The W. D. Guthrie home at Locust Valley, L. I. — C. P. H. Gilbert, architect—is lighted by three hundred electric lights operated by 
a thirty-horsepower gas engine 
Lighting the Country Home 
CONVENIENT AND TRUSTWORTHY SYSTEMS FOR LIGHTING THE COUNTRY PLACE THROUGH 
AN INDEPENDENT PLANT GENERATING ACETYLENE, ELECTRICITY OR GASOLINE VAPOR 
by T. E. Whittlesey 
N OT many years ago a great draw-back to country living lay 
in the fact that it was necessary to put up with the nuisance 
and disagreeable odor of kerosene lamps. To-day one can build 
a country home with no fear whatever of trouble on the score of 
proper lighting. There are numerous systems, all having their 
enthusiastic advocates, any one of which will do the work that is 
required of it. 
In selecting a system there are several important considera¬ 
tions to be kept in mind. In the first place, the cost of installa¬ 
tion must not be given too much weight. The initial cost of 
installing a thoroughly reliable generator will be distributed over 
many years, and if one makes his selection solely for the reason 
that a plant is cheap he may be disappointed in a very short time 
to discover that it must be torn out to make way for a new one. 
The cost of maintenance, of course, includes the fuel that is 
used, the repairs to machinery, and the labor involved in caring 
for the plant. With the use of electricity, also, it must be remem¬ 
bered that the lamps will have to be bought from time to time— 
a comparatively small item. 
In a case of a country place where not only a lighting problem 
must be solved but an adequate supply of water must be pro¬ 
vided for daily use and for fire protection, it would probably be 
well to install electricity, for the reason that the same engine used 
for producing current through the dynamo would be coupled up 
to a pump for a part of the day and both of these problems 
solved more economically in that way. 
brought into contact with water the carbide is non-combustible 
and actionless. 
An acetylene generator takes the place of the ordinary gas 
meter that would be had in districts supplied with common illumi¬ 
nating gas through street mains. In this generator the carbide 
and the water are brought into contact to produce acetylene gas. 
In some forms the carbide is dropped into the water, in others the 
water drips upon a pile of carbide, but in all types there are three 
parts to the generator — the carbide receptacle, the water tank and 
the gas tank. And in each type there is an automatic device for 
bringing the carbide and the water together just fast enough to 
make the needed amount of gas. 
From the generator, which is usually set in the basement, 
wrought iron pipes lead the gas to the various rooms, and the gas 
is delivered through a special form of burner which consumes 
about one-half cubic foot per hour — about one-tenth the amount 
burned at a common illuminating gas outlet. 
Calcium carbide costs, delivered, about $4 per 100 lbs., and 
this amount should make from 400 to 500 cubic feet of gas. A gen¬ 
erator of reliable make, with piping, brass fixtures, globes and 
burners for 35 lights, costs from $200 up, and the cost of producing 
a 24-candlepower light — the equivalent of one and a half ordinary 
16-candlepower electric lamps — is about four-tenths of a cent per 
hour. West of the Rocky Mountains the increased freight 
charges on the carbide bring the cost up about 25 per cent. 
ACETYLENE GAS 
Acetylene gas is coming to be more 
widely and favorably known through its 
use in automobile head-lights as well as 
for lighting the isolated country home. 
It has the distinction of being the whitest 
illuminant in general use, more nearly 
approximating sunlight. The gas is 
made from calcium carbide, a product 
resembling in color crushed granite and 
made by melting together in an electric 
furnace ordinary lime and coke. Until 
A five-horsepower, three kilowatt direct con¬ 
nected gasoline engine and dynamo, Twith 
switchboard, suitable for a moderate - size 
house 
ELECTRICITY 
There is no doubt that electricity has 
a strong hold upon popular favor for 
lighting purposes. Where a public ser¬ 
vice supply is not obtainable a plant may 
be installed in the cellar, stable or out¬ 
house. It consists of a dynamo, a 
switchboard and some form of engine to 
run the former. 
A combination consisting of dynamo, 
gasoline engine, switchboard and all 
equipment except wiring and installation, 
(Continued on page xxvi) 
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