Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-04-08
NATURAL GAS.

NATURAL GAS.
ne Wonaerful Changes it has
Efascssa An Pistsburg.
Thie city has long been known as
he Birmingham Of the New World,
1nd il has been Justly proud Of the
title. Al . place for a comfortable
home. however, ii was formerly not
b b thought Of for moment. Now,
ureuto, sll is changed. One utterly
lnilo 81 frst to appreciate the wonder
Anl transformation that has taken
rlace here during the last four or five
yoars. The sky is no longer obscured
81 clouds of smoke and coal SCOT, and
q II not now necessary to light the
street lamps by 2 or 8 O'Clock in the
afternoon. From the heights OF MT;
Washington, on the western eide OF
The Monongahela river, l was able to
obtain an excellent bird's-eye view OF
bolh Pittsburg and Allegheny City
and Of the hills beyond. The atmos-
phore was ~ clear as that OF New
York, and tho large buildings were as
t1ietinctly visible as those on the lower
port 0f Manhattan island as seen from
the Tribune tower. A few years ago
nothing would have been discernible
but Z black and smoky cloud over
hanging and folding in like blanket
the whole valley in which the business
portion of the two cities is located.
This wonderful change is due wholly
70 the aubatitution of natural gas for
the soft coal of this region. as fuel,
both for domestic and manufacturing
purposes. Through the courtesy OF
Meesrs. Jones 4 Laughlin, the senior
member of whose firm is chairman OF
the Republican National Committee,
/ have been able to make very thor
oush inspection of their system OF
using natural gas in heating their
large furnaces, boilers, and, in fact,
everything else where fire is needed.
The works are among the largest here.
A single three-inch gas pipe, the valve
Of which was only about one-eighth
open, supplied the gas for large
ting-iurnace; in other words, only
about one-eighth of the capacity OF
the pipe was required to furnish the
necessary amount of heat. A per-
fectly steady temperature is main
tanned and, by proper care in regulat-
ing the amount of air admitted
to the burning gas, very little heat
escapes up the chimney. At the
same time it is possible to put in
heavier cha ge and bring it out in
much less time than by the former
method, the gain in the output Of the
furnace being estimated at not less
than Is per cent. At the pudding
furnaces the feeding pipe is only two
inches in diameter, and the valve
controlling the flow OF gas was only
one-sixteenth open. The large boil
ers for producing steam used in rum
ming the machinery are forty-eight
inches in diameter and thirty feet
long with six ten-inch flues. A boiler
Of this kind is fed by two-inch gas
pipe, the valve in which was only
one-half inch open this morning.
When the boilers become hot and the
flow Of gas has been adjusted, they
require little further attention, the
gas flow being steady and continuous.
There is no opening nor shutting Of
doors, no blank spaces on the grate-
bars for the entrance of cold air, no
shovelling Of coal nor carting away of
ashes, and, in fact, nothing for the
attendant to do but to keep an eye on
the steam-gauge and regulate the
fow Of gas as may be desired.
In addition to the heating furnaces
referred to and the Siemens heaters
used in the manufacture Of steel, these
works have ninety pudding furnaces
and seventy-two boilers. The employees
number nearly 5000, and the produc.
ton of the works for a recent month,
taken at random to indicate the out
put, consisted of puddled iron, 5000
tons; iron heated in ordinary Siemens
furnaces, 13. 900 tons, and steel pro-
duction 1900 tons. OF course all this
metal was also reduced to bars, plates,
etc., the steam to run the heavy
machinery being produced in the
boilers mentioned. Before the intro
duction Of gas the works consumed
over SOC, 900 tons of coal yearly, the
whole establishment is now fed by a
single gas pipe twenty inches in di-
ameter, the pressure in which is only
about one pound to the square inch.
The pressure in the pipes, waile sub
ject to control varies somewhat at
different times, but never, of late ex-
Goods that mentioned, and the entire
works have been run on a pressure of
only three ounces to the square inch.
The wonderful heat-producing
power of this gas is due chiefly to the
fact that very large percentage-in
some cases nearly. 80 per cent-of its
hydrogen, the greater calorific quail
ties of which are well-known. A
given weight in hydrogen will produce
In burning three times as much heat
~ the same weight of carbon. The
value of gas in an establishment of
this kind, as compared with coal, is
dependent in part, Of course upon the
conditions under which the two fuels
can be obtained. It is estimated,
however, that there is an average
saving by the use fgas of go to 75 per
cent, of which nearly one-half is rep
resented by the cost of the fuel and as
much more by the cost of labor and
materials. There is no ashes to be
carted away, no railroad sidings and
trestles for moving coal cars, no
switching charges, no wear and tear
OF wagons, carts, etc., nor is there a
small army of employees to take
charge of these adjuncts to the burn
ing Of coal, while, at the same time,
there is very considerable increase
in the product of the mills. Indeed,
it i confidently asserted that the
mills could not afford to use coal if it
were delivered to them free of charge.
The remarkable purity Of the gas is