LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. GIFT OF" PACIFIC THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 84638 ^Accession Class - 3 :> resen.ted. by Boston. York. At Exhibitions in the U. S. First Premiums over all Competition. ILOIVOCMV. Boston. ISJ"ew York. THE aAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE: A HAND-BOOK OF INSTRUCTION ON THE PROPER MANAGEMENT AND ECON OMICAL USE OF GAS. WITH A FULL DESCRIPTION OF GAS-METERS, DIRECTIONS FOR ASCERTAINING THE CONSUMPTION BY METER. ON ETC. BOSTON : ALEXANDER MOORE. 1871. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by ALEXANDER MOORE, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. CONTENTS. PAGE BRIEF HISTORY OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT . . . .11 ADVANTAGES OF GAS . 20 GAS, H\)W MANUFACTURED, AND ITS QUALITY ... 27 CONSIDERATIONS ON ADOPTING GAS LIGHTING ... 39 ON GAS FITTINGS, PENDANTS, BRACKETS, ETC. ... 46 GAS STOVES AND GAS COOKING APPARATUS, ETC. . . 49 BURNERS, FLAMES, GLASSES, REFLECTORS, ETC. . . 53 THE PROPER POSITION OF GAS-LIGHTS . . . .73 GAS-METER . .78 DESCRIPTION OF WET GAS-METER 82 DESCRIPTION OF DRY GAS-METER 94 I$|DEX OF METER 102 GAS-REGULATOR 108 VENTILATION . . . 113 CHEMISTRY OF GAS-LIGHTING 125 CONCLUDING REMARKS 136 (vii) .84638 INDEX. PAGE ACCIDENTS from gas . 45, 48, 143 Advantages of gas 20 " " two chimneys to argand-burner 62 Air, the effect of, mixing with gas 101,136 Ammonia and ammoniacal gas 134 Apparatus, for cooking, baths, etc 51 Argand-burner 55, 57, 01 Artificial light, brief history of 11 BATHS, apparatus for, etc 51 Bisulphide of carbon 134 Burner, argand . . 55, 57, 61 " bat-wing 64 " fishtail 66 " Carcel, and single jet 69 Burners 53, 139 " how to light them 44 CANDLE, the, how it burns, etc 12, 30, 31, 125 Carbon 129 " bisulphide of 134 Carbonic acid gas 133 " oxide 131 Carbonization of gas 140 Check-taps as a substitute for regulator Ill Chemistry of gas-lighting 125 Chimneys for burners 61, 137 Chlorine gas 123 Cleanliness of gas 22 Composition of coal-gas 130 Considerations on adopting gas-lighting 39 Cyanogen ...... 185 DRY METER, description of . . . 94 index of, and how to read it 104-106 ECONOMY of gas 21 Effect of gas on health 139 illumination on the air of the apartment 113 mixing air with gas 101, 136 " the heat and vapor from combustion 116 '* temperature on meter, etc 41 Effects of impure gas 34 Elements of coal-gas 123 Escape of gas, how to detect and remedy , . . . 43, 48, 142, 145 Experiments, etc., with burners 55,' 58, 59 Explosion of gas 143 FISH-TAIL BURNER 66 Flame 54, 55 Flickering 137 GAS, ammoniacal 134 " carbonic acid 133 " chlorine 128 INDEX. ix Gas, Coal, accidents from 45, 48, 143 advantages of 20 as a motive power : engine 52 brilliancy of 23 burners for 55-69 carbonization of . . 140 cleanliness of 22 composition of 130 economy of 21 effect of on health 139 " " mixing air with . 101, 136 escape of, how to detect and remedy . . .43, 48, 142, 146 experiments with, etc 55, 58, 59 explosion of 143 first obtained from coal . . . . . . . 17 general complaints about 53 illuminating, how obtained 28 illuminating quality of 146 impure, its effects 34 impurities of, how to detect 35, 132 introduced into various cities ....... 17-19 luminosity of 138 manufacture of . . 27 mode of burning . . . . . . . . .133 pressure of 37, 108, 138, 142 safety of 21 salubrity of . . 23 utility of 24 why x it smokes 31 cyanogen . 135 hydrogen 128 light carburetted hydrogen 130 nitrogen 128 olefiant -131 oxygen 127 Gas cooking apparatus, baths, etc . . 51 fitters, skilled workmen should be employed 40 fittings, pendents, brackets, etc. 46, 47 light, one good one best 60 lighting, chemistry of 125 considerations on adopting 39 when adopted, skilled workmen necessary ... 40 ligh s should not be placed in cellars 45 4 the proper position of * . 73, 75, 76 meter, description of . . . 82, 94 effects of temperature on 41,94 freezing of the liquid in 94 how gas is measured by 83 how the quantity is indicated by 88 index of, and how to read it 102-105 proper position of 41, 94 records with accuracy 78 pipes, the kinds of to be used 42 stoves, and how placed . . 49-61 ' regulator, description of, and why required . . . 108-111, 142 check-taps as a substitute for . . ' , . . . Ill Gasalier, hydraulic 47 Gases what they are 27, 127 General complaints about gas 53, 139 Glasses and globes 70, 71 HEALTH, effect of gas on . 139 History, a brief, of artificial light 11 How a candle or lamp burns . 125 X INDEX. How illuminating gas is obtained 28 How to light burners 44 How to detect the presence of impurities in gas .... 35, 132 How to stop a leak 146 Hydrocarbons 131 Hydrogen 128 light, carburetted 130 " sulphuretted 132 ILLUMINATING GAS, how obtained 2S * " quality of gas 146 Impure gas, its effects 34 Impurities of coal gas, and how to detect them .... 35, 132 LAMP, the ancient 11 Lanterns 13-15 Large argands most economical 63 Leak, how to etop 146 Light, a brief history of 11 Light carburetted hydrogen 130 Luminosity of gas 138 METEfe, the gas, description of . . 82, 94 effects of temperature on, etc 41, 94 freezing of the liquid in 94 how gas is measured by 38 how the quantity is indicated by 88 index of, and how to read it .... 102-106 proper position of 41, 94 records with accuracy 78 Mode of burning gas 136 NITROGEN 128 OBSTACLES against adopting gas-lighting 39 Olefiantgas 131 Oxygen 127 PIPES, the kinds of to be used 42 Pressure, etc 37, 108, 138, 142 REFLECTORS . . 72 Regulators, why required, and description of . . . . 108-111, 142 check-taps as a substitute for Ill Relative light from gas and candles 33 SINGLE-JET burner 69 Stoves, gas, and how placed 49-61 Sulphur 129 "Sun-light "the best for public edifices 75 TEMPERATURE, effects of on meter 41,94 UTILITY of gas 24 VENTILATION . 43, 113-124, 148 a simple method of 120 WET METERS, description of 82 " " index of, and how to read it 102 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE, CHAPTER I. BRIEF HISTORY OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. THAT light and heat were first produced simultaneously by burning the branches of trees, etc., is apparent, from the means employed by savage tribes to obtain fire. Then, afterwards, splinters of resinous wood probably supplied the means of artificial light (as for this purpose they are even now employed in many parts of the civ- ilized world) ; and for the same object, torches and sim- ilar devices followed. The employment of the lamp can be dated back to a very early period ; it being generally believed that it is an invention of the Egyptians, who not only used them for common illuminating purposes, but also placed them in the tombs of the dead, as emblems of mortality. The progress toward the realization of the lamp may, however, have been so gradual and simultaneous by dif- ferent nations, as to preclude the merit of invention to any one of them. The ancient Greeks are known to have been accus- tomed to the use of lamps, which we have every reason to believe were fed by vegetable oil. It is very probable that the earliest, or most primitive ..84638 12 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. lamps, were not made of any set form, but that the fat or oil was placed in any convenient vessel, and burned by means of a bundle of rushes or dried moss. Long after the ancients were far advanced in the arts and manufactures, they continued the use of these rude and simple lights, little or no attention seemingly having been devoted by them to this subject. However elab- orate the design of the vessel for holding the oil, the simple wick dipping into it completed the arrangement, which was defective in principle, limited in utility, expensive in result, and not unfrequently s'ent forth volumes of smoke with a very small amount of light. The candle is a scientific production of great antiquity ; and, in addition to its means of lighting, has often been applied as a rude indicator of time. Perhaps one of the most curious offices it has fulfilled, was formerly, when sales by auction, in England (called "candle auctions"), were decided by its durability. The property or article was offered for sale at the same moment that an inch of candle was lighted ; the bystanders bid as long as it con- tinued burning, and the commodity was adjudged to the last bidder previous to its extinction. The lighting of stree'ts, now so generally adopted, was unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who, when returning from their nocturnal revels, had torches or lanterns carried before them by their slaves. But public illuminations on particular occasions are, however, very ancient : Egypt and Greece had them ; Rome was lighted up on the occasion of some games exhibited under Caligula ; the Jews illuminated the Holy City for eight days at the dedication of the Temple ; and Constantinople was hung with festal lamps on Easter Eve. London seems to have been the first city which perma- BRIEF HISTORY OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 13 nently adopted this improvement ; for in 1414 the citizens were ordered to hang out lanterns to light the streets ; and in 1417 (according to Stowe), Sir Henry Barton, being Mayor of London, ordered "lanthorns with lights to be hanged out in the streets in the winter evenings between All Hallowtide and Candlemas " ; and it was the duty of the watchmen to see the order duly enforced. These were the first attempts to illuminate streets ; but we can judge of the dreary state of London from the. fact that the steeple of old Bow Church, before the Great Fire, was so constructed that on its top there was a lan- tern, intended to direct travellers and market people who came from the north ; and in Barbican was a tower with light for the same object. In those times, whenever a large light was required, such as at the entrance of churches on the occasion of religious processions, beacons were used for the purpose. These were iron cages, or, as now termed, fire-baskets, which were generally attached to the walls, and supplied with wood and tarred rope. They were also made to be portable, being placed on the top of a wooden frame, with a ladder to supply the fuel, and carried, on festal occasions, wherever they might be required. In 1G68, when some regulations were made for im- proving the streets of London, the inhabitants were re- minded to. hang out their lanterns at the usual hour for " the peace and safety of the city." In 1679, we find the Lord Mayor complaining of the neglect of the inhabitants of the city in not hanging and keeping out their lights at the accustomed hours, " accord- ing to the good and ancient usage and acts of Council in that behalf." * In 1690, the order was renewed, with an exception in 14 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. favor of those who should agree to make use of lamps of any sort, to be placed at such distances in the streets as should be approved of by the Justices of the Peace. In the year 1716, the Common Council of the city of London passed an act, " That every housekeeper whose house fronts the street should set or hang out one or more lights, with sufficient cotton wicks, that shall continue to burn from six o'clock at night till eleven o'clock the same night, on penalty of one shilling, to be enforced by distress or otherwise." In 1736 and 1739, lighting the streets with lamps was partially adopted ; but as this did not extend to the whole town, and many street robberies were committed, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1744 for completely lighting the cities of London and Westminster. Birmingham was first lighted by lamps in 1733, so that in this improvement it preceded London. The streets of Paris were first lighted in 1524, when a mandate was issued requiring the inhabitants to keep lights burning from nine in the evening, in those windows which fronted the street, in order to guard against incen- diaries and robbers ; and in 1558, large vases, supplied with pitch and other combustible matter, were placed at the corners of the streets, to serve the purpose of illu- mination. In 1662, an Italian abbe of the name of Laudati ob- tained an exclusive privilege to let out torches and lan- terns for hire ; for this purpose he erected booths in several parts of Paris, where men and boys were in waiting ready to attend either carriages or foot-passengers. These link- men and boys were paid by time ; and to avoid disputes, eacVof them carried an hour-glass. The reverberating or reflecting lamps were introduced BRIEF HISTORY OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 15 into Paris in 1766. These were suspended over the centre of the road by chains or cords, which extended from house to house, and were raised or lowered, for the purpose of lighting or trimming, by means of a pulley and cord or chain. At the commencement of the present century, the paro- chial or district street lighting was so defective, that in first-class streets in London every house had its lantern with iron frame attached to the railings at the entrance ; and when well-to-do people went out on foot they were accompanied by a servant carrying a hand-lantern to light the way ; whilst the entrances of theatres and such like places were thronged with link-boys, with their general salutation of "Link, yer honor," ready to accompany coaches, sedan-chairs, or foot passengers. And to show the importance of these light bearers, all the principal houses had extinguishers for the torches at their entrances, many of which, with the frames of the lanterns before mentioned, are still in existence at the west end of London. At that period people seemed to care little about quan- tity of light ; perhaps", never having experienced its utility, they did not know its worth. The rows of lamps at the entrances of houses in the principal streets only served to make darkness visible ; but whilst the better class of streets were thus badly illuminated, the others were next to total darkness ; a dingy lamp here and there was sup- posed to light, but answered really no useful purpose. Everything connected with street lighting was just as preposterously large as the lights were ridiculously small, two of which, according to the evidence of Mr. Accum before a committee of the House of Commons, only gave the light of one penny tallow candle. The lamp-lighter 16 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. carried an immense torch, which illuminated more than all the lamps in a large street combined. The diminutive jets were enclosed in colossal glasses, and the watchman of the time carried a lantern of gigantic dimensions, and yet so small was its light, that to be assured of the identity of an individual he was obliged to hold it close to the person's face. At that period the streets of London were infested with footpads, who carried on their depredations in the most daring manner, and often with extreme violence. Bobberies were of. most frequent occurrence, and the ladders of the lamp-lighters who went to trim the lamps at midnight were often "borrowed" for the purpose of committing burglaries. But whilst this dreariness existed in the streets, the in- terior of dwellings was little better. It is true Mr. Argand had previously invented his beautiful lamp-burner ; but it was far from being perfect, was very expensive, and after all only a slight advance in lighting when compared with gas. Coal, from which gas is almost universally obtained, was first used in London by brewers, dyers, and other businesses which required large fires, about the year 1306 ; but the smoke therefrom becoming very offensive to the resident nobility and gentry, combined with the opposition from the medical profession, who pronounced it to be poisonous, a royal decree was in consequence issued, pro- hibiting the use of coal under severe penalties. But in time, as wood fuel became scarce, and the trade of the city increased, prejudice gave way to utility, and gradually the use of coal was tolerated. The first patents, or as then termed exclusive privileges,^ in conjunction Avith coal, were granted about 1589. These consisted in forging iron, melting glass, boiling soap, and BRIEF HISTORY OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 17 melting lead with coal. Amongst the products for which patents were granted may be enumerated the making of charcoal (coke), pitch, tar, and oil, the latter being de- scribed as a cure for "rheumatick, scorbulatic, and other cases." Gas was first obtained from coal by Dr. Hales, in 172 G, who employed it as a source of amusement for his friends ; by filling a bladder with it, and puncturing a small hole therein, he lighted the issuing gas. However, it was re- garded only as a philosophical toy, without any view to utility. Subsequently, Dr. Clayton, Dr. Watson, and other scientific men, at various periods, turned their at- tention to the subject ; but the true discoverer of the prac- tical application of coal-gas for lighting purposes was Mr. Miirdock, a Scotchman, who, in the year 