1016 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 19, 1924 
All Sorts 
Sun Heat for Power and 
Cooking 
Solar Fires. —We have many ques¬ 
tions about the possibility of using the 
heat of the sun to develop steam power, 
or heat for household work. From time 
to time extravagant articles appear in 
the daily papers giving the public to un¬ 
derstand that through some remarkable 
new process solar energy has been util¬ 
ized, so that in the future there will be 
no need of using coal or other fuel. Every¬ 
one is familiar with the heat generated 
by the ordinary burning-glass. By using 
a small mirror and holding it so that the 
sun rays are concentrated, it is quite pos¬ 
sible to set paper on tire, or the rays 
may be used to inflict a serious burn upon 
human flesh. We have read the report of 
a murder trial where it was demonstrat¬ 
ed that sun rays concentrated upon the 
breach of a rifle exploded a shell which 
killed a man. There are also records of 
fires which have been started from milk 
cans placed in the sun near a woodshed. 
The bright tin of these cans reflected and 
concentrated the sun’s rays upon a bunch 
of kindling, causing a blaze which led to 
a serious fire. 
Government Investigations. —While 
these things are possible, very few prac¬ 
tical devices have yet been developed for 
utilizing this source of heat. The gov¬ 
ernment has issued a pamphlet entitled 
“Utilization of Solar Energy,” which 
gives an account of work thus far accom¬ 
plished along this line. In the produc¬ 
tion of steam from the direct rays of the 
sun, several devices have been worked 
out. In one case an ordinary form of 
hotbed is used. There are double layers 
of glass, with about an inch between 
them, and directly under this glass are 
large iron pipes with a circulation of 
water through them. On a hot sunny day 
it has been quite easy to generate consid¬ 
erable steam power in a plant of this sort. 
The heat of the sun concentrated by the 
double layers of glass in this so-called 
hot-box will raise the temperature of the 
iron pipes up to 250 degrees, and this pro¬ 
duces a considerable quantity of steam, 
which has been used to operate pumps 
and other machinery. These plants oper¬ 
ate fairly well in a dry, sunny climate, 
such as is found in Arizona or Northern 
Mexico. A plant of this sort was operat¬ 
ed at one time in Egypt, with consider¬ 
able success. 
Method of Operation. —The picture 
on this page gives an idea of the plan of 
operation. The curved mirror is made of 
glass, and is arranged so that it can be 
turned slowly, so as to receive the full 
power of the sun during the day. A long 
boiler or series of boilers shown in the 
picture is stretched through the center 
of this mirror so that the reflected energy 
from the sun falls directly upon the 
boiler and raises the water which it con¬ 
tains to a high temperature. With this 
arrangement a good head of steam can 
be maintained during the day. Of course 
when the sun does disappear at night the 
temperature falls until no steam is gen¬ 
erated. The first cost of such an ap¬ 
paratus is very heavy, and since it can 
‘be operated only during the day, these 
drawbacks have prevented sun power 
from competing with the power of coal, 
gasoline or flowing water. The scientific 
men, however, seem to believe that these 
handicaps will be overcome in time and 
that there will actually be practical re¬ 
sults from this method of producing heat. 
California Plans. —In California con¬ 
siderable work has been done in utilizing 
sun heat for domestic purposes. Prob¬ 
ably the simplest plan in this line is to 
cover a part of a roof with glass. Under¬ 
neath this glass will be 'placed a set of 
reservoirs filled with water and connect¬ 
ed with the water system in the house. 
On bright days t&e heat of the sun, act¬ 
ing through the glass, will heat the water 
in these reservoirs so that it may be 
used for bathing purposes, and in some 
cases even for cooking. This is the sim¬ 
plest plan of using heat for domestic pur¬ 
poses. In some cases it has given fair 
satisfaction, the trouble, of course, being 
that the heat is not provided except dur¬ 
ing bright days. 
