552 



xafukp: 



[January 13, 19 16 



MODERN SYSTEMS OF INDEPENDENT 

 XIGHTING AND HEATING.'^ 



' ' II. — Acetylene Lighting. 



no\v quite a familiar method 



ting couiitry houses, and many 



•early difficulties against which the system had 



A CETYLENE 

 -'^"^ 'of lightinj 



Originally the 

 in a state of 

 to give rise to a 



the 



to contend have been renioved 

 gas could not be obtained 

 purity. The impurities were apt 

 slight "haze" or mist in the room, the odour of the 

 gas was disagreeably evident, and in the early forms 

 of generating plant sufficient care was not always 

 taken to avoid mixtures of gas and air capable of 

 giving rise to explosions. 



The careful purification of the gas, and 

 proved designs of the generators of to-day, 

 have removed these defects. It is, however, 

 now as ever, important for the householder 

 who instals acetylene to purchase a good 

 standard type of plant and to secure the ver\- 

 best workmanship throughout the installa- 

 tion. Acetylene, like petrol-air gas, is used 

 to a great extent in remote situations, where 

 expert assistance is not readily available. A 

 cheap and inferior installation may therefore 

 be a constant source of trouble and annoy- 

 ance. Many reputable firms will undertake 

 to execute any repairs within a given period 

 after installation, thus making themselves 

 responsible for the plant being in good 

 order. 



The acetylene plant is usually stored in a 

 small outhouse, and the gas is led into th<' 

 house through pipes in the same way as 

 coal-gas ; the piping, however, is usually verv 

 much smaller. It is impossible to describe 

 acetylene generators in great detail within 

 the space of this article, but it may be said 

 they are divided broadly into " carbide to 

 water" and "water, to carbide," and into 

 automatic and non-automatic types. Gener- 

 ally speaking, the addition of water to carbide is con- 

 sidered preferable, the water being so easily controlled. 

 Automatic plants are now preferred for sustained 

 lighting on a large scale. 



The essential parts of an acetylene generator are 

 as follows : — • 



(i) The generator proper, which contains the car- 

 t>ide. This is divided into cornpartmenf s in such a 



1 Continued from p. 524. 



NO. 241 1, VOL. 96] 



way that ihe charge in one compartment is used up 

 before -the water enters the next. In modern installa- 

 tions duplicate generators are frequently used- Bv 

 merely turning a tap either can be put into action and 

 in an emergency it is possible to continue supplying 

 gas from one generator while the other is being 

 attended to and recharged. . •,, , 



(2) The washer, which consists essentially of a piece 

 of apparatus through which the gas passes on its way 

 to the gas-holder, and is partly puri- 

 fied in doing so. 



(3) The water-supply tank, which 

 may be automatically controlled by 

 the aid of a piston, actuated by a pro'- 

 jection in the gas-holder, which in 

 its descent admits more water as the 

 gas becomes exhausted. 



(4) The gas-holder, in which the 

 gas is collected when it has passed 

 through the "washer." 



(5) The drier and purifier, by which 

 the gas is finally purified^dn its way 

 into the house for actual me. 



In Figs, I and 2 these Various' parts 

 are seen " in a typical "Imperial" 

 plant. 



It is interesting to notice that while 

 the nozizles of burners used for. petrol- 

 air gas require to be larger than those 

 ''■ . used with ordinary coal-gas, acetylene 



burners, on the other hand, must 

 have a very small aperture. This is one reason 

 why good ' methods of purification are neces- 

 sary, as in the early days impurities some- 

 times led to. the small apertures in the burner beconi- 

 ing choked with soot. Modern acetylene burners 

 should [ last a long time. The smaller types merely 

 employ a j^in-hole, the large types {e.g. the "Roni") 

 have a slot. A common arrangement is to have two 

 twin burners, the flames of which impinge on one 



A. riener.Tor 

 I!, Washer. 



C, Holrlcr. 



D, Purifier 



Wli?n the piant i« in actior. 

 water fiows Iroin the tank K 

 into the .^eneral<ir A Ihrougl- 

 11. e valve L'. Tiie acetylene 

 thus produced pas'^e-; thiough 

 ihp washer B into the bell r.l 

 C, causing it to n.^ie. When 

 ttie holder is a'^oot half full 

 the control lap is automati 

 c.'iIIY turned off and no more 

 gas IS generated. As the ga^ 

 IS used up the bell falls and 

 turns the tap on again so that 

 .eas is generated once more. 

 1 his autoniatic action con 

 tinues until the car))ide is ex 

 hausted. Meanwhile the ga<: 

 generated passes out through 

 the puiifier D into tlie pipes. 

 By closing one of the taps W 

 either of the two twin gcner 

 :itoi-s can be put out of action 

 The sludge is run out through 

 the cock G, and the drain 

 pipes S S S serve to run eft 

 any accumulated water. 



another. The ordinary range of consumption of 

 acetylene burners is from . | to i cub. ft. of gas per 

 hour, the usual pressure being about 4 in. of water. 

 The efficiency is generally stated, but is usually taken 

 as about 25-30 candles per, cub. ft. of gas. One may 

 expect to get, roughly, 5 cub. ft. of gas from i lb. of 

 carbide. . . 



Bunsen hurners ^nd, incandescent mantles have been 

 used with acetylene, but: the general impression .is 



