipe, which extends to about an inch from the bottom of the tank and projects above the surface of the reducing bushing. A standard ell is then screwed in place and the piping continued as shown in sketch. A piece of one-eighth gas pipe runs from the other spud to a T piece from which a branch extends to an air pressure gauge, and in which is placed a short piece of pipe having a ball check fitting |