1792, while at lledruth, in Cornwall, made a series of experiments on the quantity and qualities of the gases produced by dis- tillation from different mineral and vegetable substances. That gentleman first lighted his house and offices by gas in 1792 ; and in 1798, by the same means, he lighted part of the Soho Works, at Birmingham ; and in 1802, a mag- nificent public display of gas illumination was made by him at that establishment. Mr. Murdock, and a few others who entered into com- petition with him, then commenced the construction of gas-works for supplying large manufactories, such as cotton-mills, etc., to which they seemed to confine them- selves ; but the views of Mr. Winsor, who entered the field at the period as a propagator of gas lighting, were much more gigantic and comprehensive, for he proposed the necessity of lighting streets, shops, dwellings, heating apartments, and cooking by gas, and the establishment of a company for the full development of the new art. 18 THE GAS-COXSUMEK'S GUIDE. For this purpose Mr. Winsor gave public lectures de- monstrating the utility and practicability of gas, showing the various operations and the vast superiority of that over all other means of artificial light. The opposition against the innovation was great in the extreme ; but at length, after struggling with indomitable perseverance for some years, he ultimately succeeded in establishing the first gas company in the world for the production of gas as an ar- ticle of commerce the "chartered" of London and was originally empowered as "The Gas Light and Coke Company," which commenced business in 1813. But the prejudice against it was very great. Napoleon ridiculed it, and said, "C'est une grande folie." Sir Walter Scott gravely informed his friends that he thought London would be in flames from one end to the other if this visionary idea was attempted to be carried out. Mr. Clegg gives an account of the horrors of the lamp-lighters when they first beheld the burning gas, and how he was obliged to light the lamps himself for some time, on ac- count of the fears of the people. Even such men as Sir Humphry Davy and Sir Joseph Banks were unable for many years after this to overcome the prejudices which existed in their own minds concerning it ; and they thought the scheme a wild and dangerous one. The public, how- ever, soon became reconciled to it ; and in 1814, the oil- lamps were removed from the streets of St. Margaret, Westminster, and gas-lights were put in their places. This was the first parish that entered into a contract to have the streets lighted with gas. Paris was first lighted by gas in 1820, and although previously strong prejudices existed against the project, yet, when carried out, it produced a corresponding enthu- siasm ; and, to give an instance, a French author of the BRIEF HISTORY OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. 19 period, in writing to a friend describing the new light, said, "Where gas-light exists, there is no night; where gas-light is, there is continuous day." The first attempts to introduce gas into this country were made at Baltimore, in* 1816. The company first organized, which is the oldest in this country, constructed works for the manufacture of tar^gas, but was unsuccess- ful ; and it was not until about 1821 that gas was successfully introduced. Boston next introduced it in 1822, and con- tinues to work under its first charter. New York fol- lowed, commencing operations in 1823, but did not get into successful operation until 1827. Philadelphia intro- duced it in 1835 ; and it has, since its first introduction, been gradually extending over the whole world. It may now be said to be universal in the cities and towns of Europe ; and is making rapid progress in North America. It is used in all the principal cities of the United States and of Canada, and it is spreading rapidly in the smaller towns. Its introduction into South America and into Asia has been more recent, and its progress there, as might have been expected, is much slower. It has also been introduced into the principal towns in Australia and Tasmania. 20 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. CHAPTER II. ADVANTAGES OF GAS. NOTWITHSTANDING the opposition which has existed against the employment of this indispensable article, the inexplicable conflagrations unjustly laid to its charge, and but too often the work of the incendiary ; the rare and unfrequent accidents which have unfortunately occurred, not by its use, but by its abuse ; and the partial and unjustifiable attacks made against its usefulness by inter- ested persons ; notwithstanding the full amount of this wholesale prejudice, gas has made such rapid and uni- versal advances as to prove incontestably its immense superiority over all other means of artificial illumination. And can any one doubt that the same voice which first bade light to be, has summoned gas to the service of man, and pronounced the light from it to be- goocf ? A few observations on the advantages, safety, economy, cleanliness, briljiancy, salubrity, and utility of gas, may not be considered out of place here. Advantages. The superiority of coal-gas, as compared with every other material for producing light, has been too long acknowledged to require arguments or illustra- tions. The superiority of gas consists, not merely in the relative cheapness of the light obtained from it, as that compared with tallow, wax, sperm-oil, kerosene, camphene, etc. ; there are other circumstances connected ADVANTAGES OF GAS. 21 with its use, which are of far greater importance, namely : its convenience, cleanliness, brilliancy, manage- ability, and safety. Gas requires no preparation by the consumer ; it is lighted in a moment, can be increased or diminished at pleasure, and retires with the rapidity of thought. It saves labor and time, as compared with oil and other lamps, and where candles are used. The odor, so pecu- liar to coal-gas, has often been urged as an objection to its use ; a stronger ground of objection would exist if it was free from odor ; its presence, in an unburnt state, is thereby infallibly detected, and thus fair warning is given that something requires remedying. Safety. Gas is beyond all comparison safer than any other means of artificial illumination. It puts aside the necessity of movable lights, and as candles or lamps were a continuous source of trouble, by which both life and property have been endangered, and too frequently destroyed, the stationary, steady, and brilliant light from gas must be more desirable. But no better argument is required than the daily accidents from explosions of carn- phene and kerosene lamps, resulting, as they so often do, in the most horrible of deaths, to prove the superior safety of gas. It may, however, be mentioned that many insu- rance companies in Europe insure premises thus lighted at a much lower premium than those illumined by other means. Economy. Gas is the best and most economical mode of obtaining artificial light as yet brought into use, though hardly known at the beginning of the present century. It requires no labor, no provision, nor store ; it is a good servant, comes momentarily when demanded, and is ex- tinguished as readily when no longer required. 22 THE GAS-CONSUMEK'S GUIDE. The cost df gas varies somewhat in different localities, and at different periods, according to the fluctuations in the price of coal, the cost of labor, the quantity man- ufactured, and the character of district supplied. The present cost per one thousand cubic feet (1870) in New York, is $3.00 and $3.50 ; in Boston, $3.00 ; in Cin- - cinnati, $2.50 ; in Buffalo, $3.50 ; in Detroit, $3.50 ; in Rochester, $3.00 ; in Milwaukee, $4.50 ; in Erie, $4.00. The average cost to private consumers will average throughout the country abont $3.50 per one thousand cubic feet. The actual cost of production, with coal and labor at present prices, cannot much exceed, if any, $1.50 per one thousand cubic feet. In addition to the first cost, how- ever, in justice to the gas companies, must be added the leakage and loss from bad customers, which should not N increase the cost to more than $1.75 per thousand cubic feet, leaving a pretty wide margin of profit to the gas companies. But suppose that the average cost of production and service should reach $2.00, or even $2.25, our gas should be supplied at an average cost of not more than $3.00, instead of $3.50, per one thousand cubic feet, as at pres- ent. One ton of coal should produce about 9,000 cubic feet of gas, about 1 chaldron of coke, and about 11 gal- lons of tar, and 9 of ammoniacal liquor. Cleanliness. Gas is by far much cleaner than any other artificial light. Much unpleasantness and pollution have always accompanied the use of the oil or kerosene lamp, the tallow, sperm, or wax candle, or, in fact, any other method of illumination. Sometimes there is a de- ficiency of oil, or defect in the lamp ; the least draught of air will disarrange the burning of the caudle ; grease ADVANTAGES OF GAS. 23 and dirt will besmear the person and dress ; but by the use of gas, the evening's vocations or pleasures are en- joyed without any of these interruptions or annoyances. Brilliancy. The light from gas is more congenial than that from candles and lamps ; its position, when properly placed, is above the line of vision, so that the eyelid serves to protect the eye from its direct rays. Some people have pretended that it is injurious to the sight ; but a stronger contradiction to such statement cannot be given* than that many public and private insti- tutions and offices are almost exclusively lighted in the daytime by these means, giving every opportunity for complaint, if any cause existed ; but, on the contrary, from experience, it is more agreeable than any other ar- tificial light, end once used and properly purified is never abandoned. There is a further advantage, that it can be increased or decrease^ at pleasure, thus preventing the straining of the eyes, which is so injurious where there is an insufficiency or excess of light. Salubrity, In order to show the advantage of well- purified coal-gas over all other materials for illumination, as regards the injury done to the atmosphere of the room in which their combustion is going on, Dr. Frankland has given the following table, which exhibits the amount of carbonic acid evolved by a number of illuminating agents burnt in such quantity as to give a light, for ten hours, equal to that of 20 sperm candles, each burning 120 grains per hour : Tallow evolves 10.1 cubic feet carbonic acid. Wax " 8.3 " " " Spermaceti " 8.3 " " " Sperm oil " 6.4 " " " 24 THE 'GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. Common gas evolves 5.0 cubic feet carbonic acid. Medium gas " 4.0 " " " Best gas " 3.0 " " " When a given amount of light is obtained, gas is thus shown to be more salubrious than any other illumination ; it is identical in its nature with the lamp or the candle, which is demonstrated by "blowing out the one or the other, when the gas, combined with vapor, is perceptible to the sight, and emits a similar smell to that supplied from the company's works when unconsumed ; indeed the odor is more disagreeable, caused by the cotton forming the wick. Some people think that as gas in its fluid state emits an offensive odor, that the same must exist when inflamed ; this, however, is not the case, for gas when properly pu- rified gives no more obnoxious odor during combustion than lamps or candles, but as just illustrated with these, when allowed to escape unconsumed, the inconvenience exists. Still we must regard it as providentially ordained that gas possesses this obnoxious quality, as it is a notice or forewarning of a required attention, which being imme- diately adopted, the possibility of danger and nuisance is avoided. Utility. Gas may now be burnt in private houses without the slightest effluvia or escape of the pipes, joints, or fittings, and, if properly purified, may be burnt in any kind of room, however highly ornamented by gilding and otherwise, without being in any way prejudicial. Gas has large claims for throwing out a genial warmth throughout apartments ; it is also extensively employed in the cooking or preparing of food, and is daily being introduced into the culinary department of ADVANTAGES OF GAS. 25 private families. Roasting by gas surpasses all other ways. Boiling, steaming, stewing, etc., are all fulfilled with much less trouble and cost, and more cleanliness and perfection, than by charcoal or the common stove. Baths are heated by gas at a very insignificant cost. Drying-rooms in laundries are kept at a good uniform temperature with a couple of burners, so applying a rem- edy on this point for the uncertainty of climate, and the breakfast-table no longer requires a coal fire. A simple apparatus at the cost of a few dollars is a substitute for the kitchen range or house fire ; this can, by means of a flexible tube, be placed anywhere, and a given quantity of boiling water, sufficient for the wants of the breakfast of any family, can be procured in one-fifth the time of the house fire, at less than one-third the cost, and a twentieth part of the trouble. Indeed there are few branches of industry where heat is required that gas cannot be used with advantage, and new applications of it are continually being made. Its benefits are such as a means of illumination, which any one who has left the obscurity of candle, or lamp, for its light, can fully appreciate, and the wonder is how people can be without it. But gas has fulfilled another most important service : in our large cities, it has rendered life and property more secure; and those numerous localities, which at night were the haunts of violence and crime, are now compar- atively safe ; and the lonely traveller (whose purse and person were so frequently in danger from an attack of the highway robber, or footpad) can now pursue his path in comfort and safety, knowing that those gentlemen of the road " prefer darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." Some may say this change is due to the 26 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. advanced civilization of society, and undoubtedly it is so ; but gas has contributed largely to that change. The greatly improved illumination of our streets has tended to prevent crime ; it has afforded great facilities for perr sons to assemble at nightly scientific, literary, musical, and other meetings ; it has thus facilitated the reunion of society of every grade, and therefore it may be truthfully said that gas has certainly assisted largely in attaining this advancement in civilization. MANUFACTURE OF GAS. 27 CHAPTER III. MANUFACTURE OF GAS. GAS is a term which is applied to all permanent invis- ible fluids. The air we breathe is composed of two gases oxygen and nitrogen ; there are innumerable other gases, possessing very different and opposite natures, which, by the science of chemistry, we are taught to understand, produce, and combine. Gases exist in various ways ; some are natural produc- tions, as those arising from the decay of vegetable or animal matter, those issuing from volcanoes, the atmos- phere, etc. Others are obtained by chemical manipulation, one of which processes is called destructive distillation ; that is, by submitting materials to a great heat, gas is expelled, and the original nature of the material destroyed ; thus when coal, tallow, oil, and a large number of other substances are submitted to this process, gas, such as used for lighting, is produced. Vapor, as steam, will convey to the mind the idea of the volume of gas ; but this, by a diminution of temperature, becomes liquid, whereas gases of every kind are permanent under all ordinary circumstances. We are enabled better to understand their volume by observing smoke when issuing from a fireplace, chimney, or elsewhere, which is a mixture of several gases in combination with vapor and small particles of solid matter commonly called soot. In 28 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. these pages, when the word gas is applied, it will be understood in its general acceptation to be that for light- ing ; and whenever other kinds are intended, they will be expressed. We observe in the ordinary house-fire how, by the ac- tion of the incandescent fuel, the gas is expelled from the coal, sometimes in vigorous small jets suddenly igniting, producing a brilliant light, and as suddenly extinguished, leaving a stream of impure gas or smoke. The flame of the fire is due to the ignition of gas, and the volume of smoke ascending the chimney consists principally of this, but either being combined with an excess of vapor, or there being an insufficiency of air intermixed therewith, it does not ignite, and so passes off to be distributed in the atmosphere. Although there are many materials from which gas cai^ be produced, yet coal is almost universally employed for the purpose, on account of its price, the facility with which it is distilled, the quantity and quality of the