Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-08-17
Ih@ Sire press.
WATER GAS.
How Water and Oil are Made to
Mingle for Our Enlightenment.
Their Old-time Hostility Overcome
for Burlington's Benefit.
Rival Process TO That of Coal Gas
Making The Manufacture In this

iur llScit slrOnp lnleTcsl III lllullinillHs
gas manufacture --,hat il, the men VIII,
really are the Standard oil company con,ro
as the United Gas improvement company
the patents for the process of making ga
from oil and water, a process which is fas
coming into use throughout the country and
has been in use in this city since 1870.
vigorous struggle with the coal gas com
panies is now going on in Brooklyn, arising
from the desire of the Standard oil men tc
find profitable method for disposipg al
Brooklyn of the waste naphtha from theil
oil retnerics. The naphtha costing them
but little, rs it was not readily sal.
able in the large quantities they had,
they were able TO make Il strong push for the
control of the Brooklyn gas supply, and sue
cceded in getting possession of or straugiing
most of the coal sas companies, though two still
hold out, and they have changed most of the
works to the oil.and-watcr process. At the
same time their apparatus has been steadily
replacing the old machinery in other cities
and to-day supplies scores of large towns
Our Burlington gas light company had since
the start in 1854 been making coal gas, hav-
ing been incorporated November s. 1862 and
They had been charging SO 60 athousind feet
when IN 1879 they adopted the new process.
They found the change saved 40 cents
thousand of the cost of making, and accord
ingly after snme variations of price, they re-
duced the change to consumers to SO, the
present rate. They hold that they are giving
better gas than formerly, since the oil gas
is whi,cr aud Of an inttnser flame than the
other, and its richness in illuminating power
is att strd by the very carbon which house
wives complain blackens the ceilings. Thecom-
pany aims 10 furnish gas OF IL candle power
and say they are able to regulate the quality
without material variation, and much more
certainly than with coal gas, since the densi-
ty and composition of the oil used is fixed
fact, while no one knows what a shovel full
of coal may send forth. They find that the
chief saving to them is in the item of labor
since where four men were constantly en-
ployed in the difficult and uncGasng
work of charging the ietorts with coal watch,
ing to prevent the variations of temperature
that materially affect the product, and attend
ing to the manifold details of coal gas max
ing only two men are steadily busted with
the simple and compact apparatus now used,
and gas enough is made between a. IN. and
noon TO supply the city for day or two.
There is an advantage in the storage of oil
compared with the bulky coal ficights are
lighter but after all there is little advantage in
the cost of material used, especially In n city
so far from market as this. At the works,
which are at the corner of Bank and Battery
streets, the apparatus is most conveniently
arranged for the employees, as upon one plat
form in corner of the main building are a
number of gauges showing the exact condi-
tion of the il,gases, etc. in all their various
stages Of progress toward light-givipg, and
stop-cocks and cut-offs are right at hand,
The oil is stored in large tank separated
by coal shed from the works, 10 carloads
OF 100 barrels each making years supply,
and about $50 tons of coal is required for
heating purposes. In another part of the
yard are the purifying tanks, or ''scrubbers, "
and the large "a holder. There is hardly a
variation OF hundredth of II gallon in the
quantity of oil required to produce thousand
feet OF gas. In experiments ut Utica about
3 Ito gallons made 1000 feet between Ga
and GO pounds of coal bengused The aver
age cost of publication for one month was
between four and five cents per thousand.
The handsome profits that might be shown
from such figures are, however, to be had
only on paper owing to the great proportion
OF gas lost by escape and condensation in the
service pipes. This loss is estimated to be
as great as Onc-fourth at times.
The gas business in this city is by no
means large as there are only $50 metres in
use, but TO supply the customers the CON-
pany is Obliged to run 10l miles of mains,
which are being gradually extended for new
customers. a large part of our families and
many stores use the cheaper kerosene light,
and being an inoifensivc and properly som.
nolent community the gas mans interest is
not forwarded by extravagant illupinaion
o nights. The city is the main customer,
paying, besides the lights in public build
ings, for "a street gas lamps, at $25 year.
These lamps are gagged TO burn five feet au
hour, and it can be truly said for the credit
OF the company that these lights are much
more satisfactory than those the average
city groans over. No sober Buringtonian need
have trouble in distinguishing between lamp
post aud hitching post on dark nights.
The lampliehter is hired by the company,
who have the entire charge OF the lamps
The naphtha lamps which glitter or
try to in some parts of the city are
under the governments charge. Hon. n.
Parker is president of the Burlington gas
light company and f, ii. Parker secretary
and superintendent. There are about As
stockholders and the capital is 100000
nominally, $50, 900 being paid in.
The system of the Lowe water-gas appara.
tus as in use in this city is that OF mixed by.
drogcn and carbonic oxide gases produced by
temperature and afterward combined with
richly carburettcd gases derived from petro-
leum to give Illuminating power. Thus the
chief difference is that the basis of coal gas is
marsh gas and the bass of water gas is hy-
drogen gas. The value Of coal gas for illu-
mination depends on the quantity of olefiaut
gas and SCOT that it contains.
The generating apparatus is in two parts,
the generator, u small upright cylinder
right cylinder reaching from the ground floor
nearly to the roof and filled with friedrich,
piled Lighthouse"
When the making of gas begins in the
morning the generator is filed with anthra-
cite, which,ls lighted.and forced to great heat
by currents of air from blast pipes. The
coal gives of its gases which are used TO heat
the bricks of the superheater, the gases being
carried out the top of the generator, through
connecting pipes and into the base OF the su-
perheater, where they are ignl,ed and forced
TO an intense heat by air blasts. They pass
upward through a perforated arch and the
mass of loose tre-brick and out the smoke
stack. BY this means when the coal in the
generator Is only at cherry-red the super
heater is at white heat. All is then ready
for the manufacture of Illuminating gas. The
blast is shut off, the top of the superheater
closed and the outlet is opened TO the purify
ing machinery, the holder and finally the
street mains Hot steam is then introduced
below the incandescent coal in the generator,
while crude petroleum OF ordinary density is
at the same time allowed to trickle slowly in
by siphon tubes on top of the glowing coal,
or coke. Being vaporized by the heat as il
enters, it together with the hydrogen gas
evolved from the contact of the steam
with the hot coke is swept on to
and through the conducting pipes
and the white-hot brick of the super
heater, being compounded and made a
permanent gas in the fiery trial, and thence
It PUSHES on to tho purifying apparatus.