Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-16
Discovery of a Device Which is
Guaranteed to Lessen the Con-
sumption of Gas in Mills.
no NEED OF RETURNING TO COAL.
A Ton Of Muck Iron Can be Produced 80
Cents Cheaper Regardless Of the
Increased Rates.
NO ROYALTIES TO PAY ON PATENTS.
Producers Say Manufacturers Must EcOnOnizs With the
Precious Fuel

The danger of the twin cities having to re-
turn to coal is a cloud less ominous than the
little coil of smoke that curIs up from the
coal fire on Monongahela river jo-boat.
Natural gas for years to come is expected
to give Pittsburg manufacturers an advant-
age over the outside world. Even if gas
should by any chance become too scarce for
the great manufacturing industries, fuel gas
can be furnished at a cost that will cut coal
bills in two, right in the middle. Therefore
there is no fear that Pittsburg will ever
again be known as the Smoky CITY,"
The secret of all this is the discovery of
new application of the principles underly-
ing the old Siemon's regenerative furnace.
1t is device by which the heating portion
of the pudding furnace is enlarged, and the
amount of the checker work correspond
ingly, so that all the radiant heat is util-
lied. The gas used in this furnace is mixed
with air heated to high temperature.
HOW THE DISCOVERY WAS MADE.
The discovery was made by Samuel Ban
mister, Vice Chairman and Manager of the
Fuel Gas and Manufacturing Company.
The results OF tests show that while it takes
an average of $4,000 cubic feet to puddle a
:on of iron by the present furnaces, with
Mr.. Bannister's process it requires less
than 14,OS0 cubic feet of gas. In other
words, it requires two and a half times as
much gas under the present system to make
ton OF iron as it does in a properly con-
structed regenerative furnace.
The Siemon's regenerative furnace was
brought out about 20 years ago to economic
the use of coal, but that article
was so cheap in Pittsburg that the
old furnaces were retained. The process
Of using heated air was what the
patent was based on, and that patent having
expired, their applicat on of that process
cannot be protected, and is therefore open
to everybody.
The change to this process will necessitate
the erection of new furnaces, but the differ
ence in cost is not more than 5000. The fur
nsces on this new system can be erected for
from $500 to s., 900 apiece. The economy in
the fuel will therefore more than justify the
expense.
AMOUNT OF GAS NOW NEEDED.
More than this, the amount Of gas con-
sumed in the production of a ton Of iron in
the present furnaces of course varies with
the style of their construction. In
as $4,000 cubic feet for each ton,
and the most extravagant test was one made
by the Philadelphia Company, in which a
furnace burned 65, 900 cubic feet of gas in
the production of ton of muck iron. Cut
ha IN lauk 10 feet
makes the present supply of gas amply sufi.
cient to supply every pudding furnace in
Pittsburg.
The old charge of the Philadelphia Com
pauy to iron manufacturers was 81 IS for
each ton of iron. The advanced rates to the
manufacturers who consumed from the Phil
adelphia Company is 10 cents per l 900
cubic feet. By using the new process,
therefore, the cost would only be 81 40, or
saving Of 35cents a ton to the manufacturers,
even at the greatly advanced rate. Itmeans
an average reduction, under the present
prices of from S3 80 a ton under the present
method, to 81 40 under the new.
There are about 600 pudding furnaces
that have been using gas in Pittsburg. The
amount of gas they consume under the
present system will be sufficient to operate
/ 800 furnaces under the new system.
STILL A GREATER DISCOVERY.
Beyond this is the greater discovery that
no matter what the heat value of the gas
NAV be, with this furnace the number of
heat units required TO produce q ton of iron
varies but a scarcely noticeable per cent.
from IL, 200, 900. With coal the number of
heat units required to 90 this work is 3d.
OO0, 900. Therefore, fuel gas will be able to
do the work in case natural gas should fail,
and at half the cost of coal
The cause of the investigations which led
to this discovery was the growing feeling
among natural gas men that there was a
possibility of the gas finding an end. Ex-
perience taught them that each year the
pressure is growing smaller, and that some
thing must be done by mill men to econo-
mize the fuel so that its career of usefulness
could be heightened.
THE DISPATCH has described numerous
appliances to economize gas in the home,
and in the above is the first to announce the
discovery of a method to prevent waste in
the mills President Brown, of the
Equitable Gas Company, was one of the
pioneers in this movement, and yesterday
spoke of his Investigations as follows:
IMMENSE SAVING POSSIBLE.
"For some time have been estimating
the amount Of gas used in pudding mills.
So far nv investigations show that it re-
ouires an average of about 81, 900 cubic foot
OF gas to make ton of muck iron. In some
furnaces the amount runs as high
as $1,000 cubic feet. This is too
much waste. The manufacturers must
understand that this precious fuel
will have to be economical. 1t will
i. possibly come to the question, not how
much will gas cost, but can we get it? Any
thing that will prevent waste OF this fuel
will be a godsend to Pittsburg. 1t is to the
interest of both gasmen and manu- facturers
to lessen this waste. There is now sufficient
gas escaping from wells to more than sup
ply all Pittsburg. These wells are in the
outlying districts, SO far away from pipe
lines of the various Pittsburg companies
that il will not pay to pipe it. If all these
wells were turned into the Pittsburg CON-
panies' mains, there would be no danger Of
shortage.
"Mr Bannister, of the Fuel, Gas and
Manufacturing Company, has discovered a
process by which only IA, 900 cubic feet o.
gas will be consumed in producing a ton ot
iron. It is not tied up by a patent, anC
every iron mill should accept this method o
stopping the waste. The process, believe
can he applied to heating furnaces and alsC
to boilers, and the saving will be wonderful
LEEGTHENING THE LIFE OF GAS.
"Unless new fields are discovered, the ga
will sometime come to an end. The pres
sure from the present fields is gradually
growing less but If manufacturers will intro
duce this new system it means they will hav,
gas two and one-half times as strong as a
present 1t means more; there Will be les
gas needed, we can bring it in smalle
d pines, The distant fields which cannot b,
raoched on account of the great cost of thu