The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-12-02

coal p.t does very vel. azt only costs
twenty-five cents ron. without the added
expense % transportation
"a in the manufacture of regular Sater
gas. ire coal = PLACED in a closed furnace
and allowed 20 get red hot. After that ne
process Is different A steam PIPE about
tares-qaarters OK al fnch IN diameter for
haif--On charge % coal - Inserted into
b.g cve-.nch pipe. one end % which
= open 20 the ar. ard the other end %
which opens INTO the bottom q the burn
ing mass of coal
As soon as the steam Is turned on =
blows down the Hve-lnch pipe. and BY is
momentum carries 4 10, OF air with Il.
The ar and steam are mixed IN such pro-
portions That here Is enough ar 20 keep
the Ire from going out though not enough
20 prevent the steam from splitting up
into us original gases. In fact tners Is not
enough oxygen IN the air which goes IN 70
form carbonlc acid gas IN union with the
coal 50 th2- only carbon.c oxide IS formed.
AS the fire does not go out in making
prodacer gas the process - continuous aud
the resulting gases are car5on!c oxide,
hydrogen. and the nitrogen OF the afr which
undergoes no change and does 10 harm by
!ts presence
This producer gas IS now used In nearly
ali the large foundries and machine shops
OF The country for heating and melting pur-
poses. IL is highly suitable for use IN gas
engines. Its cost ls only one-fourth 10 one
NTH that OF Illuminating gas. In other
words Il might be made In New York IN
der favorable conditions and sold at
profit TO consumers az from 3 10 80 cents
per 100 cubic feet.
II IS with this producer gas that the
great gas engine makers propose TO sup
ply power al an expenditure OF less than
one pound OF coal per horsepower hour.
Nnen the great manufacturers and mer-
chants have become famiiarized with its
use We shall see q complete revolution IN
all our engine power.
The steam engine VIII be abolished. and
with IL the huge steam boilers. Already
gas engines OF so horsepower have been
erected in England. The old objections 10
their use, which were their liability TO un-
expected explosions and their excessive VI
bration. have been fairly overcome by in
ventors.
The Irish city Of Belfast, which owns its
own electric lighting plant, gets the power
10 run the dyDamOs entirely from gas en-
gines- In this country. untl some months
ago. gas engines threatened to drive out
steam engines as means OF producing
power for dynamos OF moderate size.
The steam engine gained short respite
when the Siemens-Halske Electric Com
pany introduced the plan OF coupling dyna-
mos directly 10 steam engines without the
Intervention OF a driving belt. This gave
gain in efficiency varying from TO 10
per cent. over belt-driven dynamos.
There are good reasons for believing. how
ever, that the problem OF driving dynamos
directly from gas engines Is about TO be
solved by at least one brilliant inventor.
When gas engines can be SO arranged as
10 give revolutions as steady and as con-
slant as those of steam engines, the end
OF the stationary steam engine will be IN
sight. To save half the cost of coal Is
commercial consideration which must pre-
vail, in spite OF the initial cost of replacing
steam with producer gas.