Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-08
HOT wArna rRsx IAnr, rosrs.
An Invention forU Heat
Uses to which 1t NAY BE Put.

me oeVeiopmentS ~ the -spenny-in-the-
SLOT system have been many and DIVERSE
but none has appealed to Quite so practical
demand as one shown recently to an in
vited company at thefCrystal Palace, which.
If realizing one-quarter even of the claims
put forth on its behalf, will effect little
short of a revolutionin Torking-class do
nestle economy. Inathe. fewest possible
words. the problem has been worked out of
utilizing the heat generated by the ordinary
gas lamp Of the streets for the purpose of
warming water to boiling point, and an in
fuentfal syndicate has been formed to turn
to useful account a discovery Of so many
possibilities. Calculations show that a sum
of f250,0 is expended annually on the gas
illumination Of the London streets, and 1t
is urged that IL the heat of only one-tenth
Of the lamps in use were turned to account,
no less than 120,0O0.0O0 gallons of boiling
water could be made available at a COM
mercial profit at q cost of a halfpenny
gallon to the public.
The idea, it should be explained, has been
carried far beyond the merely theoretical
stage For the PAST four months there has
been in full working order at the Crystal
Palace an exact model of an ordinary
street refuge" lamp of six gas jets, which
has supplied as much as 125 gallons daily
of boiling water to the stockholders and
frugal excursionists glad to be able to
make their own tea. The idea has been
brought not only to the notice of and adop-
ton by various important provincial ves-
tries, as those of Liverpool and Nottingham
but to that of st. Observation-Disclosures
London. who have made concessions to the
syndicate by which they anticipate that
quite half the present cost Of illumination
Will be saved to the ratepayerS. Among the
numerous visitors who nave inspected the
system are the chairmen of several public
and sanitary bodies in this country as well
as the director of the municipal council of
idnrn 10 olfn l1r>
alton will be necessary to turn existing
lamps to account, but 1t was emphatically
promised that within the next eight weeks
one would be in full working order on Ira
falgar Square, and before Christmas at
least a dozen would be available in London
1t is intended to place side by side with
them automatic machines for the delivery
of halfpenny and penny packets of tea, cof-
fee. Cocoa, sugar and meat extract so that
the working man or woman to whom even
farthings are important. whose duties
call them out late at night or in the early
morning, may always be able to obtain a
cup of warm and comforting sustenance.
The system is to be known the Pluto"
waste-heat economizer, and the particular
scientific claim to attention that it can put
forward is that it has overcome the diff
Guilty of transferring the heat at the top
of a lamp to the bottom, or vice versa.
This has been met by a simple automatic
device, by which cold water is fed into a
spiral coil and experimenting chamber placed
about a foot above the flame. In this the
water is converted into steam. which is ex-
PEELED by its own expansive force through
an ordinary lightweight safety valve, down
or up a pipe, to the base Of the column,
or, in n house, to the floor above, where.
through coils of iron pipes, it heats the
water contained In the reservoir. This
reservoir, in the case of an outdoor lamp,
is connected with the water main of the
street, and, by further clever application
of the automatic principle, as soon as a
gallon is drawn off the boiler fills again.
Due provision has been made against ex-
plosion and after cold water has been in
troduced there Is boldly printed Their
mometer to show thes woud-be purchaser
of the next halfpenny worth the exact tenn
perature within, and the moment that full
boiling point is reached. AS a rough esti-
mate of what each lamp thus transformed
may be expected to achieve, every cubic
foot of gas burned should heat gallon
CT water per hour, without in the least
detracting from the Illuminating power Of
the light. of which, indeed, the heating
process is wholly Independent. Moreover,
in appe arance the lamps remain practically
unchanged. The superheating chamber is
contained in a dome no more assertive than
that in present use. while Iall the effect of
the reservoir below is to suggest that the
lamp stands upon a massive square ped
estal. An effective design of a mytholog-
ical head. whence the water flows, tiny
trough to catch and carry off the waste,
an enameled drinking cup chained and a
small handle released by the introduction
of the coin complete the fittings.
The principle is applicable to domestic
gas burners. and in flats, small households,
or sick rooms 1t will probably find wide
acceptance. In blocks, however, of model
dwellings, it is likely to meet a special
want of humble housekeepers, who now
buy so largely of shop bread" timed pro-
visions margarine and jam, and who, COM
ing home late and tired after the days toll,
will welcome q boon that will save the
lighting Of the fire and waiting for the ket-
tie to boil. The only point not made quite
clear in the recent exhaustive demonstra
tions is as to the retention of heat how,
supposng the gas be turned off at the
main at On summers morning, the
working class mother might depend upon
the street lamp to make the tea for break
fast and supply hot water to wash the
baby at say, o'clock. 1t would ruin the
scheme in a fortnight to permit poor people
to put in their half-pence and receive in re-
turn a supply of merely tepid water.