New-York tribune., 1902-10-12
GAS MEN WILL MEET.
INTEREST IN AMERICAN GAS
LIGHT ASSOCIATION
CONVENTION.
coAr. STRIKE AND GAS FOR FUEL
VISITORS WILL SEE BIG WATER"
GAS PLANT N RAVENSwooD
AND TIE TUNNEL UNDER
THE EAST RIVER.

vr4sn the gas man won't sell one gas stove
=, ne refuses 90 put meter in your cellar ana
Us the monthly hnl Please use less gas
-.,n these things come 10 pass may be sure
-, something Is wrong.
- wears gas men have been trying 20 buils m
=. heating end Of their business. They have ,n
.,,,s many clever devices for economic heatins
"a have offered the public every inducement 70
=, chem Now here Is such drain on their mines
~, n makes cooking almost impossible In some
,Isrsu instances tho gas has not been strong
.aoush 70 bon water IN less than half an hour In
.klyn A. Il reported that the air pressure ,n tba
as ppes Is 50 great that In many cases the lights
- out when turned low. This strike Of the coal
.,,,s-s has made business too much business FOR
-. rss men. and Il brings its own troubles
And now the gas men OF the country are coming
o., ,h,s city 70 talk Il all over There viii be thres
tsrss and fifty OF the hest OF them from an narf
!, ,he country hut Il Is not likely thar they Viii
and relief These men are coming 10 the annual
meeting OF the American Gas Light Association
,bicb will be held on October l5. Is ana i IN ,ba
breakfast room Of the NeW-York Athletic club AZ
Ffty-ninth-st and siNth-ave
one of the frst things which the visiting ras mon
yu probably 90 viii he 20 cross the East River to
Ravenswood. Lone Island, where are the New
Amsterdam Gas Company's works. said 10 he the
larsest water gas plant in the world. other works
have larger storage capacity. but none make so
uuch gas 10 the hour.
as only within The last two or three months
thst Nsw-York has been al the head % the Cas
works list IN thai time the work of doubling the
ospscity OF the New-Amsterdam plant has been
eompleted II makes - 10000 cubic r-et a
day. or lo0oO an hour. The Point Breeze plant.
Al Philadelphia with capacity or 2 600 90 cubic
sset day is the second n size.
The New-Amsterdam plant makes What j. cener-
ally known water gas and the process Is
interesting though from the nature OF the beast
q great many OF the operations are not visible II
Is said thar tWo-thirds 81 the gas used IN this
city Is water gas the rest resulting from a 5if-
ierent process O. manufacture and being known
as coal" gas
The Ravenswood plant Is well laid out. on the
bank OF the East River are the storage bins for
raw material and the one byproduct OF water"
Gas making. a cheap grade OF tar. There are
great sheds for coal storage m addition 10 a mod
ern conveyer, which uuloads canal boats ana de-
nvers the coal needed into the chutes which lead
% the working foor' of the Eashouse There are
great tanks FOR the storage Of OIL and sheds cover
ing piles OF shavings and iron rust which are used
IN purifying the gas. AL OF these are near the
river
Then come the buildings IN which the gas Is
made. the purifying sheds and measuring house
Furthest from the river is an enormous storage
tank OF Seoo0 feet capacity. Alongside Of 4 a
twin tank Is being constructed.
So much for the yard lay cut. now tor the proc
es o. manufacture. II is simple enough II one
leaves out the formulas and takes the word OF
SIpernteudent Morris for the part which cannot
b seen
In tie first place lct q h- understood that
HaiG' gas Is made b. the decomposition %
sean IN the presence Of carbon. Three shells or
steel chambers are necessary 10 The completion % |
ne operation. The first ot these. called the gen
eator, Is nled with coal which is heated 70 incsu-
essoence An air blast is forced through this glow
lns molten mass, and passing into the next cham
Der heats the checker brick. with which n is
nleo 10 hgh temperature The third CHAMBER.
called the superhoater. also contains checker
e1ck. ane is heated by the air blast which comes
IN AZ ihe bottom and passes out through a stack
Nhloh can be opened closed al VIII. The
process Is intermittent-irst. the workmen blow"
& neat ne furnace and then they make gas
Cleaned out The air for blowing the sixteen
sss.'sees s supplied 20 the extent of Soeo cubic
issl e minute from i've huge blowers"
When the series of shells have been heated
and - sIee tegulreo. ne at blast Is shut on
% %alttee under The CRATE. IN is forced through the
sheii a. mas OK Soal ana passes lrto ne ntNt
.siang on the checker" brick Il IS distilled nv
"a = me superheated or third shell the gases are
~Ase ane so on 10 the 'scrubbers."
Seoroing 70 lhe grade OF coal used the steam and
"a n st eli on and the stack valve opened. There
% s.'sa with the opening ~ the stack valves, the
rrs-sss s.ss0a forming The only pyrotechncs of the
poSs., os seTgooers- are large chambers hned with
s,--sA kflsi which take out the tar. This is
49,, on into a purifying tank In which the
sss ssa Is removed and tho remnant forms a by
ss.St sosSs oI value. The gas after going through
t----e4seIs, Alch cool lt 10 the proper tempcTa-
- y stored iu relief holder" which has a
eaSteelty Of 10 ao0 cubic feet
iDs me gas e pumped from This tank into the shaw
- sFLpDtfs, Wnere the last trace uf tar Is
80 en olC hut one impUrity now remains in tho
80 80 winch needs 10 b. removed This is sulphur
- ~ yltosen dDc q IL taken out by sending the
sSs. suiolgl series ~ iron spOugcs purifiers
ne nsC 1855 hil~a with iron rust and sawdust
neia~- ppes ltaa from the purifying room to the
r-,- ROOM Mnerc "a score Of big dials are meas
-lng Gas by ,ht thousand feet once they let "a
me ~. INTO this room. lie saw the dials neur-
- gas al "a rate ~ II 90 feet minute and n
N - mn heart failure. lie thought of the meter
~ ms own cellar and tainted