The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-05-30

Y. y u : IT, f IL gsg61 u K
ELECTRIC u0itTe IN fttE HOUSE
IA NOT At ALL DANGEROUS.

Fr7 r u
EtecTaio LlosTs II ~ NOUS
"a NOT At ALL DHNoERous.
Great Care, However. should ne EzercissS
When the Wires Are Strung Threashon
tire Different Rooms Of . DwsnI.x
lightning Arresters.
When wires are properly erected, tn,
oafety devices adequate and the Insulation
perfect. incandescent electric light wire,
are no more menace than gas or waite,
pipes. A proof Of this lies in the fact thai
their use calls for no increased insuranc,
rates and in some instances tends to q re
duction.
The question as to how houses should bs
wired SO as to give most satisfaction is ar
all important one just now both to archi
tects and people who prefer the luxury Of
electricity In their homes. The answer tc
the question will mainly depend on lust
what the owners desires may be. Some
principles are applicable in all cases.
Recent discussions and experiments tend
to show, IL the cost does not prove prohibi.
tive, that each and every outlet in q room
should be carried direct to the center of dis
tribhtion or. in other words, that each cir.
cult In the building should have but one
outlet In any apartment. BY pursuing
such a method one will be in position "a
take advantage Of any new improvements
or radical changes which may occur in the
future methods OF electric r.htng. It IL
perhaps desirable that such acuits should
ordinarily consist of wire not smaller than
No. IL gage, while in the case of very
large mansions several stories ia height
and covering large area perhaps No. 10
or In extreme cases possibly No. 9
gage might on some few circuits prove
desirable. Such construction would Of
course very materially enhance the cost Of
the Installation, but it would not In many
instances prove prohibitive.
II division Of the question must be
made, then the next best move would be to
have all chandelier outlets on a separate
circuit and group the bracket lights on sep.
arate circuits, as it is at present done. By
having the chandelier outlets on separate
circuit, one of the petite and ornate small
candle power arc lamps could be employed
In the reception hall. parlor and dining
room. The small arc lamp is of nominal
AoO-candle power and consumes current
equal to from four to six 16-candle power
b0-volt lamps. So it is obvious that as soon
as some few details OF construction Of the
lamps are improved upon arc lamps Of
small candle power are, for economic rea,
sons, likely to be quite generally employed
AT the national electric light convention
held In this city perfect gems Of arc lamps
were displayed. They were all, however
designed to burn on the direct current sys
milf =. Al
system employed exclusively In St. Louis.
The chandelier outlets should ALWAYS be con.
trolled by q switch and the lights in the re-
ception hall, at least, SO wired up that they
can be controlled from two or more points,
When lights are placed in the cellar, it Is
desirable to have one or more Of them con
trolled by q switch placed at the head OF
the cellar stairs and like arrangement for
the attic lights, the switch to be located at
the most convenient point.
In the rear hall, bathroom, cellar and
like apartments lamps of 1o-candle power
Will afford ample illumination and result
in quite marked saving.
In the east more than In the west, dec
crative effects in small candle power lamps
are growing in favor, and when the lamps
are arranged artistically, with picturesque
effects, the result is pleasing in the ex.
IRENE.
A growing feature in the employment of
the electric current for household purposes
is the Introduction Of culinary devices and
household utensils which can be heated by
the electric current. To maintain them in
constant service would involve great ex
pense, but the advantage of being able to
employ them in cases Of emergency makes
them worthy OF interest and consideration
For instance, no one would think Of heat
ing hatirons, curling irons, chatting dishes
or teapots by the electric current every day
in the year. But occasions often arise
when it would be very convenient TO be
able to heat them without building coal
fire.
Nervous people are frequently more
alarmed than is justifiable at the possibility
not probability-of lightning discharges
entering their residences through the path
afforded by their electric light wires.
When arresters are insisted upon, one
should be provided for each leg of the cir
cult, and preferably they should be located
on exterior walls. A speaker at the con-
yention discussed this phase of house il
Elimination very intelligently He said:
1.-THE main wire should lead to good
ground in as straight path and with as
bend offers source of self induction detri-
mental to the flow of lightning discharge.
The source of ground cannot be too perfect.
Have several of them radiating off to diff
ferent points, to a mass of metal in a well
or soldered to water main, SO should one
fail the other may be relied upon. The
lightning arrester itself should be an in
strument devoid of fuses, be capable of rup.
turing instantly the arc formed and still
remain set for a second discharge; should
be free from all moving parts, not absorb
energy and should be SO reliable and sub
stantial that it could be set up anywhere
and forgotten and still perform it's duty
No matter how perfect the arrester is, it is
valueless unless it has a good ground con
nection and straight copper wire without
bends or turns connecting the two.
IA good way to make reliable earth
connection is to drive a 12-foot iron pipt
into the earth, to which is soldered No
wire. The pipe should be driven under
! the ground and covered with cake
| Another desirable feature is to have {
proper switch within, and at the point
where the wires enter the building fol-
which service preference should be given Il
what are known as knife blade switches
| All fuses, irrespective of their capacity
should be supplied with terminals Of
harder metal, say copper, which will tn,
better tend to preserve the continuity Of tn,
service. u. G. Boyd in st. Louis Post-D
/ patch.
A Comedians First Appearance.
Jimmie Powers always tells funny
/ stories, SO he Ia right in line when he tells
funny one about his first appearance
The Dlgy was "BuckshOt Nell3 md wa,