The morning times., 1896-05-10
WEIRD GAS WORKS
ON NATURES PLAN
Wonderful Region in Indiana Full of Flames, Fumes.
Explosions and Strange PerilS.
FIRES BURST FORTH FROM THE GROUND
Four Great s50HOrsePOwer Steam Engines Pump Streams
of Gas Into Miles of Pipe
STRANTOWh ONCE CAME NEAR BEING THE Capital
r Great 550-HOrse-POwer Steam Engines Pump Strea1
of Gas Into Miles of Pipe.
sTRAWT0NN ONCE CAME NEAR BEING THE Capital
Now Has the Distinction of Being One of the Interesting
Points in Famous Natural Gas Region
THREE CITIES SUPPLIED BY A DANGEROUS PROCESS

wells is as constantly decreasing, having
+ IdIicu recently from $50 pnunus To 22o
pounds u the square lnCD. Inc CONSEQUENCE
Is tudt there Is not enough pressure To- Iorce
! Tie gas through the mans as lar as thirty
i miles Ia sufficient quantity 10 meet Tie de-
mand.
I The company was met with complaints
I from customers ON all bJnus That their gas
I dld not reach them and finally luund itsels
III great trouble realizing that eItner moro
duu larger mains must be laId at once or
that The pressure at the wells must be in.
Creased. They accepted the latter al
Tentative, hence the great pumping sta
uOu near rawtOwn, which is taking
IN gas at pressure of 125 pounds 10 the
square iucn ami delivering II at 800
pounds. Through this pumping station
passes l.5OU-OOO cubic feet OF gas per
nOur. calculated at the ORDINARY con-
sumpuOu-pressure OF eight ounces. CO.,
600 feet being burned every hour under
the boilers.
Why this great pressure at the wells
when the cOnSumpti on pressure IS SO
small? Is 1t necessary to TaIse the press
ure 10 800 pounds when at the burners
III Indianapolis . ounces is All mat is
wanted2 The answer TO this lies u ths
enormo Gus friction of the gas rushing
| through the ten or twelve inch pipes at
the rate of million and a hair cubic
feet au hour. Though the gas Is sent
out from the pumping station at a press
ure OF 800 pounds, il reaches the re
1 duCIug stations outside the city at only
| 40 or 80 pounds. AT these reducing sta
uODs OF which there are several, the
/ pressure is still further lowered for puF-
| poses or cousumption-in different de-
grccs according to the size OF the main
/ III the part OF the town for which 1t is
| intended Every reducing valve is closely
/ rff.sb he'd nv rr-Nf a. fU
| keep the pressure uniform and all the
! stations are connected by telephone. .
The pumps at StrawtOwn supply $4,000
| burners in Indianapolis alone. The gas 10
| used Chiefly mixed with air. .is in the ordi-
| nary Bunsen burner The lighting done
/ with 1t IS therefore usually on The Wells.
/ bach and other iuCandeSCent systems,
though it gives a pasSably good light when
/ burned directly like the ordinary city gas
| The combination with air - effected in
| sO-called mixers before the gas is led
/ into the burner. whether for lighting or
/ heating. Ii has recently been found neces-
/ Sary to protect these ''miXeTs' by law,
| as the thrifty Indiana consumer got INTO
/ the habit OF boring them cut 81 as TO OBJ
! tain Il larger orifice. aud consequently
| greater supply OF gas. This has now been
/ made a criminal OffenSe, and, = m further
/ 70 protect the companies. a piece of hard.
| enei steel set iu COniCai bearing is in
| serted in each mixer. so that an autemptto
/ bore 1t out is useless. and a trial az forcing
| a hole with nail smaSheS the whole mixer
| and compels an appeal to the con pany for
| repairs. This device has been patented
! and works excellentIy. I
I In spit Z of the convenience Of natural gas
! u cannot be denied that its U.s. is attended
| with some danger, and, besides the usual
| risks that are more or less familiar there
/ are others surrounded with all the mys-
4 teries OF spontaneous combustion. For in
| stance. the mains. which run three feet
| underground often leak at the Joints,
/ impregnatIug the soil with gas ana killing
| veget ton for fifteen or twenty feet
around. &
| When these leaking joints are in a sandy
| clay peculiar TO the region, they burst into
| flame as soon as the air gets access 70 them,
| the gas having formed compound that Is
| spontaneously inflammable, perhaps with
the lime in the soil. II is necessary for
workmen who are looking for leaks To have
| pile of sand ready to smother the flames
| that are so apt TO break out Nor is this
all. The clay often gets into the pipes,
| forming hard balls, and after these are res
| moved and left in the air they often catch
| fire. The changer to property and the neees-
sity of care on the part of wOrkmen is OBJ
| viOus