The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-16

well-known and highly reputable citi-
zens of Minneapolis who have done It.
You can't burn ashes in domestic
furnace, with or without water. mat
Is the statement Of an expert Mime
apolis chemist. z.~
You may believe the chemist and
pass the plan up as an exploded theo-
~, or you may believe the men, >;
II. Franklin and r. B. Tomlinson, ana
make the effort to save from 20 10
83 per cent Of your coal bill.
Mr.. Franklin, 1880 Aldrich avenue
. S, says that he mixes his ashes and
water and places layer of the mix
sure from two to six inches thick over
a small bed of Goals in his furnaces,
the bed Of Goals being allowed to get
Just fair start. Soon the ashes will
be glowing hot, while the heat of the
coal under them will be still hotter.
II began the practice early last
spring" says Mr.. Franklin, land 1
have not thrown out bucketful of
ashes since.
Mr.. Tomlinson, in a communication
to The Journal Monday, made
the same kind Of a report.
Chemist Says "No."
OF the plan a chemical authority
says: 49,.
II only wish it was true. If these
things were possible, according to the
plan suggested [ should be delighted
to agree with Mr.. Tomlinson. If there
is any discovery that ought to be well
coined and encouraged in the north
west, it is some plan of saving fuel.
And I have no doubt, Of course, that
Mr.. Tomlinson is entirely sincere: he
has been deceived by some hidden
various tests-just such changes as
deceive men who spend their lives in
scientific experiment.
But I think I can say unequivo-
cally that ash Is always noncombus-
tible in an ordinary domestic furnace;
you can't burn ashes in such fur
mace with or without water. The
ashes of some kind Of coal-that is, of
some inferior kinds-might be melted
in a domestic furnace, but that
wouldn't get rid of the ashes. And
everyone knows that an extra strong
draft might carry fine ashes up the
chimney. But melting ashes or blow
ing them away isn't burning them.
No amount Of water will make real
fuel out of ashes.
Putting water on coal will i'm
prove the fire a bit-any fireman will
tell you that. Yet the amount of extra
heat actually gained isn't as large
probably, as the fireman thinks it is
But water on ashes is another com.
bination,' as the chemical Kipling
would remark.
Useful as a Check.
Putting ashes on burning coal Il
sometimes useful; it checks the cir
culation of air thru the coal; that is
shuts the draft off to a certain extent
and, as Mr.. Tomlinson. says, makes
the fire last longer. In other words
the ashes act as a sort Of damper
But it's not an economical: damper
On the contrary, much heat must b.
wasted in keeping the temperature o
the ashes up to the temperature of tn
intermixed coal.
ashes, then, can't be burned; tn
best fuel, the ideal fuel, like petro
leum, has no ashes at all; ashes OF
burning coal are useful only as
damper, and the cheapest hampers ar
the mechanical hampers that form
part of the furnace. The use of ashe
for banking a fire is to be recon
mended only when the furnace i
mechanically imperfect and the reg
ular hampers are unable to check tn
draft sufficiently"
But Messrs. Franklin and Tomlin
son say they have actually been burn
ing their ashes up clean. If it's
scientific impossibility what has be
come of the ashes?