Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-02-13
CONSERVATION OF
OUR COAL SUPPLY
Some Good Suggestions Made
by Local Fuel Ad-
ministrators.

In view Of the general scarcity Of coal
and the necessity of conserving rs much
of that fuel ms possible, the local fuel
committee, of which Robert ID. Kemp
is chairman, has issued tho following
instructions as to the best methods for
operating coal fires:
"This country faces a shortage OF coal
and it is the patriotic duty of every
citizen to save coal in heating his home.
If everybody does his bit the sum total
will amount TO n considerable amount
during the remainder of this winter.
Give ways in which coal can be saved
are rs follows: OF tho Goals available
in your market select the one that requires
the least attention i'm burning; use an
economical method Of burning your coal;
keep your house temperature 62 TO 90
degrees f., instead of ~ To rs degrees f.,
heat as few rooms as the comfort of your
family will permit; shorten the heating
season as much as possible.
"In house-heating equipment the fires
can be given very little attention, there
fore fuels that require little attention in
burning arc the most economical and give
the best satisfaction.
Because of the great variety of fuels
used for house-heating purposes and
because of the great variety OF house-heat-
ing equipment and conditions OF operation.
only the most general rules can be given
for firing the fuel The details must be
determined by actual trial in each fur
mace.
"When firing anthracite, the best
results are obtained by spreading the
coal evenly over the entire fuci bed.
The fire should not be allowed to become
too low before putting on fresh hring.
A fuel bed to 10 inches thick gives good
results. The fire should be disturbed MS
little as possible.
BURNING sort COAL.
''The bituminous, or soft Goals, are
smoky and cover the fue surfaces with
n large amount of SCOT and tar, which
reduces the transfer of heat and lmpalrs
the draft. Bituminous coal should be
fred by placing the fresh charge on one
side of the CRATE only, leaving part OF the
surface of the fuel bed uncovered The
volatile natter rising from the freshly
fired coal il ignited by the red-hot coal Of
the uncovered part OF the fire and large
part of it burns.
"If the entire surface of the fuel bed is
covered with a heavy charge, the volatile
matter from the fired coal does not ignite
for n considerable length of time after
firing and passes away unburned as
tarry. greenish-yellow smoke. The fur
mace and the fiues become filled with the
smoke and when the fire finally works its
way through the fresh layer Of coal the
smoke and gas may ignite with an explo-
sion violent enough to blow the pipes
down and fill the house with smoke.
These explosions are particularly apt 20
happen II the coal contains much slack:
therefore, with such coal particular care
should be taken that part of the bright
fire remains uncovered. This method of
firing reduces the amount OF SCOT deposit
ed in the ilues so that less frequent cleaning
is necessary il also reduces the heat losses
from incomplete combustion, thus direct
~ effecting saving OF coal,
DRAFT REGULATION.
Draft regulation is perhaps the most
important factor in burning coal eff
cicntlv in house heating furnaces. The
draft is regulated mainly with three
dampers; one of these is on the ash pit
doors, one on the firing door, and one in
the pipe connecting the furnace with the
chimney For many furnaces the damper
in the iuc pipe is an opening covered with
n hinged lid W hen this lid is closed the
full chimney draft is effective in the fur
mace. When the lid is lifted the chimney
ing gases ont Of the furnace. and the draft
in the furnace is reduced almost to
nothing. Between the two extremes
any draft can be obtained by proper
adjustment Of the lid,
The damper on the ash-pit door
regulates the flow Of air through the fire,
and the amount Of air flowing through the
fire determines the rate of combustion.
or the amount OF coal that the furnace
. can burn in an hour Therefore, TO
control the rate of combustion and thereby
regulate the amount of heat the furnace
delivers to the house, the furnace attend
ant adjusts the damper in the ash-plt
door and the damper to the chimney
''The daInper in the firing door supplies
air over fro needed to burn the gases ris-
ing from the fuel bed; therefore, its regu-
I lation controls the completeness of com
I b,istion of these gases. When soft coal
is burned large volume of combustible
/ gases rise from the fuel bed Immediately