80 CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SMALL GASWORKS. 



it is about time they were done. Details that are shelved 

 in this indefinite way are apt to be left too long, if not 

 entirely forgotten. Matters such as repairs of retorts 

 and furnaces, painting, cleaning up, etc., should be con- 

 sidered as a part of the year's routine, and each have its 

 allotted period. Sometimes it will be convenient to do 

 the work in the spring or autumn, at the termination or the 

 commencement of the winter hand's time of service, when 

 his assistance will be available for a week or so. Once a 

 year, all the connections, drip pots, seals, etc., should be 

 thoroughly cleaned, dry-faced valves examined and the 

 faces put in good condition, slide valves oiled, and purifier 

 covers and gasholder lutes painted or varnished on the 

 wind and water line. A good skin on all the ironwork 

 adds as much to its working life as rust and dirt 

 tends to reduce the same ; and there is room for some 

 judgment in the matter of painting. With regard to paint, 

 it is especially true that the best is the cheapest ; and the 

 cost should be judged by the covering power and dura- 

 bility rather than by the price per cwt. Paint laid on to a 

 dirty or damp surface may be safely regarded as more than 

 half wasted. Economical and successful painting of out- 

 door ironwork, or that exposed alternately to air and to 

 water, involves four indispensable conditions, viz., (i) 

 thorough cleaning of the surface from all loose scale, rust, 

 etc.; (2) the surface, when the paint is applied, should be 

 perfectly dry and moderately warm a sudden fall of tem- 

 perature between cleaning off and repainting may cause it 

 to sweat ; (3) the paint must be finely ground, and both it 

 and the mixing oil absolutely free from moisture ; (4) the 

 new coating should not be exposed to rain or contact with 

 water until it has had time to get completely set. It is 

 difficult to secure all these conditions, perhaps, in our 





