Milford chronicle., 1930-12-19
HOW TO KEEP
... FIRE IN FURNACE

i
To make the work of tending the
! household furnace a simpler job, L.
Norman Burnside, well known Fuel
Engineer of the d. L. e. w. Coal
Company, has compiled some inter
esting data on the proper care Of
furnaces for the home owner.
Most people," says Mr.. Burnside,
''have never been told how to prop
erly start a fire, and so get poor
results even from excellent heating
plants"
! The most common mistake in the
handling of a household furnace is
the method of refueling, Mr.. Burn
side states. Here is how it should
/ be done. When recoaling, the damp
| er should be opened and the fire
shawen down until a red glow ap-
pears in the ash pit. Then, and this
is most important, a mound of live
Goals should be pulled to the front
of the furnace with a shovel or hoe,
and the fresh charge of coal placed
at the back of the furnace so that
there is always a small mound of
burning embeTs just inside the fur
mace door. This small brisky burn
ing heap of Goals buprns all gasses
that are generated, and gives the
new charge of coal chance to burn
clearly. All ashes should be removed
from the pit each time the furnace
is refueled for the most satisfactory
results.
The most economical and salts
factory fuel for household use, ac-
cording to Mr.. Burnside, is anthra-
cite coal that is free burning and
breaks into square Jumps of almost
uniform size (sqquare fracture an
thracite) no matter by what COM
coIored blue now by the largest pro-
ducers.
The following are some funda-
mental rules outlined by Mr.. Burn
side for the proper care and manage
ment OF a furnace.
Starting the Fire: If there are
ashes on the CRATE they should be
shaken down until an even layer
only an inch or two in thickness re-
mains. 1t is a waste of coal to re-
move all the ashes. This bed of
ashes should be covered with a thin
layer of coal. If the CRATE is clean,
a layer of coal should be placed over
it, before the kindling is put on.
Then a kindling of paper and wood
should be placed on the bed of Goals
and, after the turn damper on the
furnace pipe and the fire door slide
and ash door flap are opened, the
should be lighted. 1t is
mistake to keep the slide
on the furnace door shut while
starting fire, according to Mr..
Burnside.
When the kindling is burning
briskly, the fire should be covered
with a light charge of coal and the
.urn damper partially closed. The
ash door flap and the furnace door
slide should be kept open until all
Of the wood is burned and the coal
properly ignited. Then, if a slow
fire is wanted, all dampers should
be closed, and the fire door slide
eft slightly open.
Medium Fire: For a medium fire
open the damper in the furnace pipe
part way and partially open the ASH
loor flap. The fire door slide should
be shut and the ashes shaken down
until a slight glow appears through
he CRATE in the ash pit. To obtain
more heat, the ash door flap should
De opened fully and the turn damp
sr opened little further.
Banking the Fire: The last rules
outlined by Mr.. Burnside apply to
he banking of the fire. He points
,ut that banking a fire is very i'm
,ortant process because the banked
ire usually stays without attention
Ill night or during the absence OF
he tender, and so it must be banked
correctly if the best results are to
De obtained. So to bank the fire,
i'll the fire pot to the line of the hre
oor at least, but the small heap OF
i've Goals pulled to the front of the
urnace with each new charge should
lever be covered. Then the damper
nd ash door flap should be entirely
losed. The door slide and the
heck damper Chats the little flap
n back of the turn damper on the
ulnace pipe) should be opened. II
hese things are done, the little pile
f bright embers in front OF your
urnace door will burn any gases
hat develop in the closely confined
re pot and keep them from coming
trough the open door slide, and be-
ides, you will have a fire burning
nd ready for enlarging over long
ariod of time.