New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-01-30
The Ruttan System il the Union
BUILDING.

scnooI Dhllulng IN order to gain some
insight into the working of the new
system OF warming and ventilating in
PRODUCED last summer. The plant was
put in by the Ruttan Warming and
Ventiiating Co., Of Chicago. with A.. G.
Ochs, of this place, as contractor for.
the masonry and carpenters work.
There are four large tubular furnaces,
which are located in the basement. The
iron used in the construction of these
furnaces is of unusual thickness; when
once heated to the desired temperature,
very little fuel is required to keep them
at that temperature throughout the day.
Soft coal is used as fuel. The cost of
heating the building by the Ruttan sys-
tenn is less than one-half the amount ex-
pended for the same purpose in former
years.
Each furnace is provided with spa
cious fresh air chamber, which receives
the fresh air from without the building
BY means of ducts having an aggregate
section of over twenty square feet for
each chamber. The outer end of each
fresh air duct is closed during the night
by lowering q galvanized iron valve
which is operated from the basement by
means of pulleys. During the day, the
supply of fresh air introduced into the
building is regulated by raising and
lowering these valves, according to the
direction and velocity of the wind, the
external temperature, and the tempera-
ture of the furnace. On the side of each
furnace opposite the fresh air chamber.
there are two warm air Aues, one ex.
tending TO a scbool-room on the first
floor, and the other to the school.room
above. The greater portion of the fresh
air strikes the heated surface of the fur
mace, is warmed, and ascends in the
| warm air dues. The remainder of the
| cold, fresh air passes under the furnace
and enters at the bottom eff each fue.
At some distance above the bottom of
the fue, a valve is placed which is
operated from the school-room by means
of regulator. When the regulator
handle is turned to its highest position,
the fue valve drops, thereby shutting
off the cold air introduced below; when
the handle is turned about 24O degrees
toward the right, the valve offers no OBJ
s,ruction to the cold air. but closes the
opening by which warm air is admitted
to the tlue. By giving the handle an in
termediate position, the teacher can
mix the warm and cold air in the ilue
IN any desired ratio, thus regulating the
temperature OF the iuilowing az, as
well as that of the room. The room can
thus be kept at uniform temperature
of IS degrees throughout the day, pro
yided that the furnace is properly at
tended to.
| The warm and cold air valves men
toned above are cut little smaller
than the section of the fiue, to prevent
friction against its walls; consequently.
when the valve is in an horizontal posi-
ton, the cold air is not shut Oft entirely.
Below the warm and cold air valve in
each of the second floor fiues, a 'scut
] Oft valve has been introduced. bv
means OF which the janitor can cut of
the cold air completely from the upper
rooms, If necessary.
The warm air fiues communicate with
the rooms by means of open registers
having a surface of 6 square feet each.
1t should be noticed that all the air thus
admitted to the rooms is pure, fresh all
taken from without the building, and
4 warmed to q proper temperature. The
infnN of SO large volume of pure all
is balanced by a corresponding efflux Of
foul air. A large register is placed in
the Hoor OF each room, by which the
foul air leaves the room, dropping
through the foul air ducts into foul all
chambers. By keeping windows and
that the Well-knoWn school-room smell
has entirely disappeared. In from te
i 2 minutes a particle of air admitted
from the outside sweeps through, ;the
fresh air duct and chamber, is properly
heated. ascends to the school-room, and
after being inhaled and exhaled by the
pupil, reaches the foul air chamber.
| The pupils are thus continually breath
ing air practically as pure and invigor-
ating as that outside of the building,
air that is purer than any of them can
find in their homes. No other system
has this interdependence of warming
and ventilating. By the Ruttan system,
a room cannot be properly alarmed
without removing the foul air.
/ Another feature of inestimable value
1 from sanitary point of view is the