Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1909-08-05
DANGER IN ACETYLENE.
THE GAS FROM CALCIUM CARBIDE.

THE GAS FROM CALCIUM CARBIDE.
| The flame from acetylene produces
the ideal light, brilliant and colorlest
like that of the sun. The delay in its
coming into general use is due to tive
causes. At first the manufacturers
made the gas in large generator and
shipped it to homes compressed until
| it liquified in tubes five feet long by
five inches in diameter, four hundred
cubic feet of gas being sqeezed into
one foot of space. This method was
abandoned because many of them, by
Earring, were exploded, with a force
| much greater than that of dynamite
bomb. Then, poorly made generators
were sold for use in farm houses and
number of them blew up with fatal
effect.
Now, there are fifty makes OF
acetylene generators which are safe
| if properly placed and handled with
intelligent care. The value Of prop
erty burned by the early accidents
| with this gas was not large--indeed 1t
produced fewer fires than funerals.
A POWERFUL EXPLOSIVE.
Air containing three per cent. OF
acetylene explodes with force sew
eral times greater than gun powder.
More than double that ten per cent.
of any other gas is required to make
air explosive, but the amount of this
new gas needed to make a given light
has but one-sixth the explosive power
of any other gas.
Calcium carbide, which is the
source of acetylene, is seven-twelfths
quick lime and five-twelfs coke,
ground, mixed and fused to-
gether in an electrical arc furnace at
a temperature of 5000 degrees Fair.
The greatest heat possible in any
solid fuel furnace is 5000 degrees.
After cooling it is crushed into small
Jumps and packed in metal cans hold
ing a hundred pounds, or in one
pound packages for bicycles. Car
hide cannot burn but if it gets damp
will become red hot and fire wood
touching it, and if water gets to the
line it slakes and the carbon of the
coke makes the explosive gas.
THE GENERATOR.
Generators of the size used fol
farm houses are zinc tanks which
hold about a barrel. In them carbide
and water are brought in contact pro
ducing acetylene and slaked lime
The gas passes into tank, double
the size of the generator, which il
fashioned like the big tank for cit.
gas, having at the bottom a seal o
water to prevent the gas escaping.
I. The danger is near the generator
The gas may escape from defectiv
a tube or from the opening of seams b
the formation of ice in the water.
number of fatal accidents have re
suited from persons, who were clean
ing the generator preparatory to re
filling it, striking a match to see
the work were we'll done.
If the generator is outside there
i little possibility of an explosion i
the house lighted by it because tn
holes in the burners are SO small tina
the gas cannot leak fast enough t
make the air explosive. So rich
acetylene in carbon that its illumina'
, ing power is ten times that of city ga
1t takes of it but half cubic foot a
hour for burner giving the light {
IS candles.
THE NOSE GIVES NOTICE.
Acetylene has another safegual
against being burned uselessly in a
explosion. It has so powerful an cd,
that one part of it in ten thousand
! air gives notice of it's presence to I'll
( nose. The generator maker says tt
odor is like that of garlic. The farm
er boy would say that the aceryler
protects itself against being fired /
I that same means that the polecat pr
tects itself from being fired at.
AcETYLENE VS.. GASOLINE PLANTS
The advantage of acetylene ov,