Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-01-25
OIL BURNERS NAY
NOW Be HAD CHEAP
Price of Oil Goes Up and Now the
Oil Burners Are Hanging on
the Fences.
OIL TANKS ARE CHEAP, TOO

VAL AhNAo AXE CHEAP, TOO
Last fall it cost 500 to have an
oil burner installed. The 500 paid
for 60O-gallon sheetiron tank that
was buried out in the back yard near
the alley line, and also for the
burner that was put into the furnace.
The man who had the 500 and
would not have an oil burner put in
was looked upon as a cheap skate.
The man who did have the necessary
500 and had burner installed was
the envy of his less fortunate and
poorer neighbor.
Now there has been a SQUARE face
about In the relative positions Of the
men who put in oil burners and those
who did not. The man who did not
nave the money to install a burner
and the one who had the money, but
invested in coal instead of oil, az a
rule has the laugh upon the neigh
Dor who put in and tried to heat his
ANS W buAulhH OAl.
II is not known TO an absolute GER
tanty. but It is asserted that during Sep
TENDER, October ana November OF last
year. between 500 and 900 oil burners were
installed in Omaha homes. There were
so many OF them that after the owners
eomenced to burn oil. the fumes from
the burning fluid permeated the air in
every part of the city, At one time there
was talk of an ordinance against burn
ing oil because of the Objectionable odor
that came from the chimneys. The peo-
pie who burned oil rose up in their wrath
and quickly put a quietus on the pro-
posed plans. They were able to convince
the city council that. like the odor from
gasoline burned In automobiles, the odor
from burning oil carried with II a certain
degree OF aristocratic standing and that
no Interference would be brooked.
erase Has Died out.
AS It is now. there is no necessity OF
the passage OF an ordinance of the kind
talked of early in the fall The oil burner
craze swept over the city with the rapid
ity of the Belgian hare raising craze of
few years ago, and II died out almost
as quickly.
Now the majority Of the men and
women who were loudest In their ad-
vocacy Of oil as fuel for heating. have
gone back to good old coal and all along
the residence streets OF the city. oil burn
ers are hanging out on the fence, or have
been sold to the junk man, to later be
cast up into munitions OF war for the
fighting armies OF Europe.
On many hundreds OF lots in the resi-
AoN.4la1 80
mounds. They have the appearance Of
being graves OF giants, but they are not
In them are simply buried iron tanks.
twelve feet in length and three feet In
diameter. The market price OF these tanks
is $S6 each, but there q whole lot OF
them that the owners would be willing
to sell az SO to SIS each. I. o. b., on the
alley line.
some Work All Right.
Some OF the old burners have worked to
the perfect satisfaction OF the owners of
the houses where they have been installed
but this number has been small COM
pared with the number that have gone
bad. When the weather was warm they
worked well. but when the cold spell of
q week or 70 ago came they were given
the test that was necessary to determine
WsAoeAOA VI hOb tAANS WYNN utHNCE the
goods. In a large number OF instances
they failed to make good and since then
then have been coming out Of furnaces
at . much moro rapid rate than they
were put in.
A large number OF instances have been
reported Of parties having oil burners
that would heat the houses when the
temperature outside was % TO 90 degrees
n h4fe SssEa ~ 49,
down to IS to 20 degrees below they sim
ply quit and loafed on the Jobs. leaving
the occupants of the homes in the cold,
or clustered about the kitchen range.
Price of OIL Advances.
Il Il asserted that a number of the
oil burners that have been taken out
have been removed on account of the
price Of oil having advanced. In the early
fall the people who put in burners con-
tracted with the oil companies for their
supply of oil at ~ cents per gallon.
subsequently oil was advanced a cen
and then another cent, and those who
were without contracts were forced to pay
the high price. One contention Is that
the majority OF those having their burn
ers removed were those who were forced
to pay the top price for oil.
However, even at the ~ cents per gal
lon contract price, oil has proved an ex-
pensive fuel for those who burned Il. ]
Even when the weather was not cold,
the oil bills for each twenty-four hours
were about $50 and when the weather
was severe and more oil was turned into
the burner. the daily fuel bill jumped up
80 cents.
AZ any rate. there are q lot OF oil
burners and oil tanks about the city that
can be bought cheap. In most instances
the parties who put them IN have them
on their hands. They were so anxious to
get them installed that they did not ask
for. or require q guarantee. simply say
ing to some agent. get that burner In
as quickly az you can and your money is