DREADNOUGHT CAS.

Grey River Argus, 10 May 1912, Page 2

DREADNOUGHT CAS.

GAS MANAGER KENNEDY'S REPORT. I 'have 10. report tha.-. in accordance with instructions received from the Tc\v a. Clerk, I proceeded to Waipu-lou-rau to investigate iho sys-'.em of. l! ghung- in use there. i found Mr. Chambers, the paiemee I of the system, was absent in Southland. 1 h-ow&ver, met Mr. J3oovh,. (a .partner of Mr. Chambers) also Mr. Gore, die Manager of ihe Works, and Mr. Ashley, die Secretary to the. Town Jioaa'd. These gentlemen .were most courteous, and gave me every facility for making- a thorough investigation, and all figures relating to the working- of the scheme were willingly shpplied. The Secretary to ahe Town Board also 'supplied! 'a. statement of the working of the concern. 1 first directed my attention io tlie street lighting-, visit-ing- the outlying portions of the town. *The lamps H7'm number, are supplied with small or JJijou inverted burners, which have been found the most suitable i'o;- use with Dreadnought gas. These give a fi-ood light. . : The plant .consists, of a gqnejauu fed from a_petfo.l tank, air being .forced through. the petrol by means of a fan driven by ah oil engine. Fio\r\ the generator, the gas claimed to con[si at- of 98 pcr ccent. t air and 2 per cent ■" petrol, is' -stored in a gas holder of ■ 10, I; 000 ft capacity. The. gas' is then supplied through the ma*i>ns; in the ordinary manner. This holder was filled -n about '2» minutes.-. The. maun fac-. cure of the -gas is a marvel of ease and simplicity. The con'densa-uoh in the mains is about the same a* ■fiom coal gas, and J. ..was unable io find any evidence to show that . anyundue deposits in the mains or services had taken place. My enquiries failed w> elicjt any complaint again s-t vhe gas for lifi-'h ting- purposes. A.U the consumer's i ' interviewed expressed the utmost satisfaction with the light. It %s somewhat difficult to compare the appearance of this li.t>L; when no other light is used, but the general effect was -good, iho light oe:ng bright and of good diffusive power., There arc .five miles of mams :n use and aboiv. 150 sen- ices. Dry gas meters of iho ordinary type are ■■n irenera.l use. The neiit charges •for gas arc:— lighting-, os per 1,000 ft; cooking, heating liiid power; S.s Cxi per I,oooft. There are no gas cn^ gmes in use, and scarcely any cooj^ers or heatiji»- stoves. A few ho.]:ng rings and gas iionsaae .used, l;u. •he consumption of gas by these is unimportant. At Wa'ipawa, an adjoining town where, coal o- as nus l a u>rly been in- ••'■ willed and where the charges for fuel arc about -he same, and the charge:-; for cooking gas 100 per cent ir.o:t: Uian n c Waipukurau, gas cookers are odng rapidly ' installed. Mr. Chambers beintr st.il 1 absent in Southland, 1 visited Aapier, Has'/nss \Van-ganui, Fielding, and -Foxton gas .vorks. i also made a series- of .tests .v Faiinu/ston .North wxh J);ear.l-iioug-lu ga s and coal ffa s. Much of Jus wti-K. w.-.s clone at the -Dvcad"ouffh Agent's premises, where a working apparatus -s. shown to mend •ng purcha--eis of priva-te iustallat..ons. Uie Dreadnought gas was carefully .neasured through an experimental, meter, as was also the coal gas. Wauv was also carefully measured and boil- ' I'd by each gas, and the Ame accuately taken. -These tests were taken in t'lu; ! preseuce of the Agent, a gas fitter, my son, the Manager of the Palmer*_<-n North Gas Co., and myself. > The --.csrs were iilsa continued in "•lie workshops of t h a ,- company, and die tests made, were all checked there. Mr. Chambers "lia-vdng arrived from Southland on the 19th inst., ■ 1 again visited Waipukurau, spending some anae there 'in company with tha-; gen---1-eman. Qh my second visit 1 o|> tamed a considerable amount of information about 'the sy&.em, its success m private ■installations,' and its probable -adoption at various townships in the Dominion. The general results of my second visit (when I made a minute investigation of the who-.e process) may be said to be a corroborat:on of what i observed on my first visit. '-;■•■■ Mr. Chambers was mos-; kind, and explained all details of 'the system, answering all quen-es with the ; utmost frankness.- 1 found, thai hte Mayor's (Mr. Russell'sJ sta.ements on if he. sys-. tern were perfectly correot, 'so far as he had seen. Hav-ng- said so much about what I obesrved at Waipukurau 1 have now to present the 0. -her aspect of .the case, to judge it from the stand point of costs— .that great arbiter in such matters. -It .is as weld to 'mention 'that no means exists for measuring- ' the amount of air u sed with this gas, neither is 'the. petrol measured, so -thac the percentage used is difficult to arrive at. This is an imponan':. point, •the more so as the quafciy of ,the gas may be quickly 'raised or lowered by the increase or ■decrease of the amount of j?etroi used. The rioht proportions are arrived -at by judging a test hght supplied, from the gas- being made-.- -It will thus be seen that no measuring- or. testins- appliances are on hand. However, from the tests I carried out, and from the admissions of the patentee, and also from the basis of -the, calorific powers . of the two £&ses, coal gas • and dreadnought, the piice of coal at Greymouth, r.-s products, the price of ■ petrol per gallon, and the amount of gas it produces, a just conclusion may be af:ived at as .to the value of Dreadnoght gas as a substitute for coal gas at Greymouth. 1 have mentioned the calorific powers of gas, and it may be as weJl to pass a few 'remarks on these impcuuant terms by ■ which . all gas values are appraised, whether it is used fox cooking, heating-, lighting- or' power purposes. . . It may not be gene-rally known thai srnce the' advent of the incandescent burner, the old values of gas as ex-

