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SOME EXPERIMENTS IN HEATING BY GAS. 



It may be mentioned in passing, that before the 

 apparatus was put in, the use of the gas stove in 

 cooking and ironing was always sufficient to keep 

 the kitchen warm. Witli gas, all the heat of a 

 cook stove is available at once, and the preparation 

 of breakfast is always sufficient to warm the room. 

 The average time used to prepare breakfast is 

 twenty minutes, except in baking bread or potatoes. 

 The temperature in the room with two burners 

 lighted usually rose a little less than one degree a 

 minute ; for instance, the room being 40° at 

 start would be 57° in 20 minutes. The usual 

 temperature of the room in prolonged cooking, 

 roasting, baking, etc., and on ironing days was 70°, 

 and in moderate winter weather often 80°. These 

 points are of interest as showing that an ordinary 

 gas stove (with a hood over it connected with the 

 chimney for removing odors and steam) will keep 

 any room of ordinary size perfectly comfortable 

 while the stove is in use. 



In such an experiment as this, the kind of gas 

 burner used was of the utmost importance and a 

 number of burners from different makers were 

 tried, all of them burning twenty feet of gas per 

 hour. The burner finally selected as being the 

 best was a triple burner with three flames, made by 

 the Superheating Gas Company, Chambers street, 

 New York. In this burner the air mixed with the 

 gas is heated by the flame before it is mingled 

 with gas. The result was a kind of imperfect re- 

 generative gas flame of a deep blue color at the 

 bottom and a vivid crimson on top. This burner 

 would easily melt a pot of lead and would heat a 

 quarter-inch bar of iron red hot in a few seconds. 



In order to obtain accurate results in the experi- 

 ments, a thermometer was fixed in the flow pipe 

 near the lower radiator, to give the temperature of 

 the hot water. A thermometer was also placed 

 out of doors on the northeast corner of the build- 

 ing and in each room. The apparatus was usually 

 started late in the afternoon and used till 10 o'clock 

 or all night in severe weather. Occasionally, in 

 in cold storms the apparatus was used all day. 

 The following are some of the results obtained : 



Jan. 13. Calm, clear night, started at 4 p. m.; 

 at 9 p. M., outside temperature 18°, kitchen, 70° ; 

 chamber, 65° ; water, 145°. At g o'clock the gas 

 was turned down low and left to burn all night. At 

 7.30 o'clock next morning, the temperatures were, 

 outside, 20° ; kitchen, 58° ; chamber, 5o° ; water, 

 80°. 



Jan. 16. Started at 5 p. m., temperature at 10, 

 p. M., outside, 22°; kitchen, 65°; chamber, 65°; 

 water, 130°. In the night a severe, cold, easterly 



storm, with snow and sleet, set in. The gas had 

 burned dim all night and was turned on full at 8, 

 A. M.,with the following records during the day, the 

 storm being very severe. 2 p. m., outside, 30° ; 

 both rooms, 60° ; water, 137°. 6 p. m., outside, 

 30°; kitchen, 80°; chamber, 70°; water, 150°. 

 This higher temperature in the kitchen is partly 

 accounted for by cooking. 



Jan, 22. Bad easterly rain-storm. The tempera- 

 ture remained uniform all day. Outside, 30° ; 

 kitchen, 65° ; chamber, 63° ; water, 145°. 



Feb. 3. Started at 6 p. m., burned till 11.30 p. 

 M. At that hour the temperatures were, outside, 

 30°; kitchen, 72°; chamber, 72°; water, 157°. 



Feb. 4. Cold, high northwest wind all day. 

 Started at 9 a. m., burned twelve hours. Tem- 

 perature uniform. Outside, 20° ; kitchen, 54° ; 

 chamber, 68° ; water, 145°. Gas turned down dim 

 at 9 p. M. and the temperatures the next morning 

 were, outside, 10° ; both rooms, 52° ; water, 100°. 



Feb. 5. Started at 5 p. m. At 10.30 p. m. the 

 temperatures were, outside, 28° ; kitchen, 72° ; 

 chamber, 70°: water, i5o°; there being a cold 

 westerly wind. 



These results it would be observed, were obtained 

 by a rude, imperfect and wasteful boiler, with no 

 chimney, the products of combustion simply escaping 

 into the cellar. So great was the excess of heat lost 

 through the top of the boiler that the ceiling over the 

 boiler had to be protected with tin to prevent dan- 

 ger from fire. The cellar was also kept at all times 

 uncomfortably warm. The apparatus was used on an 

 average six hours every other day, with occasion- 

 ally ten or twelve hours with the gas turned more 

 than half off. The cost of the gas at ^1.50 per 

 thousand feet, which is an average price in small 

 towns ; was three cents per hour for the two rooms, 

 or one cent and a half per room, and about half of 

 this at night when only a moderate temperature 

 was required. The actual amount of gas used in 

 the month of January was about 3,000 feet, it be- 

 ing used nineteen times in thirty-one days, at an 

 average cost of 23^ cents per day. This is, of 

 course, much more expensive than coal used in two 

 stoves. On the other hand, it is safe to say that 

 with a proper boiler, one quarter part of the gas 

 might have been saved. Then, too, it must be 

 noticed that no kindlings were required, no coal 

 carried upstairs and no ashes carried down. There 

 was absolutely no dust or dirt and no labor beyond 

 the lighting of a match and the turning of a valve. 

 The cost of the apparatus was, of course, far in 

 excess of the cost of stoves, the plant costing about 

 ^35. It will, on the other hand, last a great many 



