Economical Use of Fuel 



Prepared /brTHE Garden Magazine by the United 

 States Fuel Administration 



IN MANY fields of Flanders and Northern 

 France, not even "poppies will grow 

 between the crosses row on row." Deso- 

 lation will mark those war-torn acres for 

 generations to come. As the stricken lands now 

 look to America for men, ammunition, fuel and 

 food with which to free themselves of the enemy's 

 yoke, so they may turn to us any day for seeds 

 with which to reclothe their naked fields, and 

 many finely bred plants would be lost if it were 

 not for the greenhouses. 



But the supply of fuel for greenhouse heating is 

 limited, and it becomes the patriotic duty of 

 every grower of greenhouse crops to make the 

 best use possible of every pound of fuel whether 

 it be anthracite coal, bituminous coal, wood, 

 coke, oil, or gas. 



As a rule, greenhouse heating plants are in- 

 efficient, owing to the fact that the firing is 

 only a part of some person's duties, and the best 

 use is not made of the fuel consumed. The 

 amount of care demanded by a greenhouse 

 heating plant is not great, but it must be given 

 at regular intervals and special care must be 

 taken when bituminous coal is used. This fuel 

 is liable to form a film of soot on the tubes or 

 fireways of the boiler, and records show that a 

 very thin film of soot on the parts of the boiler 

 with which the hot gases come in contact will, 

 in the majority of cases, prevent the transmission 

 of 25 to 35 per cent, of the heat of the fuel. 

 Therefore, unless the boiler is kept perfectly 

 clean, undue waste of heat will occur. 



Economical consumption of fuel depends more 

 on the proper regulation of the draft than on 

 any other single factor. Every heater should 

 be supplied with a check-draft damper in the 

 smoke pipe, as well as the customary turn- 

 damper: The check-draft damper is as important 

 in controlling the rate at which the fire burns, as 

 is the throttle of an engine. It operates op- 

 positely from the turn-draft damper, in that it 

 is opened to check the fire while the turn-draft 

 damper is closed to check the fire. The coaling 

 door of the furnace should never be allowed to 

 remain open to check the fire, as this permits 

 the entrance of cool air into the furnace and is 

 very wasteful of fuel. The fire should always be 

 controlled by manipulating the turn-draft damper 

 and the check-draft damper and by opening and 

 closing the slide in the door on the ash pit. 



The method of handling the fire will, of course, 

 depend to a large extent upon the kind of fuel 

 used but the principles governing economical 

 combustion should always be kept in mind. 

 Heat that is allowed to pass up the chimney is 

 heat lost. Every possible unit should be utilized 

 to heat the water or to make steam or to heat 

 air, depending upon the type of furnace used. 

 When coal is used for fuel, the fire should be 

 kept clean and excessive slicing or stoking 

 avoided. A moderately thick fire spread evenly 

 over the entire grate surface is in nearly all cases 

 the most economical. The fire should never be 

 so thin that portions of the grate are exposed, 

 and should not be so thick as to interfere with 

 the draft. Reasonably frequent application of 

 fuel in moderate quantities is more economical 



Your Greenhouse with the 

 50% Coal Allowance 



than the application of large amounts of fuel 

 at one time. When oil or gas are used as fuel, 

 it is a simpler matter to adjust the fire as the 

 adjustments may all be made by manipulating 

 the burners. It should be remembered that a 

 blue flame when burning oil or gas, indicates 

 perfect combustion, while a yellow flame indi- 

 cates poor combustion. Yellow flame usually 

 indicates that too much fuel is being admitted. 



Very economical results can be secured in 

 bituminous and anthracite slack, provided the 

 proper draft is supplied. By the use of special 

 grates and with forced draft, greenhouses can 

 be heated with these low grade fuels in the 

 severest weather at a cost of about one-third 

 that of high grade bituminous or anthracite 

 coal. It is necessary to use grate bars with 

 finer openings and as a rule the forced draft is 

 supplied by some type of rotary blower forcing 

 the air into the ash pit and through the fire. 



The capacity within certain limits of any boiler 

 depends very largely on the size and height of 

 the stack. The accompanying table gives the 

 size and height of stacks recommended for dif- 

 ferent size boilers. 



RATING OF HOT WATER 

 BOILER IN SQUARE FT. 



400 to 700 

 850 to 1200 

 I350to 2I0O 



2400 to 3400 



37OO to 510O 



5900 to 8500 



SIZE OF STACK IN INCHES 



Round Square 



8 8x8 



10 8x12 



12 12x12 



14 12x16 



16 16x16 



18 16x20 



The height of the chimney or stack must be 

 determined by the height of surrounding build- 

 ings or trees, whether the plant is located on a 

 hill or in a valley, and by other factors. To 

 insure good draft, it is necessary that the chimney 

 extend several feet above any surrounding ob- 

 struction. 



