CHAPTER X 



COST OF POWER 



Until recently only steam power has been considered practi- 

 cal for the creamery. It is now recognized that the gasoline 

 engine and the electric motor may also be used to advantage 

 in our modern plants. 



STEAM POWER 



Fuel. — The power is produced from fuel. The value of the 

 fuel is measured by the heat units which its combustion will 

 generate. The combustible portion of the fuel is the part of it 

 which bums; other ingredients as ash remain and are without 

 fuel value, the ash varying from 2 to 36 per cent in different 

 fuels. 



Coal is the most important fuel known. It is used as a fuel 

 in most dairy establishments. It has been estimated ' that on an 

 average one pound of coal is equal for steam-making purposes 

 to two pounds of dry peat, two and one fourth to two and one 

 half pounds' of dry wood, and to three and one fourth to three 

 and three fourths pounds of wheat or barley straw. Table III 

 by the same author gives the chemical composition of several 

 typical kinds of solid fuels. 



' Steam, its Generation and Use. 



