The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-02-11

ed into the mains when the peak
comes on. Such a battery would
cut down the cost of machinery in
the power house, for now 1t is nee
essary to maintain generators which
are only in use an hour or so a day.
so far no economical method of stor-
ing current has been devised
Realizing the difficulty of perfect
ing an apparatus for storing cleo
tricity G.. G.. Bell, Londo0 engineer,
conceived the novel idea of storing
heat Electricity has been recog-
nized as the ideal heating element,
but no method of utilizing it econo-
mically has been devised until Mr.
Bell, who is a member of the British
Institute of Electrical Engineers,
perfected his system.
Briefly, Mr. Bell proposes to sup
ply a house with a device which will
consume an equal amount of current
during the whole twenty-four hours,
thus more than quadrupling the ef-
ficiency of the machinery to the pow
er house by making it produce use
| full current all the time instead of
/ having a large amount of equipment
! idle, save during an hour or two a
/ day.
The apparatus consists of an iron
| block some eighteen inches high and
/ foot in diameter. This block is
incased in magnesia, so that no heat
! escapes In the centre of the block
! is placed a removable heating unit
| in several sections. When the current
| is turned into the heating unit the
| iron block is raised to a tempera-
ture of 600 or 700 degrees Fahren-
heit in a few hours, and will remain
heated almost indefinitely, except
for what is used
The heater itself serves for var
iety of purposes. In its original
form it was designed for hot water
alone. It's present development not
only does away with tanks and ket.
ties, but provides hot air, steam, ol
hot water for heating, with an un
dreamed of saving of space, and pro
vides unlimited heat for cooking
Boiling water is instantaneous!
on tap day or night, even though al
]
time for lighting Mr.. Bells system
does away with storage of hot water
Instead, an iron coil is cast insid
the metal block AS the block is a
a normal temperature of 600 degrees
this coil is full of superheated steam
The steam is regulated so that
small or great quantity may be in
! into CIV -iy1u
instantaneously, water at any de
sired temperature.
The wonderful value of Mr. Bell
heat storage system was immediatel
recognized by the lighting compan
les of London, and they are givin
users of the system rates for curren
at less than a quarter of the oil
, rates. They published a half-pag
advertisement in the London paper
, on November 18th, directing after
tion to the system, thing unhear
of before, for English lighting CON
panies have never advertised.
Should such a system be put int
use in New York, and the same cor
, cessions granted as those voluntal
lily given by the London lightin
companies, current could be brougf
here for about cents kilowa
hour, instead of o cents, as at pre-
ent Not only that. but gas woul
be supplanted by electricity for a
household uses, and since the actu;
consumption of current can be dete
mined, no more meter troubles wi
be experienced. The happy lightin
:, customer will know just how muc
! his bill will be before he takes tt
: current, while the company will
lonely without the constant clamC
against excessive bills, which is no
so fashionable.