October, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



409 



Soldering-iron Blast Lamp 

 Using Spirit 



An engraving shows a German stove with two burners; 

 they are made with three and even four burners, so that any 

 meal can be readily prepared with the one stove. Each of 

 these burners will boil a quart of water in six to seven min- 

 utes, one gallon in twenty to twenty-five minutes. Each 

 burner uses one-quarter to one- 

 third quart of alcohol per hour 

 for the hottest flame, which, with 

 alcohol at twenty-five cents per 

 gallon, will make each cost only 

 two to three cents per hour. A 

 gallon of water can be kept boil- 

 ing for one hour, however, with 

 one-tenth of a quart of spirit, at 

 a cost, therefore, of less than one 

 cent. 



An extremely handy utensil, 

 and one which is extensively used in Ger- 

 many, is the flat-iron. These come in all 

 sizes and weights up to twenty-five pounds, 

 and cost two to five dollars. The heating 

 is done by a tube-like burner, which pro- 

 jects into the iron, and which is first started 

 outside on a special stand. The iron be- 

 comes hot in ten minutes at the most, and 

 remains at a constant temperature as long 

 as the reservoir at the end is kept full. It 

 holds about one-tenth quart, which lasts 

 one hour on an average, and costs for this 

 length of time less than one cent. There is no danger 

 attending their use; and they do not require careful 

 handling. The advantages of these irons, especially for 

 warm weather, are obvious. 



Another household utensil which is popular in Ger- 

 many but is new in America is the water heater. The 

 water is continuously admitted from the supply pipe 

 through the faucet just back of the thermometer at the 

 side. The burner is started as usual, and in fifteen sec- 

 onds or so hot water flows either from the shower — the 

 tube of which is here detached — or from the lower tube; the 

 thermometer shows the temperature which is regulated by 

 the rapidity of the flow of water. There is considerable 

 escaping heat from the apparatus, which heats a small bath- 

 room quickly. One quart of alcohol, costing less than ten 

 cents, will heat forty gallons of water to a temperature of 

 about ninety degrees Fahrenheit in ten to fifteen minutes, 

 depending on the initial temperature of the water. This 

 apparatus is twenty inches wide, seven inches deep, and about 

 twenty inches high, without the shower, which adds forty 

 inches. The whole can be fastened to the wall on brackets. 



Its cost is about thirty-five 

 dollars in Germany. 



Still another apparatus is 

 that used for the hot air dry- 

 ing of the hair, towels, hand- 

 kerchiefs, etc. A small spirit 

 lamp at the base heats the 

 air, which is forced through 

 the apparatus and out of the 

 spout by means of a revolv- 

 ing fan. The apparatus is 

 very light, and can be held in 

 one hand and operated with 

 the thumb. It costs about 

 three dollars. 



A burner much used for 

 heating utensils in chemical 

 laboratories and in scientific 

 work is the Bunsen burner. 

 Alcohol may be used where 



Spirit Burning Hair Dryer 



gas, which is cheaper and more convenient, is not obtainable. 



To start it a little alcohol is poured around the lower part 



and, being ignited, it heats that portion of the lamp so that 



the alcohol from the reservoir vaporizes when it reaches that 



point. After this the lamp itself furnishes sufficient heat to 



continue the vaporization. The rush of vapor sucks in air 



through a small hole seen near the cock of the burner, and 



the mixture burns at the top in a long, intensely hot flame. 



This burner is very efficient in bringing articles to a high 



temperature. A soldering-iron blast lamp is similar in 



construction and operation. The reservoir, however, 



is attached immediately and rigidly to the burner, which 



is provided with numerous holes for admitting air, 



and is operated with the thumb. It costs about three 



dollars. Another utensil which is used to some extent 



in Germany, although it probably will find little use here, 



is the coffee roaster. 



Although the flame is practically color- 

 less and non-luminous, alcohol can furnish 

 most efficient and satisfactory illumination. 

 For this purpose the intense heat of the 

 alcohol flame is employed to bring to a 

 white heat a so-called Welsbach mantle, a 

 gauze-like hood which incloses the flame. 

 It is composed of combinations of the rare 

 chemical elements cerium, thorium, erbium, 

 yttrium and zirconium. This form of light 

 was first invented by the Austrian chemist, 

 Auer von Welsbach. The man- 



Burner for the Alcohol Flat Iron 



Solid Alcohol Burning in 

 an Open Vessel 



tie emits a soft, intensely white 

 light when strongly heated, 

 without undergoing any per- 

 manent chemical or physical 

 change. These mantles are 

 now widely used with gas on 

 a specially constructed burner, 

 and it is a well-known and 

 demonstrated fact that the 

 cost of gas consumption for 

 equal lighting effect is much less than with the naked self- 

 luminous gas flame. 



In order to secure the most intense heat and therefore the 

 greatest illuminating power, as well as for other reasons, the 

 gas is burnt in the Welsbach light in what is known as the 

 Bunsen burner, in which alcohol can be utilized. It is vapor- 

 ized at the base by the heat of the metal burner, mixes with 

 air and burns at the top within the mantle, producing the 

 well-known Welsbach light. In substance, therefore, the 

 Welsbach gas light and alcohol light are the same. The 

 only difference is in the addition of a suitable arrangement 

 at the base to vaporize the alcohol. 



The vaporizing section of the alcohol lamp does not differ 

 much in external appearance or size from the ordinary kero- 

 sene lamp. Complete lamps of several varieties are shown 

 in the illustrations. The base of an ordinary oil lamp may 

 be used without change, 

 an additional mantle 

 holder and vaporizing 

 part for the alcohol being 

 all that need be pur- 

 chased new. The lamp 

 is started by the ignition 

 of a little alcohol at the 

 base, obtained either by 

 pumping up a few drops 

 by pressing the little 

 handle projecting from 

 the base of the burner or 

 by the addition of a few 

 drops from a can through 



Simple Spirit Cooker 



