no 
House & Garden 
T here is 
Just One 
Reedcraft 
COMPANY 
Los Angeles 
827 West Seventh 
L IKE other recognized 
quality-marks—such as 
“Steinway” on a piano, 
‘Minton” on china, “Gor¬ 
ham” on silverware — the 
name “REEDCRAFT” speci¬ 
fies one distinct make of reed 
furniture—the highest quality in 
its particular line. This name is 
burned into the under side of 
every piece of Reedcraft. 
Entirely handmade from specially 
selected imported reed. No nailed 
on braids, loose ends or spliced 
strands. Sturdy, comfortable and 
adaptable to all uses. Antique 
ivory, grays, pastel shades, or the 
new golden azure—as well as the 
natural reed. For sale by leading 
furniture dealers. 
HOW to CHOOSE a 
T HE heating system is as essential 
to a home as the foundation, and 
whether the family lives in comfort or 
exists in discomfort, for six months or 
more during the year, is determined by 
the correct functioning of this highly 
important part of the household equip¬ 
ment. Every one wants comfort and 
there is always a “best system” to pro¬ 
duce this condition. There is always 
a reason for the remark that is so often 
overheard, namely, “I’d never live in 
that house of Jane’s, it is never com¬ 
fortable.” One or more of several 
causes may be responsible, including: 
faulty design or operation, inferior ma¬ 
terials or construction conditions of an 
unusual character. 
Haphazard rules have had full sway 
in the selection of house heating sys¬ 
tems, as the previously mentioned state¬ 
ment attests, and the one and only safe 
rule for choosing the right method of 
heating has been lost sight of or ig¬ 
nored, namely, economy of operation. 
A mistake in the choice of the heating 
plant is never ending in its penalties 
to the person who must live in the 
house, and a remedy is possible only 
with considerable expense. 
Profiting by the mistakes of others 
and observing a few simple rules will 
assure the home builder permanent 
comfort, better health, and an increased 
value for his property. 
THE HEATER’S PURPOSE 
A heating plant’s efficiency or ability 
to maintain a comfortable temperature 
under all conditions is determined by 
the selection of the proper heating me¬ 
dium, design of equipment, installation 
and operation, size, type, location and 
construction of the house. Every house 
is a separate problem, so that brick, 
frame, hollow-tile, or stucco buildings 
require different treatment, and special 
consideration must be given to struc¬ 
tures of compact or rambling charac¬ 
ter. 
Matters of practical design may well 
be left to the architect or heating con¬ 
tractor, who make a specialty of this 
work, but it is best to be assured of 
a guaranteed temperature of 70° in 
the house, when it is zero or below, 
outside. This matter should be handled 
in accordance with local conditions. It 
is a mistake, when planning to build, 
to arbitrarily set an amount for the 
heating work and then make the bid 
come within that figure. A better plan 
is to have bids submitted on a uniform 
standard of material, for while all heat¬ 
ers may look alike, there is as much 
difference in their quality as there is in 
automobiles. The lowest bid might 
well be the subject of greater suspi¬ 
cion than the highest. 
THE FOUR METHODS 
Four methods of heating are recog¬ 
nized as being the best for homes and 
in the order of the initial cost they are: 
warm air, steam, vapor-vacuum and 
hot-water. Each has its merits in spe¬ 
cific cases and bearing in mind that 
economy of operation should be the 
the basis for selecting the plant, the 
particular advantages of the four sys¬ 
tems are: 
1. Warm-air—lowest initial cost, 
clean, healthful heat, easily adjustable 
to meet changing weather conditions. 
2. Steam-powerful, quick respond¬ 
ing heat, suitable for almost every 
building, easily regulated and flexible. 
3. Vapor-vacuum—steady, perfectly 
controlled heat, economical and noise¬ 
less. 
4. Hot-water—most economical in 
fuel consumption where unvarying tem¬ 
perature is required for long periods, 
noiseless in operation. 
In comparing the various systems, 
HEATING SYSTEM 
it is evident that, where intermittent 
service is wanted, the warm air furnace 
is the most satisfactory, for as soon as 
a fire is started, heat is immediately 
available. It is also preferred by some 
people because they consider that the 
radiators, used with steam and hot 
water systems, are unsightly. Better 
ventilation and humidity control are 
possible with furnace heat, room regis¬ 
ters are small and inconspicuous, opera¬ 
tion is noiseless and odorless. 
Steam, vapor-vacuum and hot water 
systems will operate for longer periods 
without attention, and experience has 
shown that for equal results they show 
greater coal economy, though care in 
operation will largely govern this item. 
Smaller pipes and radiators are used 
with steam and vacuum plants than 
with hot water, while more even and 
lower temperatures are possible with 
vacuum and hot water plants than with 
steam. 
The successful operation of the warm 
air system of heating depends upon the 
natural laws of heated air rising and 
cold air descending. It consists of a 
heater enclosed within a sheet iron 
casing, a supply connection for cold air, 
leader pipes to convey the warmed air 
to wall stacks and room registers. The 
warm air circulating in the rooms over¬ 
comes the heat losses from windows and 
walls. 
THE HEATER AND FURNACE 
A furnace’s efficiency is determined 
by the amount of properly heated air 
it will supply in a given time, and the 
success of the whole system depends 
upon the scientific proportioning of the 
various parts. In this connection the 
area of the cold air supply duct should 
be equal to the area of the warm 
air pipe of the furnace, in order to 
furnish an adequate volume of air to 
the heater. It is customary to take the 
air from three places, namely all from 
outside, all from inside or part from 
each place. The latter two methods 
show great savings of fuel over the 
first method as the air can be more 
quickly heated. When an inside air 
supply or the recirculation method is 
used, air is taken from the coolest parts 
of the house, such as halls. 
In the heater proper, the relation of 
the grate surface, heating surface, size 
of fire-pot, ash-pit and fire travel are 
important for satisfactory service. A 
large grate surface and small heating 
surface would mean burning a great 
quantity of coal, a large fire and a 
weak flow of air to the rooms. Grate 
and fire-pot construction govern the 
amount of coal burned and the proper 
burning of the gases, so that all of the 
available heat units are extracted and 
put to work. Tight joints between the 
castings are of the greatest importance, 
so there will be no possibility of dust 
or gases to filter into the warm air 
chamber. A generously proportioned 
ash-pit saves grate bars and provides 
a better air supply for combustion. 
In placing the furnace, preference 
should be given to a central location 
and in piping, favor should be shown to 
the north and west sides. Pipes and 
stacks should be pitched and shaped 
so that the flow of air will not be re¬ 
tarded and upper floor wall stacks 
should be run up inside walls so 
wind and .other weather conditions will 
not affect the circulation of air. Reg¬ 
isters should have free area in propor¬ 
tion and should be above the floor line 
so that they will not catch dirt and 
spoil the quality of the air supplied for 
heating. 
With the average house construction 
of today, to maintain a temperature 
of 70° in zero weather, about 5 lbs. 
of coal per square foot of grate surface, 
(Continued on page 112) 
