Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-02-24
UsESNEWPROC
Gas Generating Plant at Rock
Island Plow Shop in
Operation
Is PROVING A GREAT SUCCESS
First Of Its Kind Applied to Manu-
facture of Farm Imple-
ments.

The Rock Island Plow company has
just completed and placed in sue
cessful operation, a gas plant for
use in the foundry that embodies the
latest IDEAS in providing an economic
cal fuel for FORCES. and is the first of
its kind to be applied to the manufac-
ture of agricultural implements.
The plant for the manufacture and
distribution of the gas has been con-
structed in connection with Il cooling
plant, and the two have cost in the
neighborhood of $4,000. An addition
to the engine room was built to ac-
commodate them. The work has all
ben done by the company's en-
ployes under the direction of the
company's engineers, and has CON
sumed about three months The cool
ing plant has been in operation for
several weeks. but the final tests of
the gas plant have been made during
the past few days.
The gas plant, which does away
with the coke furnaces, was furnished
by the Acme Gas company, of Chi
cago. 1t consists of Il series of steel
tanks containing crude distillate of
petroleum. Air is forced through
this oil and is saturated by the evapo-
ration of the latter. The gas formed
is then conducted to the furnaces
Here it is mixed with sufficient air to
insure complete combustion, by means
of suction tees into one inlet of
which the gas enters, while the other
inlet is connected with air at the
same pressure as the gas.
Haa
The compressed air for making the
gas and for mixing with it at the
furnace is applied by cross com
pound single stage compressor, manu-
featured by the Laidlaw- Dunn Cor
don company, of Cincinnati, and is ca
pable of furnishing 10000 cubic feet
OF free air per hour. The gas increas-
es the capacity of the forge shop,
does away with the unsightly piles
of coke and ashes, effects a saving in
the cost of fuel and makes more
comfortable fire for the men to work
with, as practically all the heat is
confined within the furnace.
The refrigerating plant is used to
keep the brine in the hardening vat
used in tempering the working parts
of the implements at sufficiently
low temperature to be used to the
best advantage.
The plant that the pillow company
has installed was manufactured by
the York Manufacturing company. of
York. Penn. 1t consists of cotton
ammonia compression machine, an
ammonia cooling and condensing coil
and the brine cooling coil. The engine
congresses the amonia gas to about
$50 pounds pressure in two single act
ing cylinders and delivers it to the
cooling coil. This latter is made up
of. double pipes through one of which
Icold water is circulated. This con
deuses the ammonia to liquid. 1t is
then allowed to expand through a
small valve into the brine cooling coil
which is also made up of double pipes
through through one of which the
Urine is to be cooled is circulated and
into the other of which the ammonia
lis expanded. The ammonia in
IeXpanding absorbs a large amount
of heat from the brine, leav-
ing the latter at about zero
(centigrade) depending on how fast
the compressor is run. The brine is
kept i'm constant circulate on by means
of centrifugal pump. through the
cooling coils, and hardening tanks
thus insuring an even temperature OF
the brine in the tanks.
A Decided Improvement
This system presents many advan
tages over the old system of cooling
the brine by means of cooling tow.
er. The brine could be kept fairly
cool in winter but was usually toe
warm in summer. With the brine al
the low temperature at which it is
now carried, it is not necessary tt
heat the work so hot to get the pro