East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1907-08-20

geological survey, which was moved
from ST. Louis, Missouri, several
months ago to Norfolk, Virginia, be-
gan on August 10 a series of expert
ments on eastern and southern Goals
that may be of far-reaching import
ance to the government and to the
| people in general.
For two years the plant was in OPP
GRAFTON at st. Louis, Missouri, and so
astonishing We're the results towards
| sources of the country that congress
ordered the work continued at Nor
folk Already the government ex-
perts connected with the plant have
indicated the possibility of saving 10
per cent of the country's coal bill each
year-the sum of $160,0O0, 600
| through increased efficiency in burn
ing coal. Now the fuels of the east
and south are to >be tested under the
steam boiler, in the gas producer and
gas engines and by briquetting, in the
hope that this saving may be further
| demonstrated.
| The plant is located not far from
the main entrance gate of the James,
town exposition, and already has at
tracted thousands of visitors, many of
whom were manufacturers interested
in the economy of fuel.
The law under which fine fuel-test-
ing plant is to be operated contem-
| plates two classes of work-increas-
ing efficiency and preventing waste
in the utilization of the fuel resources
of the country, and testing Goals that
are used by the government.
Power Tests.
Perhaps the most important tests
will be those comparing the amount
of power obtained from a certain
amount of power obtained from a
certain amount OF coal under the
steam boiler in the gas producer. The
gas engine has demonstrated in for
mer tests its ability to do from two
to nearly three times as much work
with a pound of coal as the steam
engine. Professor Robert II. Fer
nald of st. Louis, Missouri engineer
in charge of the gas producer tests,
will continue the experiments of the
large 235 horsepower gas engine
which has been installed in the plant.
This engine will be supplied with gas
made in two large producers and
from the same fuels that will be used
under boilers. In this way the COM
parative utility of slack Goals, culm,
Ignite and even peat will be deter
mined, for the tests made will show
just what all these poorer fuels can
do.
Professor L. p. Breckenridge, en-
gineer in charge of the steam engi-
neering division of the survey, will
endeavor to increase the efficiency of
the steam boiler. His division has
now practically succeeded in isolating
the performance Of the boiler from
that of the combined performance of
the boiler and furnace. Further tests
will be made with the object of still
further determining the efficiencies of
the furnace alone.
Important Experiments.
A series of important experiments
with fuel under boilers recently COM
|
ers ought to do 10 to 20 times as
much work per unit of heating sur
face as they do now. These tests are
to be continued on three modern
boilers which have just been installed
at the plant. Two of these boilers are
of the water-tube type, of 210 horse
power each, and the third is $50
horsepower and of the marine type.
Forced, induced and natural daft
will be used under those boilers
and the furnaces will be of three dis
tinct types, one hand-fired with spe-
cial fire-brick combustion chamber
and automatic air admission, the Sec
ond mechanical stoker Of the un-
derfeed type, and the third me-
chanical stoker of the overfeed type,
so that each fuel may be tested in
every mode of combustion, in order
to get the highest efficiency possible
out of them.
There will also be a series of ex-
periments tending to show just what
is necessary to burn these Goals with
out smoke. The results will be i'm
| portant not only to the government,
but to every city In the country
that is fighting the exasperating
smoke evil.
A considerable portion of the fuel
testing plant is to be given over to
testing fuels for the navy, and the
entire briquetting machines are al
most ready for work. One received
recently from Germany is for bri-
quoting lignites of Texas and the
northwest. This machine Is Of great
power and Is the only one of its kind
in the United States. A second ma
chine is of English make and has
been used for some time at the plant
in st. Louis. The third is an Ameri-
can-made machine, of which much is
expected.
/ Briquettcs Are SmOkeless.
The experts hope to show that the
briquettes have more efficiency than
lump coal from the same mine and
that they are practically smokeless,
the latter condition being as big a
factor to the navy as the first. The
results already obtained from bri-
quotes prove that on boilers requir-
ing forced draft, like locomotive boil
ers, the briquette so increases the ef-
ficiency as to more than equal the
increased cost of maxim. These bri-
OIlpitna arc ma do hv IN hing tho 1ya sta