The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1898-05-13
Litchf1eld County.
NEW MILFORD

A NEW LIGHT PLANT BEING ESTABLISHED.
Noble Beuntt has bought tract OF
land near NorthrOp IL Sons foundry and
is soon to establish plant for the manu-
tacture of the Acetylene gas. George F,
Pixley, the popular proprietor of the
New England house, has had his house
piped throughout for this gas. The light
furnished Is brilliant and very salts
factory. 1t has already been introduced
in the clothing store Of Dennis Nc 9hOn.
Pipes are now being laid through the
streets and dOubtlt ) many OF the bust
ness men will avail themselves the op-
portunity Of using it. A very interest
ing and timely ar,ice on the process of
manufacture of this gas appears in The
Iron Age from which we quote:
Wilson's method of producing calcium
carbide, which was patented in 1894, has
led to a large degree Of public interest in
the new illuminant, and has also held out
a beWildering range OF possibilities az
the foundation for many useful COM
| pounds. During the past year much
progress has been made. Continued
study Of the properties OF the gas and eX.
pertinent with il have evolved apparatus
of various types for its generation and
control, and the result mas been that
acetylene Is now being rapidly intro
duced as a means of indoor lighting
throughout the Province of Ontario.
! The field which seems specially open for
! 1t s that afforded by the smaller towns
and villages where gas plants are not al
ready in existence and where the electric
! light is used, IL at all, only in the arc
! lamp for Illuminating public streets.
| Here a system of lighting Is welcomed
which does not neCes state an expensive
! central plant or costly equipment of
| TnpiuE and which Hnha q
large number of consumers to insure a
reasonably low cost. The advantage
posed by acetylene in this regard is that
it provides an isolated method of light
| ing, which can be adopted by one person
| In a town or village, or even by q farmer
on his homestead, without reference to
any one else and without increase of
cost. This feature of acetylepe lighting
has doubtless In large measure been the
cause of the favorable reception it has
had in Ontario during 1897. AS to the
cost of installing the light, this varies
with the style and capacity Of generator.
| One firm quote their prices for the sever.
al sizes as follows: Is light, $40
25-light, $45; 35-light, $50 10 light, 500 !;
G0-light, $40; G5 light, $50; l00-light,
Sll5; I3O-light, $l45 On the other
hand, the Springfield acetylene machine,
made in Springfield, Mass, advertised tt
aell at prices ranging from 1925 for
lO-llghC machine to $3.50 for l00-lght
one This Springfield generator is stu
atCd wholly underground, which, it is
claimed, reduced the danger and often
i've smell to minimum. Plants OF
other make are usually situated in the
basement Or cellar of the building which
they are intended to serve. As to the
cost Of operating the light plant, this is
dependent almost wholly upon the cost
OF the carbide of calcium, as the only r-
gredient used in IrOducil z the gas is
water. The carbide used in Ontario il
manufactured wholly by the Wilson
Carbide Works Company of st Catha.
rines, and costs 3 cents per pound, or.
allowing for freight, about 1 2 cenrs.
J. Wallace & Son Of Hamilton state that
by actual experiment and photomet1ic
test with carbide at $50 per ton the cost
of the aCety lene gas has been found to be
y cents per 1000 candle power houra.
The Niagara Falls Acetvlene Gas Ma
chine Company state that In practice
with carbide at 3 , cents per pound
they can produce q full 3G-candle power
! light at a cost Of 3S cent per hour. The
Acetylene Lighting Company of London,
! Can, write { at In their experience
acctylene gas costs about Sc per 1000
cubic feet, or ! cent per hour for s. can
die power: while the Hamilton Acety-
| lene Gas Machine Company quote the
words Of their agent at Wyoming 1--WE
started q B. & j. machine on 30 pound Of
carbide and kept close watch on it,
finding as a result that it gave 100 hours
! light Of 80 candle power. This reduced
70 cOsI means 800 hours light of % can
die power at q cost Of 80 cents, or 7-25
cents per hour for % candle power Light "
| These several estimates vary a little, but
/ mi fnn y1nrh 10 Of
| Consolidated,S Statutes, 1856, chapter IOl)
the quality of Illuminating gas must be
such that the light produced by q stand
ara burner consuming cubic feet of gas
per hour shall be equal in intensity to
that produced by lG sperm candles of ak
to the pound, two candles being used to-
gether. Taking the estimate of the
Hamilton (Canada) Acct ylene Gas Ma
chine Company, as given above, to be
approximately correct a to the quantity
of light produced, and assuming the cost
of carbide to be 3 cents per pound, a
comparison with Illuminating gas equal
to that furnished the citizens of Toronto,
which is stated to be of 20 Is candle
mower, would work out as fOllowg:
One thousand cubic feet of coal gas burn
ing for one hour would give 4036 candle
candle power and coat 80 cents Toronto
price,, while 1000 cubic feet Of acetVlene
burning Tor one DOuf WOuld give %, 333
candle power and cost $3.50 Ninety
cents worth of acetylepe would yield
64OO candle power as compared with 4036
candle power given by coal gas; heECe
acetylene at $3.50 per 1000 cubic feet ia
about equal in cost to 20. IS candle pow.
er coal gas at 81 cents per 1000 feet. Or
the comparison may be stated thus,
taking the price of carbide to be cents
per pound, as in the Wyoming expert
ments: Toronto gas costing 80 cents
gives 4036 candle power, and acetylene
gas costing 80 cents gives 5000 candle
power, the ratio of efficiency being 100:
1873. This result may or may not be al
ways borne out in actual use but if ever
the cost of carbide is reduced to 500 or
$40 per ton, as may be possible when IN
limited power is available to generate
electricity, there can then be no doubt |
On the question Of relative cost. Inquiry
made from some of the users of acety- |
lene, however, brings out the fact that |
even under existing conditions it is con- |
sidered economical as well as satisfac- |
tory. Knox Church in GOderich may be |
taken as an example. The plant was in |
stalled VIXEN the building was remodel |
ed and enlarged in the summer of 1897 |
A 6O-light machine, including 100 burn
ers, was put In at a cost of $40. The |
carbide costs lie per pound delivered; |
II pounds supplies 80 lights with gas |
for two hours at cost of about soc. |