The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-09-21
Can SAVE MONEY
Use Natural Gas TO Run City
Light Plant.
Mr.. Goodrich Thinks Annual
Saving Would Be $1,000.
DAVIS IS IN EARNEST.
Mayor Takes Hold Of the Light
Situation.
City Needs a New Plant and Will
Have 1t.
DAVIS IS IN EARNEST.

By the adoption of gas engines as a
source of power to generate electricity |
at the city electric light plant the cost |
of producing current can be reduced
three-fourths. reports H. K Goodrich, I
superintendent of the city electric light |
plant, to Mayor W. H. Davis, as the
result of Investigations made on a trip
east.
Instead of its costing the city cents
per kiIowatt at the switchboard under
the present system of production by
steam it would be reduced to about
mills by the use Of gas engines using
natural. Distellate gas from coal would
cost about 2 cents.
The cost of maintenance of a plant
having a capacity Of 500 lamps would
be $4,000 year in the place of the
$4,000 spent yearly now to maintain
a plant with a capacity of 342 lamps.
Mr. Goodrich Is enthusiastic in the
praises OF the gas engine IN connection
with an electric plant and urges the
city to change over to that system.
THE proposition Of natural gas and
distellate gas is here to stay" said Mr..
Goodrich. Il returned last evening
from st. Louis and I investigated
number of plants there and looked into
the matter thoroughly. One small
plant IN one Of the large buildings
where the lights as well as elevators
has been brought down from SIS
monthly to 81 by changing over to the
gas engines. They always have manu-
featured their own electricity. The
charge that there would be apt to be
a flicker in the lights was disproved.
was present and observed that a
change of less than two volts took
place when the elevator was started up
after the current for the lights was
turned on.
we wouldn't be able to use very much
of our machinery-it is practically all
worn out-if we put in the gas engines.
figured on rebuilding the plant and
find that it would cost about $40, 600 to
build a plant with capacity of 500
lamps and a reserve of 100 more lamps.
Probably we could cut down on that
| figure a little. We couldn't get very
much for our old machinery-pothing
but junk prices, and not to exceed $500
for our dynamos.
Probably all our machinery could
| not be sold for much more than 81, 500.
! We can't use our present dynamos very
much longer anyway and the sooner we
can get ready to equip the plant with
new machinery the better fer the CITY,
Lamps are goingl out OF service every
day. The so, 600 would include entire
circuits Of end osed arc lamps. The open
arc lamps. such as nostef ours are, are
! practically out of the market The only
/ town that I saw them in while I was
| east was in a little town Of Lees Sum
/ nit, Mo. Two forms Of gas engines are
manufactured. One by the Westing-
house company is for natural gas only
It's a fine engine but if natural gas
should give out here in Topeka the en-
1 gines would not be worth anything to
US and we would have to sell them,
that's the trouble about them The
! Fairbanks-Morse company build gas
engine that can be fixed up at very lit
I tie expense for distellate gas If the nat
I ca gives IT would thG
city to get the last kind of engine
"DistiHate gas Increases the eff
cheney of coal from 10 to 35 per cent.
They use a pea coal at St Louis. The
/ government has been conducting ex-
II periments at st. Louis along this line
and they are highly satisfactory. The
4 city could get the pea coal here in To-
peka for about SIS a ton and by dis
the coal as regards efficiency is less
than 50 tom
The trip of Investigation by Mr..
Goodrich was taken at the suggestion
of Mayor W. Fl. Davis in connection
with the plans of rebuilding the cleo
trict light plant. There Is great cry
for more lights over the city. With
regard to the claim made by several
of the councilmen that Topeka is poor
" lighted Goodrich said: Topeka Is
one of the best lighted cities in the
United States. It is a great deal bet
ter lighted than St Louis. If you take
the number of lights to the per capita
of population Topeka stands way up
but If you take it by the number OF
acres it doesn't show up so WE'LL
That's what my wife said re-
marked Mayor Davis. .4She got back
a few days ago from California, and
said Topeka was the best lighted city
of any that she had seen while away
The bill of the Edison company fol-
lighting Kansas avenue IS still on the
tenter hooks. The bill was returned K
=. tsr,r he
not come back to the city. It is claim
ed by the city that the bill is too high
The Edison company asked $65 pei
year per lamp