WATER, HOT WATER, WASTE WATER 8l 



tank to the various hot-water faucets. This was an 

 inexpensive installation, and furnished a good sup- 

 ply of hot water without too much expense. The fire, 

 however, had to be attended to several times each day, 

 and the ashes carried out periodically. 



In an effort to get rid of this labor we installed a 

 kerosene heater. The first one we tried out was wick- 

 less. Our kerosene was evidently not clear enough for 

 this type of heater, and the burners frequently 

 crusted, thus interfering with its efficiency as well as 

 creating an unpleasant cleaning job. True, we had a 

 plentiful supply of hot water; the cost, however, was 

 a little higher than coal, and we still had the unpleas- 

 ant chore of filling the oil-reservoir daily and cleaning 

 the heater occasionally. 



Next we tried a kerosene heater with wicks. This 

 proved an improvement in one respect only if we 

 changed the wicks frequently enough we avoided the 

 unpleasant cleaning job with which we had to struggle 

 before. We still had the daily filling of the oil-tank on 

 our hands so the job was still by no means automatic. 



Finally we decided to go in for^a completely auto- 

 matic installation. A very low rate permitted us to 

 install an electric heater on an off-peak rate. Where 

 the power company has established such a rate, this 

 type of heater is economical and efficient, and it re- 

 quires no attention whatever. The off-peak rate is still 

 a new idea; in many cases completely automatic hot 

 water can be most inexpensively secured with gas. In 

 country homes not reached by the mains of a gas com- 



