Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-12-28
LARGE AUDIENCE OF HOUSE
HOLDERS BRAVE WEATHER
70 GET INSTRUCTION.
TOLD HOW 70 SAVE COAL
IN FIRING FURNACES
Practical and Sound instruction Given
in Talk on Firing Home Heating
Plants-M oct Heat From Least Fuel
10 Text-H olbrook Speaks Again at
MarshalItown Club Tonight.

Urged by below-zero temperature
and a high wind that called the at
tention Of householders to firing their
furnaces, nearly 200 people gathered
at the Marshalltown Club Thursday
night to hear Royal N. Holbrook, OF
Cedar Rapids, representing Iowa State
College, discuss the firing Of furnaces
and home heating plants. The most
heat from the least fuel was his text
on this practical subject which this
winter is Of more than passing import
| ance.
He gavo the audience. which in
cluded number Of women, many
practical and sound suggestions re-
garding the firing of furnaces and how
best to conserve fuel and still get the
most heat from the prant, Mr.. Hol-
Brook will speak again tonight at the
| Club on the same subject and his talk
will be illustrated with lantern slides
and diagrams. 1t is free.
Fuel and Air. Supply.
Regular firing, methods Of avoiding
over heating, care of the fire at night
were some OF the sub-topics Mr.. Hol-
! brook discussed. He said:
A steady fire is the most economical
when an even temperature is desired.
To keep q steady fire the furnace
should be fired regularly. In firing,
the bed Of live coal should never be
covered entirely with fresh fuel. The
fresh charge should be placed in front
so that small area of red coal Is left
uncovered at the back Of the firepot.
The gases from the fresh charge in
passing over the red hot coal at the
back, will be burned If enough air Is
admitted to the furnace. In order to
admit the air required, right after fir
ing, the fire door damper should be
opened for q short time This damper
should not be left open longer than
necessary to burn the gases, or the
furnace will be cooled of and heat
wasted.
How to Avoid Over Heating.
The fire should be checked by clos
ing the ash pit damper to cut of the
air thru the fro and by opening the
check damper in the pipe IT, necessary
door damper. The fire should be
checked before the house is quite warm
enough, to prevent overheating and the
necessity Of opening windows to cool
of the house. A great deal Of fuel Is
wasted thru overheating, which 10 en-
tirely unnecessary II care Is used.
The thickness Of the FIRE must be
varied according to the weather. It is
. good plan to keep the top Of the fire
az near level with tho bottom Of the
firing door as possible at all times ex-
cept in very mild weather. In mild
weather ashes should be allowed to
accumulate on top (not under) the
crates. In cold weather the flre should
be well shaken and only q thin layer
Of ashes left on the CRATES. II neces-
sary. the fuel may be heaped above the
level Of the bottom Of the firing door.
In other words. the thickness Of the
fire is to be varied chiefly by the rails
ing and lowering of. the bottom. and
not by raising and lowering Of the top
of the fuel bed.
Firing at Night.
In firing for the night the fresh
charge should be placed on the fuel
bed and the draft opened for short
time-fve to fifteen minutes-then the
check damper should be opened and
the ash pit damper closed for the night.
In this way. the gas is burned of and
its heat utilized. This heat will be lost
II the furnace is closed at once after
firing. In order to handle q IRE in
this way, the furnace must be tight!
A furnace with loose hitting doors and
hampers will admit so much air that
the fire can not be effectually checked.
after once being started. Sometimes
it Is possible and desirable in mild
weather to bank or cover the fire with
ashes to keep 1t over night With
some Goals, this can not be done on
account Of excessive clinkering. II any
considerable amount Of coal or coke
drops thru the CRATES, this may be re-
covered by sitting the ashes or it may
be burned II the ashes are used for
banking.
Hints on Proper Heating.
II the house Is not occupied during
large part Of the day, arrange II pos
sible, to allow it to remain cool during
that period.
Keep SCOT cleaned from furnace and
chimneys. SCOT is non conductor Of
heat.
Always carry a deep or high fire. In
mild weather have from four to six
inches Of ashes on the CRATE. This
lessons the draft thru the fire and
causes lower fuel consumption. Don't
shake or poke the fire too much, Just
enough to make room for the adding
Of enough fresh coal to keep the fire
going. In severe weather keep the
CRATE clear Of ashes, so there will be
steady draft thru the fire. This means
heat. Before retiring for the night,
give the fire careful attention.
Spray the ashes and ash pit with a
hose. It keeps down the dust, and
damp pit means more heat.
DO not clean lire from the top.
Large clinkers should occur seldom,
where the drafts are given proper at
pit. They should be removed prefer
ably thru the clinker door or by shak-
Ing and dumping the CRATE, but, Il
necessary, thru the feed door. The dfe
should then be properly leveled.
Dampen the air by keeping water
on the stove or in the furnace.
Do not dump fresh coal on old coal
In the bin, or spontaneous combustion
may be the result.
In another column on this page will
be found q series Of diagrams illus-
trating the best methods OF firing
furnace at different times Of the day
and during mild and cold weather.
s53isS lisys 80 IL 81 80
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