The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1917-11-30
Watch Your Furnace

The United States Fuel Administrator for In
diana :--One-fifth of the coal consumption in In
dustria and domestic use, in the United States IS
total waste. Twenty percent of the coal burned
in Indiana goes up in smoke without rendering
service. This means that Indianas annual fuel
waste is approximately 100000 tons. At pres
ent prices this means we are spending about S10,-
100000 for our carelessness and ignorance.
Investigation by United States officials and,
more recently by the University of Illinois, leaves
no room for doubt but that SO out of every 100
households in the country, wastes onefifth of the
fuel bought The man who, last winter used ten
tons of coal in his furnace, could have obtained
the same, if not better results, on eight tons of
coal if he had given his furnace better and more
intelligent attention.
Most persons believe that firing fur
mace is merely matter of heaplng IN the
coal, and, when the ash chamber will hold
no more, carrying out the ashes. They
never think of screening ashes to recover
coke rich in heat units nor has it occurred
to them that it is worth while to keep the
ash chamber cleaned out each day in or
der that there shall be a uniform and UNI
obstructed draft to the fire box of the fur
mace, giving efficient combustion. A crack
in the casing of the ash chamber of the
boiler setting, door that does not fit
snugly to the fire box, are, for most per-
tention, and yet each is costing the
who pays the fuel bill real, hard money
Just one dollar out of every five spent for
coal. is spent because these trivial defects
receive no attention
Another fuel loss is bound to result where
persons fail to keep boiler fues and hot air pipes
clean SCOT is one of the best non-conductors of
heat known. Where hot water or steam plant
IS used if SCOT and dust is permitted to accumu-
LOT o,J 4bo TOYS IF fbof
are permitted to become coated, the requirements
for heat necessary to keep the water at the right
temperature, is vastly increased and, result,
more coal is shoveled into the fire box.
AS rule, if you would get the maximum
heat from your furnace or steam plant, it should
not be heavily fired. That is coal should not be
thrown in in heaps. A thin, uniform bed of fire,
gives more complete combustion and more heat
than where the fire bed is thicker and much of
the combustibe gases escape out the flue with
out being burned
The fellow who really wishes to save money
can do job worth while right at the door of his
furnace. He really can save one dollar OF every
five he has been spending for coal.
But the Indiana coal situation is than a
money saving question. In round numbers Indi-
ana has been using 100000 tons of Indiana coal
each year and 100000 tons shipped in from
other states. Indiana has been shipping out to
other states less than 100000 tons In other
words if all the available coal mined in In
diana for Indiana use, we shall still be short
about 100000 tons of our normal need
Indiana is receiving very little coal from
other states. There is no reason to expect that
we shall receive from other states anything like
the normal supply. If we get 100000 tons of
foreign coal in Indiana shall be doing very