The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-04-07
COST OF GAS AND STEAM.
Interesting Extracts From an Engineering
Magazine.

interesting Extracts From 40 Engineering
Magazine.
The fixing of the price of gas Cor power
brings up prominently, to granite manu-
faetureTs ia particular, the subject Of gas
engines and the relative cost Of gas and
steam In generating power "A very in-
teresting and timely paper on this subject
was recently read before the American
Institute Of Electrical Engineers BY u. R
BibbIns and published Ia the Engineers
Magazine for February, 1904, from which
we make few extracts
Some years ago the late Sir Frederick
Bramwell made the prediction that by the
year 1881 the steam engine would be Of
interest only as relic OF a past age, hay
ing been entirely superseded by the yari-
Gus forms OF internal combustion motor.
when 1t is remembered that be said this
at the meeting OF the British Association
In 1884, when the gas engine was built In
small sizes only, and considered by steam
engine designers as little more than toy,
the wisdom Of the prophecy will be more
apparent. Today, with engines OF / 900
horse power aud more in daily use, and
with interest end activity ia the subject
daily growing it takes no especial fore
sight to see that, for many purposes at
least, the internal combustion motor Is the
coming engine.
''In cost, the gas engine equipment is
quite comparable with that OF a steam
plant. The engine itself costs more than
steam engine Of corresponding size, on
account of the increase OF metal required
by the higher pressure dealt with With
the cost Of eondensing machinery cha ged
to the steam engine, however, this dispar-
ity is much reduced With Illuminating
gas supply available, the equipment cost
would fail considerably below that OF a
steam equipment OF boilers, engines, con-
denseTs, heaters, pumps, etc.
1.-The economy OF the gas engine in fuel
Is well understood, even small gas engines
giving thermal efficiency superior TO that
which is attainable with the largest steam
engines.
Apart from the Immediate fuel econo-
my, however, the gas engine possesses
other advantages which eonduce TO econ0-
my. The efficiency under light load Is
higher than that OF a steam engine OF cor
responding size The cost of operation
and maintenance Is low, largely because Of
the simpltioatlon of the equipment aud
small number Of auxillares
@The engine can be started much more
quickly than Is possible with a steam
plauE, and the absence Of high pressures
except In the engine cylinder remove all
danger Of explosion
1.-THE ability to store power lnthe form
Of gas Ia holder is valuable feature lof
a gas power plant
IAN important source Of economy ID gas
plants is the fact that as soon as gas en-
CINE is shut down an heat losses cease,
Also daring operations no heat is lost by
the gas in transit from the producer, and
the plant Is not hampered by inefiicieut
auxillaries such as steam pumps, condens-
ers, return traps, etc, all OF which largely
increase the general complextty Of the
system, Steam pipe and oylinder-con-
densation losses, radiation, leakage in
piping aud iuei-loss IN banking fires, have
no parable IN the gas plant
In fact the comparisons are so generally
favorable to the advantage Of the gas en-
giue that the arrangement must appeal
with much force to users OF power who
are seeking to economlze in their bust
ness.