Solar Cooker. —Experiments have been 
tried in using solar radiation for cooking 
purposes, and some little ingenuity has 
been displayed along this line. The pic¬ 
ture given below shows what is called a 
“solar cooker,” and operated with some 
success in California. A mirror, as 
shown in the picture, with a concave in¬ 
terior, is used to collect the rays of the 
sun. This mirror is so placed that it can 
be turned so as to meet the direct sun 
rays during the day. A simple clockwork 
device operates to turn the mirror with 
the sun, just as required. The cooking is 
done in an iron reservoir holding about 40 
gallons, and inclosed in a thick layer of 
non-conductive material. This reservoir 
The Great Mt. Wilson Solar Cooker 
Shuman-Boys Absorber for Utilizing Solar Heat 
is shown above the mirror and attached 
to the post. Inside this reservoir are 
ovens which are reached through doors 
opening through the insulating cases 
which surround the oven. This reservoir 
around the ovens is filled with gas engine 
cylinder oil, of a high boiling point. It 
has three 2%-in. pipes leading to it from 
the top, the middle and the bottom. These 
pipes are connected with a straight pipe 
running directly through the mirror and 
connected so that it completes the circu¬ 
lation, very much the same as that in 
a system of hot-water heating. All parts 
of this oil circulation are wrapped with 
a non-conducting material. It will be 
easy to understand the principle of this 
device. The heat which is absorbed with¬ 
in the mirror expands the oil in the tube 
and causes it to rise, the same as in a 
hot-water system. Thus, the hot oil is 
continuously entering the top of the res¬ 
ervoir, while the cooler oil flows under 
the back of the mirror, so that it is once 
more heated. This hot oil circulating 
through the reservoir around the oven 
raises the temperature to a high point, 
fully hot enough for cooking, and during 
the night, or when the sun is not shining, 
the circulation of hot oil may be stopped, 
so that the heat will be held for many 
hours. 
There hare been a number of ques¬ 
tions about how to make a cellar water¬ 
proof, and we have had quite a disqps- 
sion on the subject. Prof. Smith has de¬ 
scribed a process for doing this, but one 
of our readers now calls attention to a 
plan described by Geo. M. Warren, Hy¬ 
draulic Engineer of the Department of 
Agriculture. This method consists of 
laying drainage pipes all around the 
house, below the foundation, to carry 
away the water. Hot tar or pitch is ap¬ 
plied to the cellar wall on the outside, 
from the bottom up to where the earth is 
piled against it, covering the tarred sur¬ 
face with paper, and protecting the paper 
with a skin of concrete, sloping the earth 
away from the cellar wall so as to favor 
drainage away from the house. Our cor¬ 
respondent says that water will find its 
way through all sorts of concrete, but hot 
tar covered with paper and then concrete 
Waterproofing Cement 
Cellar 
High Temperature Reached. —In a 
general way that is the principle of using 
sun heat for cooking. The mirror is 10 
ft. long and 7 ft. wide, put up in five 
sections, each 2 ft. wide. With this size 
the reflected heat is great enough to raise 
a temperature inside the ovens to over 
200 degrees Fahr. These ovens are used 
for baking, stewing, boiling, or, in fact, 
for any kind of cooking except frying. 
That, of course, requires a different kind 
of heat or blaze. The oven has been 
found particularly useful for cooking veg¬ 
etables or canning fruit. There is no 
heat about it, as the ovens are generally 
placed outside the house, and they are 
very convenient for the housewife. Nat¬ 
urally, such domestic work is only pos¬ 
sible in localities where the sun shines 
continuously, as of course this heat could 
not be produced at night or on cloudy 
days. In Southern California and the 
Southwest generally these ovens have 
been used successfully. They are a great 
convenience, and promise far greater re¬ 
sults in the future, when newer and bet¬ 
ter devices can be brought out for utiliz¬ 
ing the heat. 
will do the business. Prof. Smith says, 
commenting on this: 
“The method for waterproofing base¬ 
ments is one of the best. Unfortunately, 
however, it is also one of the most ex¬ 
pensive methods, and one adapted to the 
use of contractor’s equipment and new 
construction, rather than ordinary farm 
conditions and the repair of old buildings. 