gas derived therefrom, and the value of the residues after that is expelled. Illuminating gas is produced by the decomposition of organic substances, of which coal is the cheapest and most convenient. Under a destructive distillation at a high heat, wood, resins, fats, oils, peats, and many other substances yield lighting gas. In some places (as at Wilmington, N. C.,at one time), the whole supply of gas has been made from pine wood, which does not, however, afford a gas of a high illumin- ating power. Works for the production of gas from resins, fats, and oils, were at one time common, but have been generally MANUFACTURE OF GAS. 29 abandoned on account of the greater cost of the gas pro- duced, as compared with that obtained from coal, in the ordinary manner. Some interest has been aroused by the gas-producing properties of peat, and one or two of the London companies have been experimenting with peat from the estates of the Earl of Caithness, in the north of Scotland, with encouraging results ; and it may be that peat-gas will come into extensive use. Kerosene oil is distilled at a moderate heat from the highly hydrogenous boghead coal, and it is probable that the vast subterranean collections of oil in and near our coal-fields have formed, by the action of internal heat, upon the beds of coal themselves. At various places, not far from the oil-wells, natural gas is obtained in abundance from the ground ; Fredonia, in the State of New York, being lighted through- out by natural gas, which is also employed for illumin- ating one of the lighthouses on the southern shore of Lake Erie. This gas we may suppose has been generated at a higher temperature from the coal or coal-oil, from near deposits, of which the gas is obtained. A simple way to demonstrate the manufacture of gas is to fill the bowl of a common tobacco-pipe with pow- dered coal, which is then covered with a layer of plastic clay, being pressed tightly round the edge of it, so as to close it hermetically ; the bowl being then inserted into the midst of an ordinary fire, after a short time gas will issue from the end of the pipe, which can be ignited, and will continue to burn till all is expelled, leaving the res- idue of coke in the bowl. This is a rude gas-works in miniature, without the purifying apparatus. In the gas manufactory, the tobacco-pipe bowl is re- placed by large cast-iron or earthen vessels called retorts ; these are imbedded in ovens, and* exposed to the action 30 TOE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. of a furnace, and so kept continually red-hot ; they are partially filled with coal, and hermetically closed, when the heat decomposes the coal, and expels the gas, which passes from the retort through several vessels for con- densing the vapors in combination, and extracting impu- rities, which would be injurious to health and comfort if allowed to remain. When the gas is purified, it passes to the gasometer, ready for distribution. On burning the ordinary lamp or candle, a precisely similar operation of distillation, or decomposition of the materials, and production of gas or vapor, takes place. The oil or melted tallow ascends to the wick by capillary attraction ; it then comes in contact with the lower part of the flame, is decomposed by the heat, and converted into gas, which immediately supplies the flame, producing light and heat. In the house fire, or in lamps or candles, 7 ^ the gas is consumed as soon as produced ; but in gas- works, after production, it has to be stored and kept ready for the time it may be required, then to be conveyed some- times through a distance of several miles of pipes before it is burned. Gas-consumers have generally a very vague idea of the quality of gas ; defects of every denomination which exist on their premises, whereby the supply or light is rendered inadequate, is often attributed to the badness of the gas, and, as will be shown in the chapter on burners and glasses, frequently one-half or two-thirds of the light that might be derived is lost ; the consumer then complains of the high price, or the u bad gas," little imagining this to be the result of his own mismanagement ; yet such is the fact. But gas, like every other article in commerce; varies in quality, depending on the description of coal MANUFACTURE OF GAS. 31 from which it is produced or distilled, and the manner of operation. Many people imagine, when a flame gives forth smoke, that it arises from the bad quality of the gas, whereas the very reverse is the case. This smoke is the illuminating constituent indeed the source of light ; and if it be al- lowed to escape unconsumed, it is not the fault of the gas, but the manner it is employed. .This is easily demonstrated with an ordinary oil lamp ; if the cotton of this be properly trimmed, and the glass chimney suitably adjusted, the flame is clear and bright ; but on removing the glass, or allowing an excess of wick, the flame becomes dull, and emits smoke in abundance. Or with an ordinary tallow candle, if left unsnuffed, it becomes smoky, and gives but little light. In like manner, gas being improperly used, an excess of smoke and dimin- ished light must be expected. The means of preventing smoke consist in having suit- able burners or glasses, and not permitting a superabun- dance of gas to issue ; for if the flame of an argand or other burner be allowed to pass certain bounds, the an- noyance in question, and waste, are the consequences ; but when adjusted to the proper limits, the flame is clear and bright, emitting little, if any, smoke. In defining the quality of gas, there are two distinct considerations : the first, its power of giving light ; the second, its freedom from impurities. Gas may be of good illuminating power, yet so contaminated with impu- rities as to be insupportable ; or it may be perfectly free from these, yet very deficient as an illuminating agent. Therefore when speaking of good gas, it should be free from impurities, and rich in illuminating qualities. Gas, as it leaves the retorts, is totally unfit for combus- 32 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. tion as a light-giving agent. It burns with a lurid smoky flame, and is heavily charged with sulphur and ammonia, both of which must, according to law, be removed. At present there is no known process for removing these which does not also remove some of the light-giving materials. Formerly, in England, the quality of gas was not so much considered as at present, and was entirely dependent on the company supplying ; but of late years, the gas com- panies of nearly all the towns Q,nd cities of Great Britain are bound to supply gas of a specified illuminating power, and free from impurities. In many places, responsible inspectors or chemical examiners are appointed for the purpose of testing the quality of the gas ; and it is to be regretted this is not more general, as it would tend to establish that confidence between the consumers and cofca- panies which is desirable for both parties. The English law on this subject is as follows : " The quality of the common gas supplied by any gas company shall be, with respect to its illuminating power, at a dis- tance as near as may be of one thousand yards from the works, such as to produce from an argand burner having fifteen holes and a seven-inch chimney, consuming five feet of gas an hour, a light equal in intensity to the light produced by not less than twelve sperm candles of six to the pound, each burning one hundred and twenty grains an hour ; and the quality of cannel gas supplied by any gas company shall, with respect to its illuminating power at the distance aforesaid, be such as to produce from a bat's-wing or fish-tail burner, consuming five feet of gas per hour, a light equal in intensity to twenty such sperm candles ; and each such gas shall, with respect to its pu- rity, be so far free from ammonia and sulphuretted hy- MANUFACTURE OF^AS., , 33 drogen that it shall not discolor either turmeric paper, or paper imbued with acetate, or -carbonate of lead, when these tests are exposed to a current of gas, issuing for one minute under a pressure of five-tenths of an inch of water, and shall not contain more than twenty grains of sulphur in any form in one hundred cubic feet of gas." According to this law, it will be seen that the general conditions stipulated in defining the quality of gas, are : that an argand burner having fifteen holes, and consuming five cubic feet per hour of the gas supplied, shall give at least the same light as twelve sperm candles, each con- suming 120 grains per hour ; that the gas shall be free from ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen, and that it shall contain the minimum quantity of sulphur that can be practically effected. In this country, the illuminating power of gas as com- pared with the English standard is somewhat higher, ranging from 14 to 16 candle power. The manner of comparing the relative light from the gas and candles is of the greatest simplicity ; and to make this understood, it must first be stated that the rays of flame, when intercepted by a solid substance, produce a shadow, and the density of this shadow is in direct pro- portion to the intensity of the light. .So, if on a table covered with a white cloth, or a large sheet of white paper, two lighted candles be placed, one at each end, and exactly midway between them a pencil or similar object be fixed perpendicularly on the table, then a shadow will be shown from each light ; and should they be exactly of the same density, then the lights would be equal. Now if at one end of a long table, provided as before, we place the twelve candles lighted, and at the other end the gas-burner attached to a meter, so as to show accu- 3 34 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. rately the quantity consumed per hour, and if a pencil be fixed in a perpendicular position exactly midway between the two lights under examination, then on the flame of the gas being regulated until the shadows are alike in density, or the two lights equal in intensity, an observation of the meter will give the quantity of gas required to produce the light equal to the candles. In practice, there is a much simpler way to arrive at the result, but it would be too lengthy to describe, and would answer no purpose. In addition to the illuminating power, there is the other important requisition in gas that is, its purity, or free- dom from pernicious qualities ; and although in all large towns and cities there are qualified managers and en- gineers who carefully superintend the operation of rourifica- tion, there are, however, other places which have not this advantage, and for which the following observations are intended. Impure gas is beneficial to no one, and is alike prejudi- cial to the works supplying as to the consumer. It brings discredit, prevents the full development of the business of a company, and when it occurs can only be through igno- rance, carelessness, or accident. When gas is impure, it gives forth a very disagreeable odor during its combus- tion ; it changes the colors of ornamental furniture hang- ings and paper ; it tarnishes plate, as well as several -of the metals ; it speedily deposits a cloudy tinge on gas chimneys ; but above all it is unwholesome, and exceed- ingly disagreeable to persons who breathe the atmosphere in which it is consumed. A gas company has been known to sustain a heavy loss of business occasioned from supplying impure gas. A large street in the city was composed principally of silver- smiths' and jewellers' shops. Gas had been tried by a MANUFACTURE OF GAS. 35 few of these establishments, but its impurities speedily* tarnislied the plate, etc., to such a serious extent, which compelled its use being discontinued ; but years after- wards, when a proper system of purification was applied, in a short time eyery shop adopted it. Many have been and are the annoyances experienced in some places by impure gas being supplied, and persons, after having incurred considerable expense in fittings, etc., to obtain this light, have been much disappointed on that account, and have eventually abandoned it. The ordinary impurities in gas are few, and the oper- ation of detecting them is simple. All that is required for 'the purpose are three small books of test papers,, namely, turmeric, blue litmus, and acetate of lead, which may be had of most operative chemists for a mere trifle ; with these the consumer can himself test the purity of the gas supplied to him, as will be now described. The ordinary impurities are ammonia, sulphuretted hy- drogen, carbonic acid, and sometimes in small quantities a compound of sulphur and carbon, all of which, of course, exist in a gaseous state in combination. To detect the presence of ammonia, take a leaf of tur- meric paper, which has a peculiar yellow color, and hold it within about a quarter of an inch of a fishtail or bat's- wing burner, and let the gas impinge upon it for about half a minute. Should the paper remain unchanged in color, the gas is free from this impurity ; but should it change from its yellow color to brown, then the presence of ammonia is established, and according to the deepness of the color so will the quantity be indicated. But in the event of the test being applied for a protracted period, even when the gas is moderately pure, the presence of ammonia will be shown. However, a slight quantity of 36 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. this is acknowledged to be actually indispensable, and by no means injurious. The" next impurity, sulphuretted hydrogen, is much more pernicious than the former. To detect this, take a leaf of the acetate of lead paper, act as before, and if, after being exposed to the gas for half a minute, the test paper retains its original whiteness, then this impurity does not exist ; but should it become brown, sulphuretted hydrogen is present. Carbonic acid is injurious on account of its deteriorating the illuminating power of the gas with which it is com- bined ; for, according to good authority, the presence of one per cent, of this impurity in gas diminishes its light nearly one-tenth part. To detect this, take a lca^ ; of the blue litmus paper, and act as before, when the presence of carbonic acid will change the color of the test to red ; on the contrary, if the gas be pure, it will retain its blue color. The last impurity, the compound of sulphur and carbon, has been considered by a chemist of great ability to be of little importance. This, however, is by no means the general opinion ; but as the method of detecting its pres- ence is too complicated for the general reader, it will not be entered into here. When this exists, it is readily per- ceived by a peculiar disagreeable, suffocating, sulphurous odor given off when gas containing it is burned in a close apartment. In - making these trials, only a small quantity of gas escapes, being about the twentieth part of a cubic foot at each operation, so that not the slightest inconvenience beyond the odor for a few minutes is to be apprehended. Should the gas not be sufficiently pure to withstand these tests, and the consumer be annoyed in consequence, upon MANUFACTURE OF GAS. 37 a proper representation of the complaint being made to the company supplying, undoubtedly they would devote themselves to correct the evil ; but at the same time the consumer should guard against any unnecessary com- plaints. Connected with the manufacture of gas is its distribu- tion to the streets and houses. For this object it has to be expelled with a certain degree of force, technically called "pressure." Some conception of this may be formed by the reader breathing in the gentlest manner possible, which is about equivalent to the pressure with which gas is consumed under the most favorable circum- stances ; and by blowing with a slight force is equivalent to the greatest pressure existing in the main pipes of gas companies. It is therefore evident the fears sometimes expressed of the "gas bursting the pipes" have not the slightesrfoundation. Although this pressure is of such little power, it is indi- cated by instruments for the purpose, on a scale divided into inches and tenths of inches. The first instance may be equal to two or three-tenths* pressure, and when blow- ing with slight force will be about equivalent to from three to five inches' pressure a degree of force which very seldom exists outside a gas-works. These observations on pressure will be found of some importance in a future chapter, when treating on burners, glasses, etc. When lighting by gas -was first introduced, consumers were supplied by contract, that is, a certain sum per annum was charged for each of the various classes of burners, to be lighted from sunset to a specified hour. This system was accompanied ' with serious loss to companies, who, having no means of shutting off the supply at the hour stipulated, the gas was left entirely at the discretion of the 38 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE consumer, and the result was continued and serious loss. A much better system was adopted in France, where it was the custom to attach a tap to the supply-pipe of every house, which- was opened and shut .by an employe of the company precisely at the time contracted for, thus avoid- ing part of the loss occasioned by the less scrupulous class of the community. The system now universally adopted is to supply gas only by meter, which is alike advanta- geous to companies and consumers, and is the only equit- able way that it can be employed. CONSIDERATIONS ON ADOPTING GAS LIGHTING. 