The Alaska daily empire., 1915-10-06
HOUSE HEATING HINTS FURNISHED
 BY GOVERNMENT


 WASHINGTON, Oct. GA problem. which reaches into nearly every home in the United States and touches the pocketbook of several million house holders in discussed seriously in Q re- port issued today by the Bureau or Mines. Department of the Interior in which the experts of the bureau tell the public in detail just how, in heat ing their houses this coming winter they can save in the coal bills.
 T5e report. issued at a time when the cooler weather is upon the coun' try and people are laying in their winter supply of coal, intimates that large savings can be made in nearly every homo and gives specific figures of the results obtained in one home in which every effort was made to con- sume the coal properly. As the re- port was issued solely for the bene- fit of householders. copies may be ob- tained by anyone who addresses the United States Bureau of Mines.
 s4s Winter Coal BIll
 The tests referred to were made In ten.room house in New Haven. Conn, which was comfortably heated at cost of s4S for tho fall and win ter, Q saving over every other house of the same size in the same locality of from $50 to S1O0
 According to Van F. Manning, Di- rector of the Bureau of Mines simi- lar results can be attained in hun dreds of thousands of houses through out the country with consequent saving of millions of dollars.
 "The report shows not only low cost of heating" said Mir Manning but also an economical use of fuel and Illustrates what savings may be effected when the problem is given proper consideration. Systematic and regular handling of the fire doubtless had considerable to do with the re- suits obtained. The cost of heating Is probably $50 to $10O less than what Is expended by a large number of house holders who live In the same locality and have about the same heating re- quirements. but use more expensive coal and give their heating equipment less attention.
 Heating Apparatus Factor
 "The value a householder gets from the fuel he burns depends largely on the character of the heating apparat- us, the conditions under which it is installed. and the manner in which the fire Is handled The authors Of this report. from their experience in firing residence-heating apparatus and from observing the methods epmloyed by many who attend to such appart- atus. keenly appreciate the import ance of proper firing methods and they have written this report in the belief that some general remarks on the selection, care and operation of residence-heating apparatus may prove of some value Go many who are in- terested in burning fuel in the most economical manner"
 The authors are l.. p. Breckenridge, consulting engineer of the Bureau of Mines, and professor of mechanical engineering of Scheffield Scientific School Yale University. and S. B. Flagg. mechanical engineer of the Blu reau of Mines.
 Among other things. the report states; Many furnaces and boilers are operated in haphazard way drafts are opened or coal is put on when the house becomes cool. then the fire is allowed to burn rapidly un- til either the rooms are too warm or the fuel bed is burned down too fer Co kindle properly Q new charge of coal.
 "Watch Your Heater"
 Such firing is always wasteful Tbe heater should receive regular atten- tion, and if the demands for heat are intelligently anticipated, as they or dinarily can be. the house can be warmed with minimum trouble and fuel When the rooms become too warm the fire should be checked by stopping the admission or air under the grate and decreasing the draft by opening the check damper If as of- ten is done, the ashpit damper or the ashpit door be allowed to remain open and the draft reduced by opening the fro door. the combustion of the fuel continues, although at a slower rate, but the cold air entering the fire door chills the heater 80 that little heat is realized from the coal.
 ITO burn a pound of coal requires very much more than pound of air. and the volume of a poud of air at atmospheric pressure is far greater than that Of a pound of coal. To burn more coal requires more air. and this air must be forced into the ash pit and up through the fuel bed by the between the pressure of the hot air and rncnr ovor fho firn moi and !