Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-12-30
clnelrnati oommercl.I oazette.


A Young man wearing a sooty complex
ion, pair of smoked blue oyeralls, and
an oily Jumper stood before the glowing
orifces of furnace in the engine room
of the Cincinnati Spring works, on the
West side, yesterday afternoon,
The interior of the hre-boI below the
huge tubular boiler was almost incandes
cent, so intense was the heat, Through
one of the fire doors, which the young
fellow thew open for reporters inspec-
ton, could be seen the interior of the fur
mace The flames within were of light
blue sulphurous hue, that would have
served very well for the high lights of a
painting of sheol from strictly ortho-
dox point of view.
The governor ON the engine was tend
ing strictly to business and revolving at
an alarming rate of speed. The pale
face Of the steam,gauge registered
pressure OF nearly one hundred pounds.
All these concomitants of heat,
steam and power were visible, despite the
fact thai there wasn't a chunk of coal in
the engine room large enough for a
watch-charm. The heat was too sheolie
and the power too apparent TO suggest
that there was other than material meaNs
used to produce them.
On side-track beside the mandatory
stood q lying oil-tank on wheels the en-
blem of Doodle as exemplifed by the
Standard OH company. A long pipe was
attached 60 the orihce on the top of the
oil-tank and its end was lost to sight in
the bowels Of the noisy factory. A report
er traced the pipe from the oil-car into
the factory, and ascertained that by the
means of n syphon pump the oil was
/ transported from the car and deposited
in a huge tank that stood on stills near
the entrance TO the engine room. A pipe
was attached to the tank and after run
ming into the engine room disappeared
near the furnace.
The reporter asked the sOOty engineer
one or two leading questions They de-
veloped the fact that oil was used in
generating all the steam required for the
factory A cross examination of the
engineer as he stood before the glowing
furnace adduced the further information
| that the all was the crude product OF
wells in the neighborhood of Lima, Ohio's
| young, but very vigorous, rival OF Penn
| sy'vania in the product of of natural gas
and oil.
This is said tho engineer as he clos
ed the furnace doors, IAN experiment.
/ Il is the first time that crude natural oil
has ever been used in this city for the
| purpose Of generating power. The oil
is brought in tank-cars from one of the
Lima wells, and is stored in the reservoir
! tank within there. It is pumped into
the tank 10y means of a steam syphon.
4 From the reservoir tank it is
led mp TO the furnace doors here,
as you see, through this pipe. The
oil pipe is run into the furnace.
and the end OF the pipe is iacketeG by an
air-tight tube. Between the oil pipe and
! the outer tube spray of steam is run in,
The orifce of the oil pipe is within the
/ steam tube, and when the valve is turned
on the steam iniects the oil into the fur
mace, generating at the same time very
large amount OF gas This combined oil
and gas IL the only fuel used in the fur
nace. How long does it take TO generate
a sufficient amount Of steam for our usef
Why, about half an hour, And the
amount of engine power developed :
! Wen, the engine is n 100 horse power one,
aud sufficient steam is generated within
the half hour 60 start il going. 1T liz, too
a very great saving in labor II does
away with the shoyeling Of coal from the
bins into the furnace, and gives one more
time TO attend to the engine. Whom more
steam is required, instead of throwing in
q great quantity OF dirty coal oil | have
TO do is TO turn this little valve on the oil
/ pipe and Increase the quantity of crude
ell injected into the furnace. Then, too,
one is enabled 20 better regulate the
amount Of fuel, for while you couldn't de
termine just how much coal would be re
quired 90 produce a certain quantity OF
steam. by this method the eirectis instan
taneous, and you can regulate the amount
Of fnel. In addition, the spray of oil
can be thrown into the furnace constant
ly, and an equitable amount of power be-
maintained. With coal thi, couldn't be
done SO WE'LL for the fuel would have Go b,
supplied mt intervals
"And it is economicalYn
"lndirectly, yes; directly no, There il
n very great saving in the use Of crude
oil in our pudding furnaces. The saving
is fully 10 per cent. In tho engine room
the direct economy is not so great. OI
course it does away with the labor oi
shoveling coal into tho engine furnaces
and space formerly required for coal car
be utilized in other ways, but the saving
in other respects is not so great. W.
have a 100 horse power engine, anC
formerly used about fifty bushels of con
per day at a cost of say cents n bushel
or So for fuel daily. We use now, in lier
Of the fifty bushels Of coal al So, about
FIVE barrels of crude oil at 75 cents pc
barrel. The oil costs about 90 cents
barrel at the well, but the transportation
TO Cincinnati brings tho cost up TO abou
Is cents barrel as I've said. But IL yot
take the labor connected with tbs use o.
coal into consideration, there is saving
I Then, too, the use OF crude oil is muct
better ii is more easily handled aud
regulated, and is much the more clearly
Taking all things into confederation
said the young fellow, aa he prepared @
close up for the day "this experiment
with crude oil as fuel has been O very
great success
Mr.. Alfred Hess, the president Of The
company confirmed the engineers state
mont 90 the unequivacal success Of the
experiment. The use Of the crude oil IL
the furnaces produces no smoke whatever
and one glancing at the chimney Of the
works would think it was Sunday, foi
j