39 CHAPTER IV. CONSIDERATIONS ON ADOPTING GAS LIGHTING. MANY obstacles at one time existed against the adoption of gas as a means of illumination. It was very expen- sive, and the prices of fittings and apparatus connected with its introduction were costly. Companies frequently required advances before they would supply ; and they sometimes insisted on the incoming tenant paying the gas debt of his predecessor, although the persons were totally unacquainted with each other. The consumer often paid a high price for the supply-pipe, and had in most cases to purchase the meter. All these impediments prevented many who had the desire to burn gas from carrying it into effect. These obstacles at least in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, and we believe generally throughout the coun- try have been removed. The cost of gas-fittings is reduced very considerably ; no charges are now made by many companies either for supply-pipes or meter ; nor is a deposit now required from any responsible person. In other respects, consumers have many advantages which were never conceived some years ago ; and by these con- cessions companies have advanced materially their own interests, in giving every facility for purchasing and con- suming their production, and extending their operations. When the decision is made to adopt this light, it is of 40 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. importance to employ a skilful man as gas-fitter, for perhaps their are few branches of business where there ' exist comparatively so many incompetent tradesmen ; and it consequently happens that, in endeavoring to purchase at the cheapest rate, the very reverse is the case ; and the householder has to contend with much annoyance and trouble before he can comfortably enjoy the admission of gas into his dwelling. It has been observed by an authority on this point : " There is economy in employing the most intelligent and experienced workmen, although their charges, in the first instance, may be the highest. When gas-fittings are judiciously arranged, and constructed of good materials, they constitute the most durable portions of the fixtures of a house. If, on the contrary, they are put up by a blundering fitter, who professes to work cheaper than his neighbors, it is probable that frequent repairs will be re- quired ; that there will be a deficiency of gas in some parts of the house ; or what is still more disagreeable, that there will be an escape of gas, or an obstruction (by the condensation of vapor) in those parts of the pipes which pass between the ceilings and floors. In these, as in all other matters, there needs only the exercise of a little common sense to insure success ; the expense of altering and rearranging gas-fittings constructed by un- skilful workmen very often amounts to more than half their original cost." Although the gas-fitter is supposed to be able to fulfil all the necessary arrangements in the introduction of gas to the premises, still the consumer should be in a position to insist on some material points for his convenience, safety, and economy. The following suggestions are CONSIDERATIONS ON ADOPTING GAS LIGHTING. 41 therefore offered for his guidance, both on the introduction and general use of gas : The company's service-pipe conveying the gas from the street to the house, in this country, is always of iron, and should be continued (necessarily at the expense of the consumer) to the locality where the meter is placed ; and the main tap, or valve, fixed on the end of the iron pipe, just at the entrance to the meter. The main tap, or -valve, for shutting off the gas from the premises, should always be placed in a position easy of access, for the purpose of turning on and off every night, or for any sudden emergency ; and it is imperative that the pipes should be so placed as to accomplish this object. A locality of moderate temperature should be carefully selected for the position of the meter ; for if a wet meter were exposed to frosty weather, the water would be liable to freeze ; and if to a warm situation, it would evaporate, and afterwards be condensed in the pipes, and so obstruct the passage of the gas, or cause that disagreeable effect called "jumping lights." It is true the dry meter avoids this ; but there is the important question of measurement to be considered ; for as gas expands by heat, it follows that if the meter be placed in a very warm situation, the gas, during its passage, would increase in volume, and the consumer in consequence would have to pay more than actually necessary. All places of public resort should be supplied by at least two meters, which ought to communicate with each other, so that in the event of one of them failing a frequent occurrence with the wet meter, caused by the evaporation of water the other continues the supply, which, although perhaps inadequate to the wants of the 42 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. establishment, yet avoids the alarm and confusion attend- ing a total extinction of light ; and the defect can after- wards be easily remedied at leisure. The meter once fixed, the consumer should not allow it to be removed without first giving notice to the company ; but supposing, by extraordinary circumstances, the gas- fitter cannot obtain light otherwise than by displacing it, the consumer is then bound without delay to inform the company of such a change ; also whn it is refixed ; and thus prevent annoyance and disagreements which might otherwise occur. When price is not a consideration, the pipes, in exposed positions, or between floorings, or outside buildings, should be always of iron, and if galvanized, or coated with zinc, would be preferred. ^ In- manufactories of every kind, iron pipe should be exclusively used throughout ; and these may even be employed for the pendants, brackets, etc., being exceed- ingly strong, and of the greatest durability. When iron pipes are buried in the walls, it is imperative that they should be galvanized and varnished internally, otherwise there are probabilities of continuous stoppages in the supply, by deposits of rust, etc. ; and to remedy this the paper hangings, plastering, and painting are nec- essarily seriously injured. The softer metals, or compo- sition pipes, would in one sense be better for the purpose, but they are likely to be destroyed by the action of the lime in the mortar. Where it is a question of economy, composition pipes (composed of lead, tin, and antimony) can be advantageously used for the interior of dwellings, shops, etc. ; they are very durable ; are more sightly than those of iron ; but they should not be buried in the mortar. CONSIDERATIONS ON ADOPTING GAS LIGHTING. 43 All outside lights, such as lanterns, should have a tap inside and within reach, so as to shut off or regulate the supply ; great loss has occurred for want of care on this point, through gas escaping, when the consumer has com- plained, with apparent reason, saying he " had not con- sumed any more gas than before " ; but here it must be remembered that the meter indicates the quantity which PASSES, without any reference as to how it is, employed ; and gas, like every other commodity, when delivered to the consumer, requires him to Qxercise every care to prevent it being wasted or lost ; and, if he permits this, it must necessarily be at his cost. In all cases where goods are kept in the highest part of an apartment or store, as in shops or libraries, etc., it is of the greatest importance to insure good ventilation in the ceiling, so as to carry off the heated air and vapor formed by the combustion of the gas. The lower part of a room may be only at a moderate temperature, whereas above the level of top of door, and near the ceiling, the heat will be almost insupportable ; so that, in consequence of the absence of proper ventilation, goods are often spoiled and the gas condemned. Whenever there is an odor of escape of gas, emanating from the street, cellar, drain, cistern, sewer, or anywhere in the immediate neighborhood of the consumer's prem- ises, written notices should be sent without delay to the company, who, regarding their own interest, would im- mediately attend to it, and thus prevent annoyances or accident. Whenever there are signs of an escape in the interior of a building, there is* no occasion for alarm, but imme- diate and prompt care must be employed. Lights of any kind should be avoided, the main tap turned off, the doors 44 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. and upper parts of the windows opened (as gas, by its lightness, ascends and escapes very readily at the highest part of an apartment), then by proper supervision a tap may probably be discovered to be left turned on ; or if there are any sliding or hydraulic lights (to which we shall refer hereafter) , they should be supplied with water ; or if the pipes are exposed, and within the reach of chil- dren, a small puncture may have been made, which can be temporarily repaired with a little grease, white lead, or soap placed upon it, and afterwards should be sub- stantially done as soon as possible. The defect being remedied, the doors and windows should be left open for a short time, when the lights can be used. But if the evil be not discovered, the consumer should, under no circumstances, attempt to find it by means of a lighted candle, but send for his gas-fitter, who is experi- enced in the matter, is responsible for the result, and thus avoid all risk. The odor of escaping gas, whether on the premises of the consumer or not, should never be neglected, otherwise it becomes unhealthy, and sometimes very serious. A few years ago a poor woman was found suffocated in her bed, from the gas which had escaped from the main in the street having passed through the ground, and so entered her cottage, and causing the dis- aster. In lighting burners, particularly in gas or cooking stoves, care should be taken to apply the light immediately the gas is turned on, otherwise it is sometimes forgotten, and there is an accumulation of it in the apartment, which causes unnecessary nuisance. When this precaution with the stove is not attended to, often a disagreeable report occurs when lighting, which, however, frightens more than harms. CONSIDERATIONS ON ADOPTING GAS LIGHTING. 45 Accidents from explosions of gas are exceedingly rare ; and one great preventive is to shut off the main tap at night ; for these accidents have happened through people turning the small tap to extinguish the light, when, by the slightest mischance imaginable, they have inadvertently turned it on again, and the gas escaping during the whole of the night, it fills the apartment, and the greatest dan- ger, on the approach of a light, is the serious consequence. If a similar occurrence happened during the day, the odor would cause it to be detected long before it became perilous. Hence the necessity of turning off the supply of gas at night. Many erroneous impressions exist as regard explosions ; but these can only occur when a large quantity of gas is allowed to escape and intermix with the air in an apart- ment, or other enclosed place, when, on the approach of a light, an accident might happen ; however, the smell always gives ample timely notice, unless, as in the case just mentioned, the gas has been permitted to issue for several hours together. Gas-lights should never be placed in cellars, or similar confined places, without ventilation by an opening in the highest part for the escape of the gas, should it, by acci- dent, be left turned on ; and another lower down, for the admission of air. It is always better there should be provided a tap on the outside, in addition to those inside, and thus avoid the chance of accident. In large establishments, where it may be necessary to have a few lights burning during the whole of the night, as at the entrance of buildings, these should be supplied by a separate small meter, so that the gas exists only on that part of the premises where required. In places where the gas is not turned off regularly, 46 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. the main tap is liable to become set or bound in such a manner as to render it utterly useless. From this cause conflagrations have occurred, arising from an escape igniting, and at the all-important moment when it was desirable to shut the tap, it was found impossible. There- fore they should be seen to from time to time ; and if found difficult of action, the attention of the gas-fitter called thereto. Gas taps of every denomination should be what is termed "stopped" that is, when the key is turned to the extreme point in one direction, the gas is full on ; and when in the opposite, it is shut completely off. GAS-FITTINGS, PENDANTS, BRACKETS, ETC. The present fashion of light and elegant designs for gasaliers and other apparatus for the display of gas-light- ing, is a strong inducement for the further development of that art ; and the amount of excellence attained by the manufacturers of these articles is calculated to suit the tastes of the most wealthy and capricious, as well as the most economical and unpretending. The forms of gasaliers, brackets, pendants, and lustres, are so varied, that their selection is entirely a matter of taste. Cheapness in this case is not incompatible with usefulness and durability. For passages, staircases, bed- rooms, etc., very little ornament is required the less the better. In the most conspicuous parts of a house, the dimensions of the rooms, the ' style in which they are furnished, and the purposes to which they are applied, all deserve consideration. The colors of the walls and ceilings, and furniture of a room, have much to do with lighting it effectively. CONSIDERATIONS ON ADOPTING GAS LIGHTING. 47 These are of the utmost importance, and should be carefully considered, so that the colors which reflect Kght and harmonize in their various combinations, may be chosen in preference to others. The difference in the quantity of light required for rooms of equal dimensions, one of which shall have dark-colored walls and draperies, and the other, those which are bright and cheerful, will be as two to one. In choosing gas-fittings, it is better to see the articles themselves than to order them from drawings, otherwise there may be some mistake or disappointment as to sizes and relative proportions. To this may be added, the drawings of ornamental apparatus like those in question, are very deceptive ; a good drawing will often set off a very bad design. When a gas-fitter is employed, it is best to have the work done by contract, and care must be taken that the sizes, quantities, and situation of the various kinds of tubing are distinctly specified. No respectable tradesman, who properly understands his business, will object to this. It is more satisfactory to all parties to know beforehand what is to be done, and how much is to be paid. A most convenient apparatus, sometimes employed in dwellings where gas exists, is the hydraulic gasalier, which is constructed with chains and counterbalance weights, for the purpose of being raised or lowered at will. In this the gas is prevented from escaping by the intervention of a column of water in the tube, poured into the cup at top. This apparatus has the disadvantage that the water evaporates, or by a sudden jerk in raising or lowering it, the water is caused to overflow, when in con- sequence of the deficiency of water there is a probability of the gas escaping on the apparatus being drawn down, 48 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. and if allowed to continue so for several hours, would become dangerous on a person entering the room with a light. Such accidents are exceedingly rare, and by a little care they can be prevented altogether. To avoid this inconvenience, the hydraulic gasalier should be attended to every two or three months, simply by raising it to the highest, and then pouring a small quantity of water into the cup at top until nearly full. If a teaspoonful of sweet oil be poured on to the water, it will prevent the evap- oration, and the care required will be less frequent. Whenever there is the odor of escape of gas in a house where hydraulic gasaliers exist, the attention of the oc- cupants should be directed to them ; but on no account to use a light when supplying water ; for although the quan- tity of gas in the apartment may be small, yet as that ascends and floats in the upper part, the presence of a light there may probably be dangerous. There are other kinds of sliding lights, called telescopic, which dispense with the water, chains, and counterbalance weights. In these one tube passes within another, similar to the instrument from which it is named, and a cork- tight joint prevents the gas escaping. These are much used for single-pendant lights. In occupations where a portable light is required to replace the lamp or candle, an apparatus similar to a candlestick, to which the gas is conveyed by a flexible tube, supplies the want. u "With this the gas-light may be conveyed from one place to another with the greatest facility. It is impossible to lay down any instructions as to the kind of apparatus to be employed ; this will be ascer- tained, by those who may be desirous of using gas, CONSIDERATIONS ON ADOPTING GAS LIGHTING. 