New-York tribune., 1897-01-31

.. which means that II Is manufactured
from water and naphtha. or from water ana OIL
az IN. makers will tell you rather vaguely. ins'au
Of being produced in the old way direcuy .'o"'
coal. Each stage Of progress In the making Oh inc
gas may be understood clearly by any one from al.
,.,.o,,on ~ the machine with the assistance or
few explanations from the superintenoeht III
charge OF the plant. The first OF the 1our OF h'e
huge cylinders through which the product must
roes ,s known as the generator. and Is nieo' "he"
the machine is working. with glowing, roarhs
o. ~ hot Goals A blast Of steam Is driven up
.nuah This from a grating below. becoming trans
t,ad u,ban II reaches the outlet pipe at the top
49,. hvdrogen gas Without the addition OF any
other substance 1t would be possible 10 ourn 'hiS
as illuminating gas. but II wouio a'ioru oii'y
raahle light not exceeding four or hve cahole-
.'ousr To give the desired strength the combi-
,,h The nanhtha is effected at this point.
r. ranhtha having previously been somewhat
.,oa masses with the hydrogen gas. into the
axt cylinder which is filled with mass OF hheiy
,roLon Intensely heated brick This substance
"exes the naphtha. or turns the greater part OF IL
,.o a volatile FORM that 1t may unite with the
oon M gas After this the main object has
,' ,roucht about the remainder OF the process
oorsists mainly Of condensng. washing and purify
, tho gas for its final storage In reservoirs Tor
's This requires several more changes OF cylin-
dars and the entire working OF the producer'
while its general principles are clear appears 10
t,. mi
There is no entire plant a. the show to illustrate
. waking of coal gas but there are parts OF the
machinery necessary. The method Is simpler than
49,. rrrsued In the production Of water gas. being
,.a,.v tn. distillation by heat. from bitnminous
coal of the gas which II contains Ihe Illuminating
nou.r Of this coal gas Is vastly inferior to the
other and it is said that water gas forms about
o. nor cent Of all that is manufactured in this city
and Brooklyn
The uttIe gas engines which in their trimness and
more clumsy outlines Of the ordinary steam engines
are among the shows interesting FEATURES.
Although their exact method OF working Is not gen
orally understood, most people know tndt the power
Is produced by a series of explosions In cylinder.
the force from which Is transmitted and applied In
various ways A combination OF Illuminating gas
and air the latter In much larger proportion than
the former, Is the substance used ana Is OF an ex-
ceedngly explosive nature. The two general classes
of engines these In which the explosion is pro-
duced by tiny flame of gas at the entrance OF the
cylinder and those in which the ignition s effected
by means OF an electric spark. The latter are the
more modern and are considered the better
The chief defect In the working OF the gas en-
gine has always been that the power produced.
while great at first Immediately begins to diminish.
and Is Irregular in its operation As most commonly
for every four revolutions OF the nywheel. though
the explosions may be made more frequent. The
lywhecs. II will be noticed, are also made very
der TO give as much seadiness as possible. In work
ing toward improvements IL has now been found
plosIons alternating IN each. gives more constant
iorce Explosions can be produced for every revolu-
ton OF the wheel. and the power increo sed or d.
miinished dccoi ding TO the amount of adriited
1he gas engines. owing 10 their small size. the sim
piicty OF their operation, and the fact that the
services OF licensed engineer are not required to
work where a large horsepower Is not needed. For
'he running OF launches they have been used for