The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-02-27
MORE ADVICE ON
RUNNING FURNACE
Check Flow of Air Through Coal Bed 10
Keep Fire Through Night
Much Air ETSed.
MASHINGT0N - q

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27.-Adyicc
to operators of house-heating furnaces.
who under the keen urge of chill blasts
OF winter have applied to the bureau of
mines tor d solution of difficulties ex-
perienced in caring for their fires over
mght, Is given IN q statement made TO-
day BY O. T. Hood chief mechanical
engineer of the bureau
There are several ways of managing a
furnace, as there are several ways 81
driving horse, says Mr. Hood The
general principle IS quite obvious. but
that principle can be applied in different
ways In the process of combustion two
quantities must be supplicd-coal and
air. The coal one pays for, the air one
gets for nothing, but the quantity of mir
required IN weight IS from II to ~
times as much as the quantity of coal re
quired. If one had to pay for air he
would pay great deal more attention
to the supply of this necessary material.
Mr.. Hood says
Given a bed of Goals that are red hot.
the FIRE will burn just in proportion as
air Is fed through the fuel bed. The
question of keeping a fire over night.
Engineer Hood asserts, is one of having
a bed of fuel large enough so that at
least the center of it can keep red hot
without being chilled by the cold sides of
the furnace or the cold ash pit below. If
absolutely no air was fed through the
because of loss of heat. The problem.
then. is TO feed just air enough through
the fuel bed to maintain temperature
The ash pit of most furnaces leaks
enough air so that if there was 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 than enough to sim
ply maintain the temperature. 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 numerous
ways; one can put on a 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 amount of air flows.
Another way. and good one, too, ac-
cording to Mr.. Hood, is to allow ashes
to accumulate on the CRATE to add to
the. resistance of the flow of air. While
this Is a good way in mild weather il is
not so good in severe weather, because
one cannot get as much coal into the
tIrebOx, and it is usually best TO keep the
frebOX completely filed with fuel Even
Is increased. if the draft is mar-ained
there is apt to be too much le age
through the ash pit and too vigorous
fire. BY opening the check draft so that
air can flow up the chimney without
flowing through the fuel bed, the air
passing through the fuel bed is greatly
reduced. 1t makes little difference
whether this is done by opening the
check draft in the chimney, or done by
opening the damper in the door. allow
ing the air to flow above the fuel bed.
In the latter case, however, the air is
drawn through the boiler and helps to
cool eff the boiler in addition tn checking
the flow of air through the fuel bed.