The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-05-19
PORTLAND GAS LIGHT co.
Annual Meeting and Election Of
Directors.
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE DURING
THE YEAR.
Report of the President to the Stockhold-
ers-Great Many Improvements Made
The Renewal Fund Now Exhausted,

ers-Great Many improvements Made
The Renewal Fund Now Exhausted.
The Portland Gas Light Company held
it's annual meeting yesterday afternoon.
The directors met in the morning and
considered the presidents report. In the
afternoon the stockholders meeting was
held. President Davies made this report:
7 Fo De- the year ending on
the Both ulto the consumption of gas was
~ C3S, 800 feet, gain of 5.27l 800 over
| last year.
1901 tons and 1860 pounds of coal have
teen carl onized enriched by So, 90S gallons
| of naphtha, weighing in ali 1868, 24S
pounds, yielding SPAS, 900 feet of gas,
being 5.33 feet per pound of coal, with an
average illuminating power of 49, 16 can
dies. 3GA
The number of consumers is 1914, a
gain of 210. ~
242 gas stoves have been sold, making
the number now in use 1895.
1901 Welsbach lights sold, making $685.
in all.
Three gas engines have been put in by
consumers, making four in all, averag-
ing ten horse power each, now in use.
152, SAT bushels of coke have been sold.
1876 feet of mains have been laid in
nineteen streets, and seventy new SER
vices.
The renewals and repairs of the past
year have been very extensive. Many of
them would have been made year or two
engineer, Mr.. VIM. Yorke. It was, how
ever, found practicable to keep up suffi.
Gent supply of gas with our old plant
through the winter of '96-'97, with some
increase of expense, owing to the condi-
tion of our works, but 1t was not possible
to postpone the improvements another
year
The first necessity was for new holder
as our two old ones were so nearly worn
out that 1t was not safe to depend upon
them longer. A convenient lot of land
was conveyed to us by the Maine Central
Railroad Company in exchange for lot
of equal area outside the p. S.. & P. 10.
cation, and steel holder Of 250,0G0 cubic
feet capacity was built npon it by the
Davis q Farnum Manufacturing Com.
pany, in thoroughly satisfactory man.
ner, conforming In all particulars Of con-
struction to thu plans of our present en-
igneer, Mr.. Eugene 81. Yorke No
known improvement was omitted and
many original features we're added. 1t
has worked perfectly from the time it
was first filed.
This holder was built in steel tank
above ground, instead Of in brick tank
under ground. This is comparatiyeIv
new method and has many advantages
especially on such soil as our works are
on, but we had not felt safe to adopt it
until this method of construction had
works. OF the first Importance is the
foundation to support weight of struc-
ture and of water amounting to some $500
tons. This, undor the contract, was for
US to prepare. AS the location was on
made land, over marsh mud, blue clay,
and quicksand, it required care and skill
| to make foundation that would not
settle at any point. Mr.. Yofke made
| thorough work of it, and it has stood
| through the past winter without the
slightest sign of giving way or fch8nge of
level in any part. And we feel that we
have as perfect a holder rs can be built
at this time. It's capacity is % per cent
and No. 2, while the cost is forty per
cent less.
The iron roof of the retort house had
been on for nearly forty years, exposed to
the fumes from the benches. 1t had been
strengthened from time to time by wood
en- purlins, but on thorough examination
last spring it WAS pronounced unsafe for
another winter. Its falling would have
caused disastrous loss A new steel roof
of the best modern construction has been
built on the eastefly half Of the house by
the Portland Company with monitor
top and ventilator. The side walls were
carried up two feet higher than before,
and party wall was built separating the
east and west sections of the house. The
roof of the westerly section is sufficiently
strengthened to prevent it's falling. 1t
needs renewing but this can be postponed
as the benches in thas section will not be
used next winter.
A new condenser was needed, as our
make of gas had increased far beyond the
capacity of our old one. Our old tower
scrcbber is antiquated and has not been
IN use for several years Our engineer
has converted it into q first class multi
tubular condenser, by putting in tube
sheets and Isl two and half inch tubes
IL feet long. new steam. pump was
added and connected with our tubular
well. This gives us a condenser of the
most approved construction, at less than
half the price Of q new one OF the same
temperature Of the gas, and to clear it Of
tar before it passes to the purifiers.
new tower washer has been added to
our plant and placed in the old exhauster
room. Its operation is to bring the gas
into contact with water to extract the
ammonia. Our former method had be-
come inadeou ate. The new washer will
save cost of publication. It will make
considerable saving of oil used to keep
up the Illuminating power Of the gas,
and will save the wear Of meters. which
are injured by any ammonia left in the
gas
new exhauster has been purchased
and set up In our old pump room, which
has been reconstructed for the purpose,
and made large enough to contain the
old exhauster also, as well as the two
steam engines used to operate them. The
shafting. etc., are SO arranged that either
exhauster can be run by either engine,
or both at the same time, as will be neces
sary in the short days. The old engine
had been running necessarily for some
twenty years. 1t has been thoroughly
repaired. and this Fart of our works has
now sufficient capacity for many years to
come.
The boiler house has been widene1 ten
feet, and new tubular steel boiler of 30
horse power has been added This in
crease of our capacity for making steam
was made necessary by the new holder,
apd to provide for our proposed generator
plant. We have now three boilers all in
good order.
A new coal shed has been built, 100 feet
BY 60 feet. holding about two thousand
tons. 1t is we'll planned by Mr.. Yorke
and well built, with stone foundations,
oh hoe oF