The farmer’s resources and equipment 
are limited, and the work of waterproof¬ 
ing usually has to be done by himself in 
a more or less unskilled manner. The 
problem is to find a way that he can do 
it cheaply and succesfully. 
“In extreme cases, mere waterproofing 
of the foundation walls has little effect. 
The surrounding soil is watersoaked, and 
the water oozes up beneath the founda¬ 
tion wall and through the floor unless 
both are watertight. Where a wall is 
waterproofed, as described, the water¬ 
proofing should extend through the wall 
and floor. It is also possible, where 
there is sufficient slope to permit drain¬ 
age, that the drains about the house, 
coupled with caring for the roof water, 
would secure a dry cellar without water¬ 
proofing the walls. Where the building 
is situated on flat ground, giving no 
chance for drainage, it is another story.” 
Danger from Lead Pipe 
Is it dangerous to take water from a 
well by lead pipe, some 15 or 18 ft. long, 
for use in kitchen? Will the 8 ft. of lead 
pipe in the well affect the water which 
comes through the iron pipe to the plat¬ 
form for drinking purposes? Some neigh¬ 
bors and friends tell us the lead piping 
is quite dangerous-! c. E. u. 
Connecticut. 
It is probably impossible to say just 
what the danger in the use of lead pipe 
is without knowing just the conditions 
present, particularly as to the character 
of the water and its solvent action upon 
lead. Lead is more soluble in some wa¬ 
ters than in others because of consti¬ 
tuents found in some waters and not to 
the same degree, at least, in others. Much 
depends, too, upon how long the water 
used is exposed to the action of the lead 
of the pipe. In the case of water flowing 
through pipe only as it is pumped for 
use, there would be little opportunity 
for contamination, though a few strokes 
of the pump to empty the pipe before sav¬ 
ing the water would certainly be advis¬ 
able. As you describe the conditions at 
your well, there seems to me very little 
danger indeed of any ill effect from the 
use of the lead pipe. m. b. d. 
Cleaning Cistern 
1. What is the correct way to clean a 
cistern? What disinfectant could be 
used for washing walls, etc.? It is about 
12 ft. in diameter by 10 ft. deep; has not 
been in use for two years. I am pumping 
out the water which has a very strong 
odor. _ 2. Could you advise the best way 
to build a cesspool, size, etc.? I am in¬ 
stalling a bathroom and sink in kitchen 
with running water. House contains six 
rooms. Two persons in our family. 
New York. H. h. m. 
1. It probably will not be at all neces¬ 
sary to use any disinfectant in this cis¬ 
tern, which should be pumped out, then 
thoroughly scrubbed with clean water, 
using a broom or scrubbing brush upon 
the walls and enough changes of water to 
make it what a housewife would call 
“clean.” If it can then be filled with 
clean water and allowed to stand for a 
time before this is pumped out, so much 
the better, but, if the walls are smooth, 
you should be able to make it clean by 
ordinary methods in household practice. 
Any cistern water will acquire a bad 
odor if allowed to stand undisturbed for 
a great while. 
2. A cesspool is simply a dry well, dug 
in ground that is sufficiently porous to 
carry off liquids. If this cistern had been 
stoned up “dry,” that is without mortar, 
it would be a cesspool of about the or¬ 
dinary dimensions for the average fam¬ 
ily’s ua?. Such cesspool will not be sat¬ 
isfactory in clay or heavy loam soil, since 
these are not “Ieachy” enough, but it will 
work well in sandy or gravelly soil. A 
cesspool should be as far as possible from 
any well that is in use and on the down 
hill side of such a well. m. b. d. 
