Popular Science Monthly 



449 



I 



How to Economize in the 

 Use of Coal Gas 



OWING to the increase in the con- 

 sumption of coal gas both for cooking 

 and lighting, any means of reducing the 

 cost of it will be welcomed by the con- 

 sumer. The illuminating power of gas by 

 the use of the common tip burner is not 

 considered so much as its heating 

 properties. Whether it is the incandes- 

 cent mantle or the gas mixed with air in 

 the atmospheric burner of the gas stove, 

 the effect is due to the 

 heat produced by the 

 combustion of the com- 

 bined gas and air. 



It is upon this heating 

 effect that the intense 

 luminousness of the 

 mantle depends. With 

 the use of the apparatus 

 shown in the illustra- 

 tions both the lumin- 

 ousness of the common 

 burner and the Seating 

 effect may be increased 

 considerably by mixing 

 a volatile hydrocarbon 

 with the gas after it 

 leaves the meter and 

 before it is burned. Any 

 free carbonic oxide con- 

 tained in the gas will 

 combine with a rich 

 hydrocarbon, carry it to 

 the point of consump- 

 tion and there develop 

 degree of heat and light, 

 cost will be very much 



An economizer 

 coal gas with 



a remarkable 

 Moreover, the 

 lower than if 

 simple coal gas or a mixture of coal gas 

 and what is known as water gas is 

 employed. 



When either coal gas, or a combination 

 of coal and water gas, or water gas 

 charged with hydrocarbon is passed 

 through a carbureter or economizer, as 

 described, a quantity of the hydrocarbon 

 with which it is charged will be carried off 

 in vapor form, thus increasing both the 

 heating and lighting effect wherever it 

 may be consumed. This carbureter is 

 not at all expensive to construct, as it is 

 mainly constructed of tin plate with a 

 few ordinary gas fittings which any 

 good tinsmith or plumber can make. 



The illustration clearly shows the ap- 



paratus in section. This apparatus has 

 been well tested. The hydrocarbon used 

 in charging it may be benzene, benzol, 

 benzolene or gasoline. Kerosene must 

 jiot be used. 



How to Make the Economizer 



The outer cylinder is made of heavy tin 

 plate while the distributing inside cylinder 

 A may be made of lighter stock. A wire 

 cylinder B, made of a ^^ or ^-in. mesh 

 galvanized wire netting is placed between 

 the cylinder A and the outer case. The 

 space between is packed 

 moderately tight with 

 dry white cotton waste, 

 shown at C. The outer 

 case is 9 in. high and 

 7 in. in diameter, with 

 a cone-shaped cover at- 

 tached to the upper 

 edge. The inlet pipe D 

 is provided with a stop- 

 cock. This inlet and 

 the outlet tube at E are 

 both made of heavy tin 

 plate, the latter being 

 fitted with a brass gas 

 union soldered at the 

 top. The tubes are also 

 soldered to the cone, 

 while the inner cyUnder 

 A is fastened with sol- 

 der at the point where 

 it touches the cone. A 

 hole is made at F, 1 in. 

 above the bottom of the 

 pipe G. This is to allow the gas to pass 

 into the carbureter in case too much 

 hydrocarbon has been introduced, which 

 chokes the bottom of the tube and causes 

 bubbling through the liquid, thus hinder- 

 ing the passage of gas. The tube H at 

 the top of the cone is covered by a brass 

 cap / in the interior of which is a leather 

 disk to make a gas-tight joint. 



An excellent method of filling the ap- 

 paratus is to substitute two metal stop- 

 cocks in the place of the tube H and an- 

 other tank also made of tin plate, as 

 here shown. By turning the two 

 stop-cocks, the apparatus may be filled 

 without wasting the fluid. One handle 

 may be made to open and close the two. 

 The tank J is filled with the carbonating 

 fluid. The top of the carbureter, or 

 economizer, is represented at A. A small 



for charging 

 hydrocarbon 