49 observing the method adopted by their friends or ac- quaintance. GAS STOVES AND GAS-COOKING APPARATUS. Gas stoves, when properly constructed, are of the utmost importance for small offices or apartments having no fireplaces, where they can be employed with consider- able advantage, both as regards comfort and economy, and in some instances supersede the ordinary stove. These apparatus have, however, been frequently con- demned, on account of the odor arising from them. This has sometimes been attributed to the peculiar action of the lighted gas upon the iron composing the stove ; and, to remedy this, they have been constructed of porcelain, but without abating the nuisance. Sometimes an enormous chimney has been attached to carry away the products of combustion, but with no good result, whilst it has coun- teracted in a great measure the good effects of the heat derived from the stove, by allowing the principal part of the warm air to escape from the apartment. It is well known that three or four lights can be burnt in a moderate-sized apartment without the slightest incon- venience of a disagreeable smell ; and yet, a small quan- tity, not equal to one light in a gas stove as sometimes constructed, is often insupportable" ; therefore it cannot arise from the gas, but from the manner in which it is employed. Until very recently, manufacturers of these stoves have followed one system of burner ; that is, a large ring with a series of holes, producing detached flames or jets. INOW there are two great objections to these circular 4 50 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. burners. The first, when there is a slight excess of gas, they smoke imperceptibly, and serious complaint and dis- satisfaction, with loss of gas, is the consequence ; secondly, when they are turned down to a small blue flame, often for the purpose of preventing the odor, it is in reality increased, producing a most unhealthy compound, and causing a most disagreeable smell. On this account many have been compelled to abandon the method of heating apartments by gas. The remedy for this evil is simple ; for instead of the ring burner, if a large argand, with a talc or iron chimney, be employed, or if two or three fish-tail or bat-wing burn- ers be substituted, with regulator attached to prevent the flame from rising too high and smoking, then the comforts of the gas stove can be appreciated ; for there is neither smell nor smoke, and the air in an apartment can be kept at any moderate and continuous temperature at a very trifling cost. The main points in constructing gas stoves are to have proper burners, with regulators ; that they should be placed near the floor, so as to heat the air in the lower parts, which necessarily ascends and warms the upper part of the chamber ; and every facility should be given for the free radiation of the heat : in short, the simplest gas stove is always the most effective. Some gas stoves are constructed in such a manner that the flame of the gas acts on an incombustible fibrous material called " asbestos," which speedily becomes incan- descent, and produces a lively, cheerful appearance. Others are made to imitate in an admirable manner an ordinary coke fire. In these the coke is substituted by lumps of fire-clay intermixed with asbestos, of the size and form of coke ; this being placed in an ordinary grate, CONSIDERATIONS ON ADOPTING GAS LIGHTING. 51 the flame of the gas is caused to impinge upon the mate- rial, which quickly becomes incandescent, and assumes the appearance of a good coke fire. It must be observed that the heat from gas is not increased by these means, as people would suppose in witnessing the process, but the very agreeable and lively effect is a strong recom- mendation. Small stoves or burners are frequently employed for continuously heating water, etc. An objection often com- plained of in these is the accumulation and deposit of soot. This inconvenience is prevented by employing the air, or atmospheric, or "Buusen" burner, in which a portion of air intermixes with the gas in its passage to the orifices of the burner ; the flame of this is of a blue color ; there is neither soot nor smoke, and the heat derived is considerably more than that obtained from gas in the ordinary process of burning, inasmuch as the soot wasted in that method is consumed with the air-burner. Gas-Cooking Apparatus, Baths, etc. Of late years, gas-cooking apparatus have become very much in use, and have been introduced into private dwellings with very good result. The apparatus is admirably adapted for the French style of cooking, where stews are the prevailing dishes. Roasting by gas is allowed to be far superior to the process when conducted in the ordinary way ; the juices of the meat are retained, the flavor is increased, and there is less loss. Boiling, baking, and frying are done with greater perfection than with the open fire, on account of the facilities with which the heat can be increased or decreased at pleasure. Baths are also heated by gas in a most economical manner, they being, of course, constructed expressly-fqr the purpose. 52 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. One of the recent and important applications of gas, is its adoption as an agent for producing motive power, being a substitute for steam, and on some accounts super- seding that. In the gas engine, a portion of gas is in- termixed with a given proportion of air, and on this compound being ignited by an electric spark, the motive power is obtained. This engine possesses several advan- tages ; amongst them, are its portability ; having no boiler, no danger is to be apprehended from explosions. Its management is of such simplicity, that any laboring man or lad can control it. Requiring no chimney, it can be fixed anywhere without the annoyance from smoke j and the cost of the power derived is stated to be exceed- ingly moderate. The general management of gas is of the greatest sim- plicity, and it is only where downright negligence exists that any accident can occur ; and although some cautions have been suggested in the foregoing instructions, this has been done with the hope of inspiring confidence and re- moving doubt, and with the view to prevent even the few chances of accident that may exist. ON BURNERS, FLAMES, ETC. 53 CHAPTER V. BURNERS, FLAMES, GLASSES, REFLECTORS, ETC. WHATEVER may be the quality of gas supplied by the company, the consumer, through want of knowledge of some simple facts connected with burners, flames, and glasses, may be occasioned much annoyance, disappoint- ment, and expense ; and, -unfortunately, these evils are aggravated on account of gas-fitters being frequently un- acquainted with the various contingencies which occur in burning gas. It is an every-day occurrence for consumers to complain of the excessive cost and the deficiency of light on their premises. The first they invariably attribute to the inac- curacy of the meter, and the latter to the bad quality of the gas ; and no doubt it would be a difficult task to con- vince the majority of those who thus complain that much of the fault rests with themselves. In fact many of the complaints made by gas-consumers may be traced to their own mismanagement, and the want of care and knowl- edge of gas-fitters. Bad burners are used, and small pipes expected to supply endless light, while half the lights are allowed to burn with ragged flames, and the gas hissing away, giving nothing like its proper light. Grood burners, in connection with pipes of sufficient size, with the flow or pressure of the gas properly regulated, are the only means of getting the most satisfactory results. 54 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. If people would pay more attention to these seeming tri- fles, they would be more than paid for the trouble and expense. The object of gas is to obtain light ; and whenever this is effected at a greater cost than necessary, it is in every sense of the word a loss just as palpable as permitting oil, or any other valuable commodity, to run to waste ; therefore it is essential for us to consider the means requi- site to avoid such loss. For the purpose of obtaining the best results and econ- omy from gas, there is no part connected therewith of more importance than the burners. If these are improp- erly constructed, or their flames unsuitably adjusted, the light derived from gas is reduced in a most extraordinary manner. Under such circumstances, the account of the consumer is much increased, and it is no exaggeration to state that a large proportion of consumers, through their own mismanagement, pay (considering the light obtained) twice as much as there is any occasion for ; or, in other words, by proper burners and control, they could have their usual light for one-half the money paid. The burner, technically speaking, is the point from whence the gas issues to be burned. Sometimes the flame is so called ; this, however, is a misnomer ; and in these pages the burner and flame are always .considered distinct and separate from each other. The flame of a bat-wing or fish-tail burner is seen to consist of two distinct parts, one nearest the nipple, of a light blue color, sometimes nearly invisible, and a fringe of luminous flame above. The relative proportions of these two parts depend partly on the quality of the gas, but more on the construction of the burner. Small holes, or a narrow slit, will give more of the blue and less of ON BURNERS, FLAMES, ETC. 55 the luminous part of the flame, all allowance being made for rate of burning and pressure. " If you take a thirteen-^andle gas, and burn it in an ar- gand burner, you get the illuminating power of thirteea candles ; if you burn the same quantity of gas in a bat- wing or fish-tail burner, you get only the illuminating power of nine candles. But if you put two bat-wing burners together, so as to have an agglomeration of the flame not so large an expansion compared with the quantity of the flame you get an illuminating power very nearly equal to twice thirteen. In other words, each one of these bat-wing burners, when the two flames are united into one, gives you very nearly as much illu- minating power as an argand ; showing that the real fact is, that the flame of a thin jet of gas greatly exposed to the atmosphere on both sides, loses its power of illumin- ation, simply because there is such a large extent of atmosphere on both sides of this thin jet of escaping gas. This is thoroughly mixed up with the gas, and causes it to burn with a blue flame. Sometimes one-half or two- thirds of the whole area of the flame is blue. If you turn through a jet of gas a stream of atmospheric air, you will get a strong heat ; but the illuminating power of the gas is gone. You have an enormous heat, which will melt platinum wire ; but you have no light. So it is also where you have a jet of gas escaping from a Burner, under conditions in which there will be a large amount of atmospheric air mixing with the gas." There are four kinds of burners generally in usage, viz., the argand, bat-wing, fish-tail or union jet, and the single jet, each of which will be considered separately. The argand burner was first invented by a French gen- tleman, from whom it derives its name, who adopted it in Ob THE GAS-CONSUMERS GUIDE. the last century for oil-lamps, making a most important improvement in them. As applied to gas, it consists of a ring pierced with small holes ^ from these the gas issues, and when burned forms a cylindrical flame, which is enclosed by a glass cylinder or chimney for the purpose of causing a draught or current of air to impinge on the interior and exterior of the flame. These are generally defined by the number of holes they contain for the emission of the gas. As already stated, the standard indicated- to test the quality of gas contains fifteen holes. This, however, appears to have been chosen as the medium, and is not by any means the most economical, and is far from being the most wasteful burner. The annexed figure (1) represents an argand burner and flame under the most favorable conditions the flame Fig. 1. ON BURNERS, FLAMES, ETC. 57 being bright, clear, and uniform, slightly wavering at the top, the extremity of which is of a reddish color, having a tendency to emit smoke ; and there is a total absence of those vertical streaks which indicate a separation between the various jets forming the flame, all of which points are indispensable to the economical consumption of gas with the argand burner. The most important considerations for good burners are that the orifices for the egress of the gas should be perfectly regular in size, and sufficiently large, so as to permit it to issue with very feeble pressure or force. The passages to the interior and exterior of flame should be adjusted with great precision, so that sufficient air may be supplied, but avoiding any excess of that, which tends to cool the flame and diminish the light ; and the glass chimney for gas of .the quality ordinarily sold, should not be longer than seven or eight inches. In the event of this being exceeded, a sensible loss of light will be the result. "With canuel coal-gas, longer chimneys may be employed with advantage. Whenever the orifices for the emission of gas are too small, a greatly increased pressure is required to expel it, and the light derived is diminished just in proportion to that increased pressure. With burners constructed in this defective manner, the flame has a dull blue tinge, which increases in intensity according to the augmented pressure ; the jets forming the flame are more or less detached, and a large portion of the lower part of this is of a deep blue color. If the pressure be great, and the orifices very small, a series of blue jets only are visible, for reasons already explained in reference to thin jets in contact, and being mixed with atmospheric air, which give no light, even although the full quantity for a good 58 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. flame issues. Defective burners are very common, and by their usage the consumer frequently does not obtain more than one-half the available light to be derived from the gas. To convey more forcibly to the reader the manner in which defective burners operate, we subjoin a series of experiments made with four different argands, all of the same size, and having 15 holes ; but the holes in each burner respectively were of such dimensions as only to allow five feet per hour to pass under the various pressures indicated. FIVE FEET OF GAS BURNED UNDER VARIOUS PRESSURES GAVE THE FOLLOWING RESULTS. Gas issuing with pressure in tenths of indies. l-10th yielded the light of 12 candles. 