The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-10-13
FIND new POWER
Topeka. Manufacturers Look
9 Into Gas Producer.
Lowest Grades of Coal Can Be
Brought Into Use.

The inability of the local company
, to furnish power is being found 10
hamper seriously the work OF manu-
facturers here. and is driving some OF
them to an investigation OF a COM
parativeIy new means of developing
power. The new means consists IN a
gas producer which, on either a snall
or large scale, is believed to solve lne
problem for commercial business pur-
poses.
So far no gas producer plant has
been installed in Topeka, but If the
plans of several local manufacturers
do not go astray several plants may
be in operation here in the near future
The new plant Is economical, taxes
very little room, and is operated at
the minimum of cost, according to
those who have been investigating
carefully with view to installing
them.
The system upon which the produc-
ers work IS the simplest 1maglna Die
Coal, any old kind of coal, even to the
low grades known as mine roof slabs,
slack-anything in fact, that contains
as much as 80 per cent of combustfbie
material can be used. The slack, or
whatever coal is used, is poured into
hopper in what is known as the gen
orator A fire is burning in that part
of the plant which drives the gas into
there it passes into the "scrubber,
where it is cleaned and purified and is
ready to be used by gas engine.
The cost of producing what is known
as a horsepower hour, or power rep
resenting one horse power continued
for one hour, as a unit to figure the
power generated, is said to be less
than one-fourth of that required by
coal in steam engines of the most
economical make 1t is about one
eighth the cost of gasoline at 10 cents
a gallon, and less than one-f1ftneth or
the cost of electricity for power at the
current price of 10 cents per horse
power hour.
Manufacturers, and there are sew
eral of them with whom local men are
figuring, who handle these producers,
offer to put them in on a positive
guarantee that they will produce pow
er at the rate of one pound or cheap
coal per horsepower hour.
Inasmuch as there is said to be an
abundance of poor grade of coal in the
vicinity of Topeka-including mine
tailings and much of what is dumped
out as refuse, being unavailable for
ordinary commercial uses-the scheme
is believed to be a particularly good
one If the plants are installed 1t
threatens to revolutionize the manner
of generating power for manufacturing
concerns in this part of the country
al least
other towns than Topeka have met
the same difficulty in getting manufac-
turers to come in in the lack of cheap
power necessary to successful work
An eXemplification of the efficiency of
the new generator it is asserted that
in Milwaukee gas producers have been
installed in place of steam boilers to
generate power to operate the street
railway lines, and the plan has proved
entirely satisfactory. cutting down the
cost of generation to a great extent.
and instead of six firemen and helpers,
the work of attending the generator
was done by one man, and he rested
most of the time.
As the original cost of the plant is
comparatively small, and it's efficiency
is so large, it is believed the genera
tors may be used to excellent advan-
tage in municipal plants where lighting
and water systems are municipality
owned, and also might be used by the
state at its various institutions for
lighting, heating and power, thus util