Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-11-07
THE ELECTRIC IRON.

tor our guidance.
THE ELECTRIC IRON.
Science Has Produced Great Labor
Saving DevIce.
After all these years of research and
thousands Of inventions to increase the
products and lessen the labors of the
industrial world. science has but. re-
| Gently invaded the home to materially
reduce the arduous toll of the house
hold.
Beyond a doubt the greatest labor
saving device ever produced to tighten
the never-ending labors of the home
bis the electric tatiron. Thousands of
these irons have been sold during the
past two years and still there are very
few people who comprehend the secret
of this modern electric time-saver.
They cannot understand how it re-
mains "sissing' hot without coal or
flame. They do not know that II is the
energy of the sun which makes the
electric fatiron hot enough to do an
ironing on the back porch these hot
days without a. bit Of fire.
In this age of developed water power
there is no fame or heat in the whole
path from the sun to the iron. The
heat Of the sun. which is great mass
of white hot gases and molten minerals.
draws the moisture of the earth into
the air, where it forms into clouds.
These wind borne clouds deposit this
moisture on the distant mountains in
the form of rain. 1t is the energy OF
the falling weight, the water seeking
it's level. which turns the water
wheels and the electric generators The
water power is changed to electricity
and transmitted to the cities where it
produces heat at the will of the house,
wife and does the ironing, or even the
cooking. The cord which connects the
electric fiatiron with the lamp socket
is. in way, connected directly with
the sun itself. And by that same token
1t was the sun which made possible
the great beds of coal which are burned
to produce electricity by steam in 9th
err cities removed from water power,
where the heat in the hatiron can be
traced directly to the fires under the
steam boilers.
The electric fiatiron is shaped a great
it has better lines and is constructed
on more scientific plans in regard to
heat distribution. The irons are fln-
ished in nickel or gun metal and have
permanent handles which never get hot.
Inside each iron is a Cartridge re-
sistance unit which produces the
heat. The cartridge" is brass CYL
inder, about five inches. long. inside OF
which is a coil of german silver wire.
In the rear of the iron is a porcelain
plug with the wire terminals. When
in use these terminals are connected
with the wires in an insulated flexible
cord, which is fitted with a plug" to
screw in the ordinary incandescent
socket.
When the iron is connected and the
current turned on the electricity
passes thru the wires hidden in the
flexible cord to tho wire coils in the
Cartridge in the iron. Now, ger
man silver wire resists the flow OF
electricity; the current does not flow
thru it readily and in fact, work has
to be done in forcing the current thru
the wire. This work produces heat
and the heat generated i'm this simple
on the switch completes a path for
the flow of electricity, which the pres
sure of the electric generator in the
power house forces thru the resist
ance and thus generates heat.
Everyone is familiar with the fact
that in rubbing one surface against an
other the resistance which these sur
faces offer, or their friction, produces
heat. Heat. therefore, has been pro-
duced absolutely without combustion
or without fire or flame. The wire in
the Cartridge in the fatiron becomes
red hot and while the heat is readily
transmitted thru the iron to the
clothes which are being iron the cleo
tricity is thoroughly sealed or insult
ated. The thin sheet Of mica, which
readily permits the heat energy to
pass, withstands the passage Of cleo
tricity and ten times the pressure or
voltage, could not force the electricity
thru it,
The amount Of heat to be developed
in any particular device is absolutely
within the control of the electric de-
signer The length and the size of
this resistance wire determines the
amount OIL WORK NECESSARY W LUCE llle
current thru it, and therefore. the
amount of heat produced by this work.
When the switch is turned off or the
circuit broken the electric flow ceases,
the work stops and the iron gets cold.
The fatiron of today is the result
of much study on the part of the
heating experts with the result that
no heat is wasted in the electric iron
and the edges keep the same tempera-
ture as the center.
Occasionally, due to carelessness or
oversight, the current is left flowing
when the iron is not in service. This
practice results in unnecessary con-
of current and entails high
er cost for a given amount of work.
A heating stand is made for electric
flatirons which consumes current only
when the iron is being heated. While
it has been designed primarily for
laundry service it's convenience and
its assurance Of economy in current
consumption, render it of great value
in household work as we'll The stand
two irons, and consists
of a sheet iron base mounted on four