5-10ths " " 6 " 10-10ths " " 2J- " 40-10ths " " \ " From these experiments we learn that the light to be obtained from a given quantity and quality of gas is entirely dependent on the burner from whence it issues to be consumed. The realization of the second experi- ment, when lialf the light is lost, is to be observed in practice in almost every street. The third experiment is rarely seen, and the fourth is mentioned merely as an illustration. This demonstrates very strongly the neces- sity of having proper burners ; it also shows how, by negligence on this point, the consumer's gas account can be greatly increased in what appears a most mysterious manner. The holes of argand burners may, however, be too ON BUHNERS, FLAMES, ETC. 59 large, in which, case the flame smokes. Their size must be defined by the quality of gas they are intended to consume. With inferior gas, the holes are required to be large, whilst for that of superior quality they should be proportionably small. We will now refer to the varied light obtained by the adjustment of flames, which is another source of loss. Fig. 2. We would naturally suppose that, in proportion to the quantity of gas issuing from a burner, so would be the amount of light obtained ; thus, if 5 feet give the light of 12 candles, that the flame being reduced so as to consume 2J feet, would give the light of 6 candles. This, how- ever, is far from being the case ; for there is a particular point in the consumption of any class of burner where the maximum light is derived ; and any deviation from this entails loss. As an example of this : if an argand 60 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. flame consumes 5 feet per hour, and gives the light of 12 candles, and this be reduced so that only three-fourths of that quantity is burned (a flame, very similar to fig. 2), then, instead of the light being equal to 9 candles, the theoretical proportion, it will be 6 candles only, causing a direct loss of 36 per cent. And if the flame be further reduced to consume 2 J feet, then, instead of the light being that of 6 candles (the due proportion according to the consumption), it will be 2J candles, being a loss of nearly 60 per cent. Lastly, if it be reduced to burn 1 J feet per hour, a small blue ring of flame is all that is visible, without any available light. Thus the cost of light from gas is very much increased by reducing the size of the flame. The knowledge of this fact is of importance to the consumer, who, in ignorance of it, in his desire to be economical, might obtain directly the opposite result. To give an instance of this, let us observe a shop window or other place having four good argand burners, as described, but their flames so checked or adjusted as to consume each 2J feet per hour, about two-thirds the height of that represented in fig. 2, when the light from them conjointly would be only equal to 10 candles, obtained at a cost of 10 feet of gas per hour ; whereas if these were replaced by one burner with the flame at the proper height, considerably more light would be had, at one-half the cost. Here, then, is one of many remarkable instances where consumers voluntarily increase their gas accounts by improper management. It is therefore more economical to have one good gas- light than a number of small ones ; besides, the brilliancy of the former contrasts strikingly against the dulness of the latter. On the other hand, every care must be taken to prevent o , ON BURNERS, FLAMES, ETC. 61 the gas passing off in waste ; for whenever a flame be- comes smoky, there is a considerable loss of gas, without any increased light. The inconvenience of having the ceilings blackened, with a probablity of goods stored in the upper part of the apartment being injured by the smoke, adds to the annoyance. A great consideration with argand burners is that the flame, when slightly checked, should be perfectly regular and uniform in height. When this is not the case, it arises from some of the holes being obstructed, which may be easily cleared by means of a suitable broach, to be had of most fine-tool merchants ; and should they be too small, with the same implement they may be en- larged. All irregular or pronged flames cause a serious loss of light; and the consumer should not hesitate to change any defective burners, as the cost is speedily realized by the economy, the brilliancy of the light, and avoiding smoke. When a large quantity of light is required in enclosed places, as shops, warehouses, etc., argand burners are beyond comparison superior to all others ; it is true they require more attention in cleaning glasses ; there is also the expanse of renewing the breakage of these ; but the drawbacks are more than counterbalanced by the beauty and economy of the light, due attention, of course, being paid to its proper management. The annexed fig. (3) represents an argand burner with two chimneys, the one within the other, the bottom of the outer being closed by a glass dish or saucer. In this the air to supply the flame passes down between the chim- neys, in the direction of the arrows,. find becoming heated in its passage, does not cool the flame, and a very large increase of light is the result. According to Dr. Frank- 62 THE GAS-COXSUMER S GUIDE. Fig. 3. land, a high authority, for an equal amount of light, the saving of gas by the use of this hot-air burner is equal to 33 per cent. ; and for an equal consumption of gas, the gain in light is equal to 62 per cent. This class of burner is admirably adapted for private dwellings, offices, etc.. on account of the diminished vit- iated air, heat, and vapor, for the light derived ; but although so highly recommended by Dr. Frankland, and other scientific gentlemen, from some unaccountable cause it has not been generally introduced to the notice of the public. This is the more to be regretted when we reflect on the innumerable absurdities which are produced from time to time, and have a large share of favor for a period, until their demerits become known. Another economical class of argand burner has a per- ON BURNERS, FLAMES, ETC. 63 forated porcelain cup, on which the chimney reposes ; the air to supply the flame passes through the pierced cup, and probably on account of it being limited in consequence, the light from the gas is increased. A precisely similar result is obtained by having a ring of perforated metal, or wire gauze, placed on the outer circle for the admission of air. Burners having cones, so as to cause the air to impinge upon the flame, are also considered economical. A very suitable burner for lighthouses, signals, etc., is a modification of the argand called the Boccius burner. This consists of two or more concentric rings of flame, provided with a suitable chimney. In these each ring of jets should be adjusted by a separate tap, otherwise there is great difficulty in obtaining uniformity of flame. The larger kinds of argand burners are the most eco- nomical. The advantage gained by employing a 30-hole argand instead of the standard is an increase of from 20 .to 30 per cent, more light ; for if the standard consumes 5 feet per hour, and gives the light of 12 candles, the 30-hole burner, consuming 7 feet per hour, will give the light of 22 candles. Therefore, whenever good light is desirable, the best results are obtained by employing the latter. The argand is, however, not usually employed in dwell- ings, arising from its flame being susceptible to change in height with every variation of pressure in the com- pany's main at one time rising to a considerable length and smoking, at another requiring to be increased to give the desired light. Although the same irregularity exists with the other classes, it is not so evident as with the argand. This difficulty is easily overcome by attaching a good regulator to the premises, when the flames will be continuously uniform. 64 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. When only a small light is required, the argand is not well adapted ; the bat-wing and fish-tail are then by far the most economical. As shown, when burning 1^ feet per hour, this is useless ; but the same quantity with the other burners will yield a very useful light. THE BAT-WING BURNER Is so called on account of its flame having the form of the wing of a bat. This burner consists of a metal, " lava," or " adamas " nib, with a hole pierced therein within a short distance of the top, across which is a slit from which Fig, 4. the gas issues in a thin flat flame. Fig. 4 represents a bat-wing flame under very favorable conditions, when producing the maximum of light from the gas. As seen, it is clear and bright, a small portion only of the lower part being tinged with blue ; the two points are slightly reddened, and have a tendency to smoke. A flame like this wavers or flags. A perfectly steady bat-wing or fish-tail flame is never economical. Following the law already mentioned, when the orifices of bat-wing burners are small, requiring a strong pressure ON BURNERS, FLAMES, ETC. G5 to expel the gas, great loss of light is the result ; the flame then becomes streaked with blue rays, the light therefrom is of 'a sombre hue, and. when contrasted with a good burner arid flame, the difference is so great that it is hardly possible to conceive that the two are supplied with the same gas. Fig. 5. Fig. 5 represents a flame under extreme circumstances, the orifice of the burner being very small, and the gas issuing with great pressure, producing a rough, uneven flame of a dull blue tinge, accompanied with a roaring noise. The loss of light under such conditions is very great, perhaps equal to three-fourths or four-fifths of that the gas would produce if properly consumed. By an obstruction in the slit, the bat-wing flame becomes forked and uneven. This is also a cause of loss of light ; however, they are easily cleaned by passing a piece of watch-spring or thin card through the slit ; if the burner be made of "lava," or "adamas," a camel-hair pencil will clear it. Bat-wing burners are the best adapted for all out-door lights. They require no glasses, nor are they affected, like the argand, by every breath of wind. They are also useful in enclosed places, where appearance is not a con- 5 66 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S -GUIDE. sideration, and are generally employed in the sunlight, hereafter mentioned. Whenever economy in gas and a good light are de- sirable, the larger descriptions of bat-wing burners are always to be preferred, as reference to the following table of the light given by various kinds will demonstrate. The letters attached are for future observations. Candles. A. A bat-wing burner, consuming 2 feet per hour, gives the light of 2$ 3* 10 22 The above may not be confirmed by every class of burners, but are a general average with gas of the qual- ity supplied, the pressure being in all cases 4-10ths of an inch at the point of ignition. THE FISH-TAIL BURNER. This likewise takes its name from the appearance of the flame, and is formed by a nib of metal, etc., nearly pierced Fig, 6. ON BURNERS, FLAMES, ETC. 67 to the top, where there are two holes, drilled at such an angle that each jet of gas in issuing impinges against the other, forming, when lighted, a sheet of flame at right angles with the holes. Fig. 6 represents such a burner and flame of the best description, yielding the maximum of light from gas. The general observations respecting pressure, and the size of the orifice of argand and bat-wing burners, apply equally to these. When the pressure is excessive, it is indicated in the fish-tail by a roaring noise, with an alteration in the form of its flame ; the result is that a large quantity of gas passes without giving light. In some respects this burner is the most defective, for it affords facilities for the gas to pass off imperceptibly in waste with any slight excess of pressure, whereas, with the other burners mentioned, notice would be given of this by the smoke arising therefrom. Fish-tail burners are very generally adopted for dwellings, on account of their being most suitable for glass moons or globes. Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a sketch of this class of flame as ordinarily employed ; but in this the gas is not burned in the most favorable manner, on account of the holes being too small, 68 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. causing the flame to have a blue tinge, with a series of radiating blue streaks. By increasing the size of the holes for the emission of the gas, this is avoided, the flame becomes brighter, and economy is effected. Following the law of other burners for the light pro- duced, the larger descriptions of fish-tails are the most economical, as seen by the subjoined : Candles. A. A fish-tail burner, consuming 1J feet per hour, gives the light of 1 2i 6* 10 18 The tables just referred to of the relative consumption of bat-wing and fish-tail burners, with the amount of light derived, are of the utmost importance to the gas-consumer ; for we find on examination that bat-wing burner F, for a given quantity of gas consumed, gives nearly three times the light of A, and that E gives nearly twice the light of B. Again, with fish-tails, gas consumed with burner p gives more than three times the light than when consumed with burner A. Therefore, in order to employ gas ad- vantageously, the larger size burners should always be adopted, even when only the limited light of two or three candles is required. The large burner, when turned down to the proper degree, furnishes that light at a much more economical rate than the smaller kinds. Nevertheless, we see in daily practice establishments, such as hotels, illuminated by the -smallest descriptions of burners, frequently arranged in clusters or bouquets. The light obtained from these is always of a dull nature, and most extravagant in price. To demonstrate this, we will take a case in point, a hotel, for instance, having a series ON BUHNERS, FLAMES, ETC. 69 of bouquets of fish-tail A, one hundred of which are dis- tributed throughout the premises (by no means uncom- mon), giving the light of one hundred candles, at a cost of 125 feet per hour. Now, if, instead of these, only eight burners E were employed, then precisely the same quantity of light would be had at about one-third the cost. When consumers use these defective burners, they must necessarily expect to pay dearly for their carelessness or want of judgment. THE CARCEL BURNER. This is a simple burner, named from the resemblance of the flame to the celebrated carcel lamp, with a perfor- ated disc at the lower part, and two orifices at the upper, where the flames unite and spread into one ; each side of this united flame is supported by two curved levers or arms. It is thus made a steady burner. That it is noise- less, is at once evident on examination. In point of economy, it is said to be equal, if not superior, to the argand or fish-tail burners. The light from this burner is steady, soft, and mellow, and in these particulars is said to be almost without a rival; THE SINGLE-JET BURNER. This is a simple jet flame, similar to that of a candle, but is seldom used, except when only a very small flame is desired, as at counting-house desks for sealing, pipe- light burners, etc. With the richer descriptions of gas, such as produced in Scotland, it is very commonly em- ployed, but only where a limited degree of light is required. From the foregoing observations we learn : That according to the construction of burners, and thp 70 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. pressure with which the gas issues, so will be the amount of light derived. A proper burner will give the maximum of light, whereas an imperfect one diminishes it very ma- terially ; and it is even practicable, by bad burners and high pressure, to consume gas without it yielding any light whatever. That when the flame of the argand is diminished, a greatly decreased light from the gas is the result ; there- fore it is essential that the full quantity of gas for which the burner is made should be consumed. One good light is much more economical than several bad ones. That with all classes of burners the light obtained from the smallest sizes is always costly in many instances the consumer, by using them, pays two or three times more for lighting his premises than would be necessary if proper burners were employed. The best description of burners are of lava, and others called adamas. These, in appearance, resemble porce- lain, and are constructed in a manner to produce the maximum of light from gas. Being incorrodible, they cannot be destroyed or obstructed by rust. They are of the greatest durability, and are cleaned from dust or dirt simply by a camel hair pencil. Whenever defective burners exist on premises, the consumer should not hesitate to replace them immediately, for the expense is speedily repaid by the economy effected and brilliancy of light obtained. GLASSES, GLOBES, AND REFLECTORS. With the argand burner the glass chimney is indis- pensable ; otherwise, instead of the flame burning with that brightness and clearness peculiar to it, it would be dull, and yield a large portion of gas in an unconsumed ON BURNERS, FLAMES, ETC. 71 state, which would pass off as smoke ; but all additions, as globes, detract considerably from the light. No glasses of any description are ever used with bat- wing burners, on account of the flame having a tendency to distend itself with any increase of pressure, which would be liable to break them. With fish-tail burners, glass globes or moons are com- monly employed for the purpose of ornament. These are very desirable in private dwellings ; but in shops they are frequently used without any consideration of appearance ; on the contrary, their dusty state is often sufficient evi- dence of the neglect and carelessness with which they are regarded ; in such places they should be dispensed with. Globes of every denomination present a serious obstruc- tion to the diffusion of the light of gas ; according to the best opinions, the light lost by them is as follows : Light obstructed by a clear glass globe about 12 per cent. ' clear globe engraved with flowers " 24 " ' globe of ordinary pattern .... "35 " " ' globe obscured all over "40 " " ' an opal globe ........ "60 " " painted opal globes "64 " Here, again, it will be observed that the consumer, in using these, voluntarily increases the price of light by employing the means to prevent its diffusion. Where globes are necessary, the choice may be made between those which are entirely plain, or others where the upper half is obscured, leaving the under part plain, or those obscured all over and engraved ; but the opal moon should only be used where economy is not a con- sideration, for, as shown, 60 per cent, of light is lost by its use. 72 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. REFLECTORS. The purpose of the reflector is to throw back, or reflect, some of the rays of light which would be lost, or absorbed by surrounding objects. They are made of bright metal, porcelain, silvered glass, enamelled metal, etc. When placed in the upper part of shop windows, to throw the light on goods displayed, a good effect is produced. To attain the best results, they should be hidden as much as possible from the beholder. Reflectors are used in many places as a source of at- traction, by reflecting the light into the street ; but possess the inconvenience of dazzling the eyes of persons who pass into their rays. They are useful in many places where the light is required to be concentrated in any par- ticular spot; and for lighthouses, railway signals, etc., they are too well known to require any observation here. THE PROPER POSITION OF GAS-LIGHTS. 73 CHAPTER VI. THE PROPER POSITION OP GAS-LIGHTS. THIS subject has received very little attention from those whom it most concerns, particularly as regards the position of lights in large buildings, such as churches, chapels, halls, theatres, etc., where it frequently appears that the system adopted is to distribute a given number of lights according to the area of the premises, without any consideration for the comfort or convenience of thjs congregation or auditory. A common method of illuminating churches, chapels, and public halls, is to suspend a number of lights from the front of the galleries, whilst others are surmounted on pillars in the galleries and body of edifice. The con- sequence is that those persons seated at the furthest end from the pulpit, desk, or platform, have to sustain the full glare of a large number of flames or lights, which, in ad- dition to rendering the speaker in comparative obscurity, after a short time has a tendency to produce drowsiness, causing some people involuntarily to close their eyes, to fall perhaps into a dose. Thus that which might be attributed to want of merit on the part of the speaker, is due to the defective arrangement of the gas-lights. A similar objection exists in theatres, where often the lights are placed directly before the eyes of persons who occupy the best seats in the place ; or perhaps a glaring 74 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. chandelier is immediately in front pf those in the upper part of the building. There are various other systems of lighting public edifices equally, disagreeable as those mentioned, and unfortunately, it is only in a very few instances where illumination in such places is properly carried into effect. In some cases the error of excess of light is committed, which is always fatiguing to the eyes of a large portion of the assembly,. and is wasteful ; should proper means of ventilation not be adopted, it then be- comes unhealthy. In public buildings, where the degree of light necessary for persons to read with facility is ex- ceeded, it becomes worse than useless. It is well known that any one when seeking an object in a dark place with a lighted candle, in order to be enabled to see the better,, the first impulse is to screen the flame from the eyes by the hand, otherwise its glare im- pedes the vision. Or when the sun shines on the eyes of an individual, in like manner he shades them, so as to be enabled to see any object or person at a distance off; and these simple operations ought to be imitated in gas-light- ing, for objects are always seen to more advantage, or with greater facility, when the flame illuminating them is hidden from the spectator. If a pulpit or lecture-table be illuminated by unscreened lights, the speaker is seen under considerable disadvan- tage ; but if these be screened by suitable shades, so that the light falls on the individual, but is hidden from the assembly, the difference will be considerable. In the latter case every outline is well defined, every change of expression is observed with facility, and the eyes of the spectators are not fatigued. The same principle applies to the general lighting t>f churches, where the lights are arranged as already stated ; but if they were so shaded THE PROPER POSITION OF GAS-LIGHTS. 75 that the light came only from the backs or above the heads of the people assembled, it would add much to their comfort and convenience. Undoubtedly the best means of illuminating large pub- lic edifices, is the " sun-light." It is difficult to conceive the beauty and agreeable glow of this description of illumination in large buildings, with- out having witnessed it. The apparatus is of the greatest simplicity and neatness ; the light therefrom, on account of its position, surpasses all others, and, if the size and number of burners be properly considered, it is not ex- pensive. A further recommendation is that it ventilates in an admirable manner the building where placed. An error often committed in fixing these lights is to place them too high up ; indeed, in some cases, the tube is dispensed with, the reflector being attached to the ceiling. This increases materially the cost of gas, inas- much as the light is diminished very sensibly, in propor- tion to the increased distance of the flames illuminating. Therefore they should always be placed as low as con- , sistent with general appearance, taking care that the reflector does not cast a shade on the persons assembled in the galleries or upper part of building. The only objections that can be raised against this class of apparatus when properly arranged, are that the columns and galleries of buildings illuminated thereby cause shadows to be thrown, so that part of the building is in comparative obscurity. This, however, is counter- acted by having a few lights fixed under the galleries, attached to the back of such columns, or wherever they may be desired. Goods in shop windows are also displayed to much greater advantage when the lights illuminating them are 76 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. hidden from the eye ; and nothing is simpler to arrange than this. Most classes of merchandise are exhibited under the best conditions when the light descends from above, there being provided suitable reflectors to throw the light on the goods. There are so many examples of lighting dwellings, that the consumer may judge for himself of the most suitable plan according to his taste. "Much of the economy and effect, of gas-light, however, depends upon the arrangement of gas burners in relation to each other, to the surround- ings of the furniture, height of ceilings, distance and angles of walls, hangings, etc. "The general practice of disposing of burners in chan- deliers in the centre of the rooms, although pleasing to the eye in its artistic effect, simply as an ornament to the room, is far from being the most philosophical manner to obtain the best effect from the light. Shadows have much to do in the effective and satisfactory lighting of any hall or room. Hence it is that a single light, or a centre- piece, or nucleus of lights as represented by a chandelier, is objectionable, because your shadow will appear in any part of the room opposite to the light, and is more or less inconvenient in proportion as it differs in that respect from daylight, which is so diffused as to avoid this evil, except in peculiar conditions. "The proper and most efficient position for gas-burners, therefore, is at the different sides, or better, the different angles of the room. Then the intensity of the light will be more uniform in every part of the room. "Brackets should not be used on one side of the room only when used, but should be disposed vis-a-vis, or as nearly so as possible." One rule should, however, be imperatively laid down ; THE PROPER POSITION OF GAS-LIGHTS. 77 that is, in all sitting-rooms, reception or drawing-rooms, and even kitchens, when the light is suspended from the centre, if the apartment be sufficiently high, care should be taken to keep it above the level of the eyes of the occupants. Of late years, great change has taken place in the con- struction of gas apparatus. They were formerly made in a very massive and costly manner ; now they are light, elegant, and can be had at prices to suit all classes. 78 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. CHAPTER VII. THE GAS-METER. WITH the exception of the indicator of time, either known as clock, watch, etc., there is no mechanical in- strument so much in use as the gas-meter, and perhaps, generally, there is none so little understood. This want of knowledge of the instrument often causes much distrust and suspicion. All the extravagance of improper burning, accidental losses or escapes, errors in management of gas, are recorded, and brought to the account of the consumer by it, frequently producing much annoyance, which would be avoided were people better informed on the subject. Some extraordinary circumstances occur daily in con- junction with the gas-meter, and we will merely relate three of them as examples, to illustrate how people may be deceived by their own acts. A gentleman and his family, of Boston, beiug about to visit some friends for a short period in a distant part of the country, shut up their house, together with the fur- niture, leaving no one in charge of them. It was at first intended their absence should be but a few days, but was ultimately prolonged from time to time, and at the end of six months they returned to their home. A short time after their arrival the gas company pre- sented a very heavy account, and the gentleman, believing THE GAS-METER. . 79 it an error, went for explanation, taking with him the receipt for payment to within a few days of his departure ; he was, however, informed that it was for gas consumed since. He then exulted in the proof he could give of the house having been shut up the absence of his family consequently not requiring lights ; but the officers of the company insisted on the accuracy of the meter, and on payment for the quantity indicated thereby. The gentleman, not in the best of humors, went home protesting against the injustice, and stated the circum- stances to his wile, who at first was equally astonished. She hesitated reflected a moment. " Well," she said, "how silly ! Now I recollect, just as we were leaving, I had forgotten my keys, which were left in the drawing- room. To find them I lighted the gas ; in my hurry for- got 1o turn it off again, and on returning I found it still burning. It is my fault, and we must pay for it." The gas had actually been burning day and night for six months, and of course indicated by the meter. The gentleman being satisfied with the explanation, paid the account. We can draw two inferences from this : Firstly, if the lady had not been candid, the worst conclusions would have been entertained by the consumer ; secondly, if she had been aware of the importance and fidelity of the meter, she would have given it more attention, and so saved the money. Another instance occurred at a large wholesale ware- house, where gas was being consumed during the whole of the twenty-four hours daily ; but in the day-time, as at night after business hours, only a small number of burners were used. However, the principal of the estab- lishment found the consumption very excessive, and 80 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. complained to the company. The meter was accordingly tested for his satisfaction, in the presence of his represen- tative, arrd found correct. Subsequently, renewed and continuous complaints were made, when an officer of the company went to investigate the affair, and a simple observation of a few minutes convinced him that there was an important escape of gas somewhere ; pursuing the inquiry, he found a defective pipe on the roof of a detached building, which at once accounted for the complaint and loss. The isolated position of the place where the defective pipe existed, prevented the escape of gas being detected by -the smell ; and the loss, being con- tinuous, made it of very serious importance. Had the principal, or the persons in his employ, under- stood the construction of the meter, they would have done precisely the same as the gas inspector turned off all the taps on the premises, leaving the main tap open, and then have noticed the drum or dial, referred to when speaking of the index of meters, which shows the units of feet passing, and would have observed this to revolve ; clearly proving that gas was passing, although none was used. In the other case, a gas inspector in the course of his business having informed the proprietor of an establish- ment the amount of consumption "That won't do," said the latter, u for I have been away all the quarter, and no one has used it." " But," said the inspector, "per- haps your servant has." " Not she," was the reply: u and I will not pay it ; it is a cheat a fraud, which I protest against." The following quarter the inspector again called, when the same consumer blandly asked, " How much have I used this time ? " " Nothing," was the reply. " Nothing ! THE GAS-METEK. 81 look again." " No," was the rejoinder, " nothing." " Well," said the consumer, "I begin to imagine I can rely more on your box than on the word of my servant ; for, thinking to detect you in error, I took away the key of the gas, so that it could not be used, and only replaced it Avhen you came to the house. I am satisfied now." These cases might be mentioned by hundreds. They are of daily occurrence, and the consumer, not being able to assign a reason for discrepancies, places the evil to the account of his meter. The amount of harsh language through circumstances like these is beyond description ; and our task is to endeavor to explain and show the accu- racy and justice of the instrument in question. But at the same time we do not pretend that it is impossible for a meter to err ; it may have been wrongly constructed. This is, however, very unlikely, for upon its correctness rests the reputation of the manufacturer. If constructed erroneously, it is a witness against him at all times ; to- morrow, or twenty years after, there it is, a proof. Hence the necessity for gas-meter manufacturers to employ every care and accuracy in these machines. In this chapter we hope to be enabled to show that although gas is invisible, it is capable of being meas- ured with the same accuracy and certainty as liquids that its volume or bulk is just as palpable as water, or any other substance ; and gas consumers should thor- oughly understand this, in order to avoid those prejudices against the gas-meter which unfortunately too frequently exist. There are two kinds of gas measures, the one called the " wet meter," on account of it requiring to be par- tially filled with water to render it effective ; the other is called the u dry meter," because it requires no liquid, 6 82 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. being complete in itself. The wet meter being the first kind employed, merits priority of description. DESCRIPTION OF WET METER. The first wet gas-meter was patented by the late Sam- uel Clegg, of England, in the year 1815. This instru- ment was very far from being a practical machine, but subsequently was brought to a much higher state of per- fection by John Malam and Samuel Crosley. It is a remarkable fact that companies did not at first encourage the use of gas-meters ; on the contrary, the majority actually opposed them, although for some years their operations were attended with serious loss, mainly caused by the extravagance or dishonesty of their con- sumers, many of whom, not content with lighting their premises most wastefully during the hours assigned to them, actually heated them day and night with the gas, often burning six or eight times the quantity for which they contracted and paid for. Other systems of fraud existed by substituting larger burners, or placing extra lights without advising the company, and of course witlv out payment ; and all the personal surveillance of the companies' officers was not sufficient to counteract these evils. ^ At that time, when increase of business to gas com- panies only increased their loss, they resolved to try the use of meters a wise decision, that has done immense service for the propagation of gas. This effected, they began to understand their interests ; and reduced the price of gas by meter, and ultimately in many cases enforced the use of the instruments, so that the econom- ical no longer paid for the extravagant ; and the latter, THE GAS-METER. 