Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-02-24
KEEP THE HOME HEATER
BURNING; HERE'S HOW
Expert Says There's Too Little
Attention to Keeping the
Air Right.

Washington. Feb. 23.---Advicc to
operators of house-hcating furnaces
who under tho keen urge OF chill blasts
of winter have applied TO the Bureau
of Mines for a solution OF difficulties
expeGienced In caring for their fires
over night. Is given In statement
made today by .. =. Hood, chief me-
chanical engineer OF the bureau.
There are several ways of managing
furnace. as there are several ways
of driving a horse. says Mr.. Hood.
The general principle Is quite obyl-
Gus, but that principle can be applied
in different ways. In the process of
combustion two quantities must be
supplied--coal and air. The coal one
pays for, the air one gets for nothing,
but the quantity of air required In
weight IS from II TO 20 times as much
as the quantity of coal required. II
one had TO pay for air he would pay a
great deal more attention TO the sup
ply of this necessary material, Mr..
Hood says.
Given a. bed of Goals that are red
hot, the fire viii burn just in propor-
ton as air IL fed through the fuel
bed. The question of keeping a iire
over night, Engineer Hood asserts. Is
one OF having n bed OF fuel large
enough so that at least the center of
| II can keep red hot without being
chilled by the cold sides of the fur
mace, Or the cold ash pit below. If
absolutely no air was fed through the
fuel bed. In time the fire would go out
because of loss of heat. The problem
then. is TO feed Just air enough
| through the fuel bed to maintain tenn
perature.
The ash pit of most furnaces leaks
enough air so that IL there was a con-
siderable draft or suction above the
fuel bed produced by the chimney,
more air would leak into the ash pit
and up through the fuel bed thar
enough 10 simply maintain the tenn
perature. Mr.. Hood explains. Too
much air fed through the fire would
burn up the coal and the fire would
not keep. The problem then, is to
cut down the flow OF air through the
fuel bed. This can be done in numer-
GUS ways; one can put on q large
amount of coal and cover the top
with very fine coal, or even with ashes.
This increases the resistance through
the fuel bed, so that only small
i amount of air flows. Another way.
and good way too. according TO MIR.
Hood. is to allow ashes TO accumulate
on the crate 20 add 10 the resistance
of the flow of air. While this is a
good way in mild weather it is rot
SO good in severe weather, because one
cannot get rs much coal into the FIRE
box. and It is usually best to keep the
fire box completely filed with fuel
Even when the resistance through
the fuel bed is increased. If the daft
is maintained theHe Is apt 20 be toe
much leakage through the ash pit and
100 vigorous a fire. BY opening the
check draft so that air can flow ur
tho chimney without flowing through
the fuel bed, the air passage through
/, the fuel bed is greatly reduced. II
makes little difference whether this
is done by opening the check draft
in the chimney, or done by opening
, the damper IN the door, allowing the
air to flow above the fuel bed In ths
latter case. however, the air is drawn
through tho boiler and helps 10 COO
of the boiler IN addition 10 check,ne
the flow of air through the fuel bed