When a hot water heating system is used, the 

 installation of a circulating pump in the return 

 near the boiler will in most cases result in a 

 very marked saving of fuel and will enable the 

 operator to maintain a satisfactory temperature 

 in the houses without undue forcing of the boiler. 

 When steam heating systems are used, the instal- 

 lation of a return trap or pump to return the 

 condensation to the boiler and to keep the system 

 free from condensation, will in most cases result 

 in a marked saving. Where installation of 

 forced circulation apparatus is not feasible, a 

 great deal can be accomplished by re-aligning the 

 piping system so that uniform grade is secured, 

 thus avoiding pockets which seriously interfere 

 with the circulation. The installation of auto- 

 matic air valves for the removal of air at various 

 points in the steam system will help matters 

 considerably. 



Substitution of Cool Crops 



Prepared by the Office of Information, U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture 



PRACTICALLY twice as much radiation 

 *■ is required to maintain greenhouses at a 

 temperature of jo° to 75 as for houses to be 

 carried at a temperature of 45 to 50 . With 

 heating systems of equal efficiency this means 

 that it will require nearly twice the fuel to grow 

 warm crops demanding the higher temperature 

 than will be needed for a crop like lettuce which 

 may be grown between 45 and 50 F. As a 

 fuel conservation measure the greenhouse vege- 

 table grower can in many cases substitute cool 

 crops for warm ones and enable himself to keep 

 his plant in operation on the amount of fuel 

 available. 



Fall tomatoes when grown as a greenhouse 

 crop require large quantities of fuel to maintain 

 the temperature necessary to their development 

 as the crop occupies the houses during the short 



111 



cold days of early winter when the amount of 

 sunshine available is very limited. Many green- 

 house men regard fall tomatoes as a very un- 

 certain crop as it does not yield as well as when 

 grown in spring when the days are longer. The 

 same is to a large extent true of cucumbers — 

 and they require an even higher temperature 

 than tomatoes. They are usually grown as a 

 spring crop but those growers who produce this 

 crop in the fall can, by substituting some cool 

 crop, keep their plants in operation. 



As possible substitutes for fall tomatoes and 

 cucumbers, lettuce and cauliflower are perhaps 

 the most promising crops. While it is true that 

 the market is usually well supplied with lettuce 

 there is a good demand for cauliflower. 



Other crops that will thrive at comparatively 

 low temperature and which may be grown in 

 place of high temperature crops, are radishes, 

 chard, beets, and dandelion. 



Radishes are forced in practically all vegetable 

 regions and as a rule are in considerable demand. 

 It is, however, an easy matter to oversupply 

 the demand for radishes. The temperature re- 

 quired is even lower than that for lettuce.* This 

 vegetable is not subject to attacks from many 

 insects or diseases, and is on the whole very 

 easily grown. 



Beets may be grown in the greenhouse when 

 the conditions are similar to those suited to the 

 growing of lettuce. Greenhouse beets are in 

 considerable demand both for the tops for greens 

 and for the roots. They will, however, come in 

 competition with stored beets and with those 

 grown in cold frames in the warmer portions of 

 the country and it is not probable that it would 

 be safe to devote any considerable space to their 

 cultivation without assurance that a market exists. 



Swiss chard presents interesting possibilities 

 as ,a greenhouse crop. This vegetable requires 

 the same conditions as its relative the beet, but 

 owing to its fine quality when used as a salad 

 plant it should be useful. 



The dandelion requires about the same condi- 

 tions as lettuce, and is a crop that might readily 

 be substituted for high temperature crops. The 

 demand is somewhat limited, however, but it 

 is worthy of the attention of vegetable growers 

 who are lacking for substitute crops for cucumbers 

 and lettuce. While greenhouse grown cauli- 

 flower comes in competition with the Southern, 

 and California grown product it is altogether 

 probable that the market will consume all the 

 winter grown cauliflower that can be produced. 

 This vegetable is a cool crop demanding a temp- 

 erature little higher than lettuce. While the 

 plants are small, intercropping can be practised 

 using lettuce or radishes, which will be removed 

 before the cauliflower attains sufficient size to 

 interfere with these crops. 



In the past the difficulty in securing good 

 seed has deterred many from growing greenhouse 

 cauliflower, and particular attention should be 

 paid to securing seed of a satisfactory strain. 



The grower of cut flowers and ornamental 

 plants is not as a rule situated so that it is possible 

 for him to substitute one crop for another as his 

 stock must be provided and set in the houses 

 before the forcing season. Roses and Carnations 

 are planted in the house in midsummer. It is 

 possible to carry both of these crops at lower 

 temperature than usual, resulting in slower de- 

 velopment, but in a better product. 