83 who formerly burned without consideration, then began to understand the loss they had entailed on the com- panies. Once the gas-meter perfected and manufactured, it was just as absurd to sell gas by contract as to supply oil or any other valuable commodity to the public indiscrim- inately, and leave this at their discretion. The measurement of liquids is easily understood ; for by their opaqueness they are visible, and by their weight they readily flow from one vessel to another, and it is thus a simple operation. But with gas or air (both, of which are alike in bulk and measurement) the case is different ; these are invisible, and so light that they require a pecu- liar manipulation to retain them, and prevent their loss. The operation of measuring them is, therefore, necessarily more complicated. A decanter, or bottle, or any other vessel which we call in ordinary language empty, is in reality full of the air we breathe. This is made evident by hastily filling a decanter with water, when we observe the struggle between the air rushing out and the water going in ; or in emptying the same hurriedly, the bubbles of air are observed to struggle to enter and replace the liquid coming out. To illustrate. in a more striking manner the bulk of air or gas, we will suppose two glass vessels, say tumblers, both of about the same depth, but the one so much larger in diameter than the other, as to permit the smaller to enter freely in it. The larger is filled with water, and the smaller inverted, held by the hand, and allowed gradually to descend until it reaches the bottom. Whilst descending, the greater part of the water in the larger glass overflows, which is equal in bulk to the air contained in the smaller glass, and that par^ of it which is immersed ; but it will be observed that water does not enter the inverted glass, the space therein being already occupied by the air. If we now take a very similar apparatus, but the larger glass having in its centre a vertical pipe p, which rises above its edge, and is open throughout to the atmosphere at the bottom ; on the larger glass being filled with water, the other inverted and allowed gradually to descend as before, then only a very small quantity of water over- flows, this being merely equal to the bulk of the glass immersed ; the water enters the smaller glass, expelling the air therefrom through the pipe p to the atmosphere ; and when this reaches the bottom, it will be full of water. If again it be lifted gradually, air will enter, and when at the top, as represented in. fig. 8, will be filled with air. Fig. 8. Here we haye a very simple means of illustrating the measurement of air ; for if the inverted glass be of the capacity of half a pint, each time it is raised from the THE GAS-METER. 85 bottom to the top, it receives that quantity of air from the atmosphere ; and each time it is caused to descend, it expels the same. It is evident that if the pipe were in communication with gas, this would be measured with the same facility as the air. The accompanying sketch (fig. 9) shows similar, but larger vessels. The inner vessel or bell, instead of being Fig. 9. held by the hand, is now suspended to two. columns, and nearly counterbalanced by cords and weights, c c, just leaving it sufficiently heavy to expel the air or gas when 86 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. required. There are two pipes the one, w, we will suppose to convey the gas from the company's works ; the other pipe, c, to convey it to the consumers' premises. Each of which has its respective tap, w and c. The tap c being shut, and tap w open, and in commu- nication with the company's main, the gas, by the force or pressure with which it is expelled from the manufactory, enters through the pipe w, and pressing or forcing itself between the surface of the water and underneath the bell, causes this to rise the force of the gas now doing that which was formerly done by the hand until in the posi- tion of sketch, when the bell will be full of gas. Proper appliances are of course adapted to prevent the mouth of the vessel rising out of the water. If now the tap w be shut, and tap c open, the weight of the bell (as before stated, not being entirely counter- balanced) will expel the gas to the burners of the con- sumers. So thai if we suppose it to contain 6J gallons, or one cubic foot, each time in rising from the bottom to the top, it receives that quantity of gas from the com- pany, and each time in descending it expels the same to the consumers' burners. If to this apparatus we adapt a simple mechanism to cause the taps to open and shut, by the rising and de- scending of the bell, and another to indicate on a dial the number of times it had been filled and emptied, or in other words, the quantity delivered by the company, and received by the consumer, then we have a clear idea how gas can be measured by a self-acting instrument. The tank and bell just described are similar to the im- mense gas-holders, or stores, in every gas-manufactory. The water in the tank serves three purposes : it prevents the gas escaping or intermixing with the atmosphere ; it THE GAS-METER. 87 is the means of resistance for the gas to raise the bell or holder ; lastly, it displaces or expels the gas. To approach gradually in describing the meter, let us conceive that the supply of a liquid, as water, etc., in being measured, required to be delivered with the same uniformity as gas ; and for the purpose, we may imagine a rude self-acting machine, as shown in fig. 10. Fig. 10. Here it will be observed there are four vessels of known capacity attached at right angles to each other, to axle a, with which they revolve. The axle is supported by, and revolves freely, in suitable bearings, which, for simplicity, are not shown. The vessels are filled successively by hand or otherwise, there being suitable mechanical means to prevent them moving, until each in succession is quite full.. As seen in sketch, vessel No. 1 is being supplied with the liquid to be measured ; and No.*4, which has been filled, is emptying itself. When No. 1 is full, by the action- of the weight of the liquid contained therein, it 88 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. suddenly descends, bringing No. 2 in the position to be filled ; at the same time, vessel No. 1 is emptied ; then, No. 2 being filled, descends, bringing vessel No. 3 in position to be filled ; and so on continuously, causing the vessels to revolve with the axle in the direction of the arrows, so long as there is a supply of liquid. We will suppose each of these vessels to contain one quart, so that each time they revolve, four quarts, or one gallon of liquid, must be received and delivered by them ; and in order to avoid the necessity of continuously counting each revolu- tion of the measures, or in other words, the quantity received and delivered, we make it a self-recording in- strument. This would be done by fixing on the axle a suitable screw or worm, working into a toothed wheel in commu- nication with a dial ; thus if the wheel had twenty teeth, the measures, in revolving twenty times, would cause its axle to revolve once, and indicate 20 gallons ; and the motion being further communicated to an index by suit- able wheelvvork, the quantity passing would be recorded with much greater accuracy than any human supervision could attain. This supposed instrument is based on precisely the same principle as the gas-meter ; for in the latter, there are four measuring vessels attached to, and revolving with a shaft, which are filled with gas, and emptied in succession, and the number of times they revolve, or the quantity of gas received from the company and delivered to the con- sumer, is indicated on the dial of index, a similar appar- atus to those mentioned, but differing in shape for instead of the. vessels being cylindrical, as shown in figs. 8 and 9, or like quart measures, as in fig. 10, they are now each of the form of the fourth part of a cylinder or THE GAS-METER. 89 drum, which works on a hinge or axle, so that in filling, it makes the fourth part of a revolution. When expel- ling the gas, it of course moves in the opposite direction. There are two corresponding pipes for the admission and emission of the gas, similar to those mentioned in the former illustration. (See fig. 9.) It is almost unnecessary to observe that the alteration of shape or mode of action does not make any change in the principle ; a self-acting apparatus for the supply, and recording mechanism for the index, would convert this, like the last, into a means of measuring gas. Let us now imagine such apparatus in combination, the chambers for the gas being attached together, and work- ing on the same axle A in a suitable tank filled with water (as shown in fig. 11), with corresponding pipes Fig. 11. for the ingress and egress of the gas. Here it will be observed that the chamber c is filled with gas, and that marked w nearly filled with water ; if now the gas from the company be allowed to enter chamber w by its 90 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. corresponding pipe, which protrudes just above the water level, the force of the gas entering iv would cause it to rise and fill, expelling at the same time the gas from c, both chambers making the fourth part of a revolution in the direction of the arrows, when w would be full of gas, and the other, c, immersed in the water. This demon- strates very clearly how gas, by the force with which it issues from the works, is capable, when entering one chamber, of expelling that which exists in another in combination with it. If now we make the action just explained continuous by having four chambers attached to the same axle, and causing the gas to enter them successively, always at the side w, and to expel that from the chambers at the side c, then a rotary and continuous motion and. supply would be the result and this is~ precisely what occurs with the wet gas-meter. The annexed figure (12) is a section of the instrument when in operation ; a a a a is the outer case, filled with water a short distance above the centre, as shown by the dotted lines ; in this is a cylindrical vessel, b b b Z>, called the " drum," which revolves freely on its axle a. This vessel is divided by the partitions p p p p into four distinct measuring chambers, 1, 2, 3, and 4, and by a very in- genious contrivance the pipes alluded to in former illus- trations are dispensed with the passages for the ingress and egress of the gas being attached to each respective chamber, which passages are opened and closed in suc- cession as desired, through the intervention of the water and the revolving motion of the drum. The gas, in the act of being measured, enters the cham- bers alternately ; that marked 1, as seen, has just received its supply, and is full, when both its inlet and outlet are THE GAS-METER. 91 closed by the water ; but as the gas enters chamber 2, it expels that from chamber 4, and the drum moving round in the direction of the arrows, opens the outlet of chamber 1, from which, in its turn, the gas is likewise Fig. 12. expelled ; afterwards chamber 2 attains the central posi- tion, when, having its supply of gas, the passages thereto are closed ; and so on continuously, the drum revolving, receiving gas from the company, and delivering it to the consumer as required, the water entering freely into the various chambers, and so expelling the gas. It is evident that if each of these chambers be of the capacity of one-fourth of a cubic foot, that every time the drum revolves, one cubic foot of gas must be deliv- ered by the company and received by the consumer ; and if the number of these revolutions be recorded on the .index by a simple train of wheelwork, then it can be 92 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. easily understood how the quantity of gas which has passed can be faithfully measured. The measuring drums of these instruments are made in accordance with the quantity of gas to be consumed from them. That for a meter for five lights contains one- fourth of a foot, for ten lights one-half a foot, and so ou in proportion. But it will be observed, on referring to last figure, that each of the compartments, when filled with gas, is defined at the side nearest the axle, by the water, and if no pro- vision were made to regulate the height of this, their capacity would be increased or decreased, according to the level of that, when the instrument would be useless. TMs, however, as will be seen, is arranged in a very simple manner. Fig. is. Fig. 13 represents the front part of a meter, with THE GAS-METER. 93 the plate removed for the purpose of showing the interior : a is the inlet, b the outlet ; / is a float attached to the cover of a valve, which is enclosed in the box v ; when there is a sufficiency of water, this float lifts the cover, opens the valve, and permits of the free passage of the gas ; but in the event of the water being below its proper level, the float falls, closes the valve, and stops the sup- ply of gas. In order to provide against the other contingency an excess of water there is a pipe e, through which the gas must pass to be consumed ; the top of this pipe is exactly at the desired height for the proper level of the water, therefore any surplus will pass down this to the box beneath ; and should there be a consid- erable excess, the passage of the gas will be stopped thereby; g is the axle, having 'at its extremity a worm or screw, which works into the toothed wheel h, and so conveys to the index the number of times the wheel re- volves, or the quantity of gas consumed. With this meter, it sometimes happens that sudden extinction takes place, putting the premises in total dark- ness, and serious delay ensues before the gas-fitter can be found ; it is therefore essential the consumer should be enabled in such extreme cases to correct the evil himself. To remedy this, shut the main tap, turn on one of the taps of the burners, take out the plugs, c and d (see fig. 13), and at the orifice d pour in gently a small quantity of water until it issues from the orifice c ; and on this ceasing to flow the plugs must be carefully replaced, when the meter will be in working order. But the opposite of this an excess of water may occur, when by simply taking out the plug c, and allowing it to flow out, on replacing the plug, the supply will be resumed. In such cases, it is imperative that no light be approached near 94 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. the meter ; the strictest care should be taken to replace the plugs, and the main tap should be shut during the operation. A difficulty in severe frosty weather, when this meter is exposed to its influence, is that the liquid therein freezes, and prevents the gas passing. In this case a small quan- tity of boiling water should be poured into the orifice rf, and after a lapse of a few minutes the surplus allowed to flow from the plug c. When a wet meter is placed in an exposed position, it should be embedded in some non- conducting material, such as straw, sawdust, etc., which will prevent the water therein from freezing. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRY METER. If a small balloon be attached to the company's pipe and filled with gas, which is afterwards detached and pressed between two flat surfaces or plates, so as to expel the whole of its contents into any receptacle, it is certain that, if the capacity of the balloon be known, by this means gas could be measured with the same facility as liquids ; for if it hold exactly a cubic foot each time on being filled, that quantity of gas would be delivered by the company, and on being emptied, would be received by the consumer. Although this is not practically useful, it will illustrate in a simple manner the operation of the dry meter. The dry meter, now most extensively manufactured and used, consists of a quadrangular case, divided into two chambers ; the lower and larger containing two flex- ible measuring vessels, these, with their corresponding valves, being necessary to give uniformity of action. The upper chamber contains two slide valves, for the ingress THE GAS-METER. 95 and egress of the gas ; with means of communicating motion thereto, also means of indicating on the dial the number of times the measuring vessels are filled and emptied, or in other words, the quantity of gas passed. Fig. 14. Fig. 14 represents a side view of the lower part of the meter, where the measuring is effected, the outer case being divided by a partition (p) into two distinct com- partments, and in each of these is a flexible gas-tight chamber, formed by the rings, r r (which are soldered to the partition p), the disks, d d, and the leather bands, 1 1 ; each band is firmly attached to its ring r, and disk e?, re- sembling in form and action a flattened balloon attached to two plates. Thus there are four distinct measuring chambers, numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4, into which the gas passes in and out alternately by their corresponding ori- fices, in communication with their respective slide valvea 96 THE GAS-CONSUMER'S GUIDE. the disks being supported by the vertical rods, h h, and moving to and fro according as the flexible chambers of which they form part are filled and emptied.