Evening star., 1921-10-21
TO AVOID WASTING HEAT BY
PROPER MANAGEMENT OF STOVE

quite one-half of the heating value
of coal is utilized in actually heating
the house; the remainder escapes ap
the chimney. Often 1t has been found
that only one-fourth of the full heat
ing value was obtained. Keep the
stove and furnace clean.
Every two weeks throughout the
winter every SCOT particle should be
routed. This may seem unnecessary,
and you may think that furnaces are
supposed TO be sooty. but they are not
The object should be to main ain a
steady heat in the house and steady
fire in the furnace, rather than to
have first very hot fire and then let
II get so low as to require very heavy
applications Of fuel to bring it back
to normal. Another gen raj rule
about the furnace or stove is to feed
the FIRE regularly. whether in cool
weather or very cold weather. Keep
the frepot full. about level with the
bottom of thu firing door, no matter
whether you are burning the fuel
slowly or rapidly. thin fire wastes
coal Disturb your fire as little as
possible: too frequent stoking or pok-
ing spoils 1t. Keep the ashes cleaned
from under the crate. With clean
ash pit the fire burns more uniformly
and with less cliEkers. If the fire
gets very low open the ash-pit damper
and add little coal that Is not too
fine. Do not disturb the crate or
the ashes. When the fresh coal Is we'll
iEnited, shake the CRATE and add more
coal A fresh fire or q large fire re-
quires air over the fuel bed as well
as through it, but il should come IN
only through the damper in the FIR
ing door, which is made for that
purpoSe. To check a fire close the
ashpit door and open the check draft
in the smoke pipe. Never check it
by leaving the firing door open. If
the fire is so strong as to make check
ing and control Of the fire difficult
with the check draft, partly close the
you use soft coal break it in pieces
the size of your fist and when you
Are do not cover the whole surface
with fresh coal, but leave a bright
spot to ignite the gases.
The whole rule for good furnace
management can be summed up brief
~ as follows: The flow of air through
isnited fuel is what makes a fire
burn. Learn to control this flow OF
air. One of the very best general
rules for furnace or range is to pro-
vide just enough flow of air through
flow of air from below by regulating
the check damper above, which let's
cold air flow directly into the CHM
ney. This method furnishes the nee
esSary oxygen from below to give
good combustion to the fuel and for
the consumption of the coal gases,
and also allows time for the burning
of these gases before they are sucked
UP the chimney. 1t is the escape of
too large IL proportion of these COM
buStible gases up the chimney. before
they have burned. which accounts for
the very low percentage of usable
heat obtained from many furnaces.
How to Manage Your Kitchen stove.
Be sure the smoke passages in the
kitchen stove are clean. Break the
Jumps of coal to pieces no larger than
eggs. When the stove must run sew
eral hours a full fire box, carefully
controlled by hampers. is more eco
nomical than a fire so small that the
CRATE is only partly covered. AS in
the case of the furnace, when you
have a big fire little air is needed
over the coal as well as through it.
II the fire box is cloSged with ashes
make it burn. II SCOT hangs on the
them A layer of ashes over the top
and under the oven will keep it from
heating quickly. If you use soft coal.
allow just enough air TO come through
the damper over the fire to make the
flames so short they will not reach
the second row of stove lids.
When it is necessary to carry a fire
over night, I'LL the fire box with coal.
cover 1t over tightly with ashes and
close all hampers. TO etart the fire
open the damper below the crate and
the one in the stoyepfpe. Break up
the coke in the fire box with a poker,
and rattle the ashes into the ash box.
Save what coal and coke YOU can