pressed in candle or illuminating power have ; become practical I oosoaete. l'his lias been Drought, about by the tact rliat Uie light obtained from a mantle depends on the amount of heat applied to lit, so that the higher the heating- value of the gas, the Jess will be used and the more economical will it be. These remarks apply with especial force to gas 'used for cooking, heaving-, and power purposes, which now form such a large and ' 'increasing portion of the business of all gas concerns. There are many scientific inS'truments for testing- the hearing values .of gas, but the standard test as issued by the British Board of Trade, and Jegaiised. by the. imperial .Parliament ,is now -adopted throughout the' world, which •; pYov.cs' the importance of tins matter of caloi'iiic or heat values. This simple standard test is as follows:— The heating- value is expressed in British (thermal units, A.B'ih. Us. is :he amount of heat energy, required to raise a pound of water -1 degree Fahrenheit. Now the 'gas at Greymouth is 600 B. Th. Us. I. is often much higher than this, never lower. The. gas at Waipukurau, : as, ca/lculated from the. contents of a galion of petrol, has a hea* energy of 150 B. Th. Us., thus Greymouth has four' times rho heating value of- Dreadnought gas. This striking- difference in the values of the :wo gases is amply verified by the tests carried out as mentioned.The small inverted burners in , use a'i •\Va:pukurau consumes 7$ ft. per hour. It must be admitted, however, vhat there is some exitra degree of luminosity in the mantle, caused' no doubt by this large amount of gas used on the small surface. of the Bijou mantle in use there. The same mantle usmg the coal gas consumes 2-A ft. per hour. This difference in heat Values is further seen and in a greater degree when testing for boiling purposes. An. impea-ial pint, of water, usMiig DreadiipugEi; gas, was boiled in si. minutes, 4ft. of gas being consumed; coal <ras boiled .the same quantity. in 3 minutes, ' using Ift. of g-as. it will thus be readily seen why. pracJically no cooking stoves are used in Waipukurau, and why they are being rapidly fixed at Waipawa, where coat gas has been installed. Hearing- s;oyes "would also be very expensive to .use with petrol gas. As rcg-ards gas engines, these could not be used at all, unless those of a type .vomewhav similar, to those us<?a with .suo.-on plants. ■ ' Coming to the costs of manufacturing :he two gases, the petrol charges ac Wa:pukurau are now 2s. per gallon. , i. «ni lniormed -ii'c is. -cosily jusn. now. xiowevcr, ,l will take '-the- patrol cost at i-j, oj pc/ gallon, auu allowing a reUirn o- I,OUU it. per gallon, which the patentee admits, k will be seen ••hat for petrol "alone the costs would Ije Is 'Sd per i,GUU ft. of Dreadnough gas. The labour costs axe about- is ■is.l. per 1..U00 It., or a itotal cos. for J/reai-inought gas of 3s per 1,000 ft. ■How does the cost of -manufacturing I,ooo' 'h.-'oi gas «i GxeymouJi compare with .'"ihescj 'charges r TakjiJig the Balance: Sheet for the year ending 31st ■■•March, 1911, the foJ.owing facts are disclosed. The make of gas was, 34i0b01000 f.- the items ■of expenditure are as follow : — £ s d Salaries and Wages 1,413 19 3 Coal v 2,334 1 4 Repairs and Ma'ai tenance 769 11 11 Advertising", Printing, Rents, insurances, Freights and other Miscellaneous Charges 129 0 3 4,646 12 9 This works out at for Wages and Salaries per l,Ooo<fti made lOd Coal per ■ I,oooft. made . 1 4^ Repa'is iMid Maintenance 5^ Advertising, Prisnting, Rents, insurances, Freights and other Miscellaneous Charges.- it or a Total Cos. per I,oooft. of ...'.... 2s 83 But as we received for coke and tar for each I,oooft. made H The nee cost of gas into the holder i at Greymou.h was 2s 4-£. as auains. 3s at Wa'ipukura. Greymouth, however, is somewhat favorably situated as legards coal c.'.afgvs, -,\ comparison with northern prices at 30s per ton, and Greymouth at 17s would be on a. different basis though the low prices ruling- at Greymouth for coke and ;ar, and the less i yield of i>as per. ton from Greymouth ..coal makes the difference' in coal costs not so advantageous for Greymouth as it would at first sight appear." to be. it should also be '.mentioned that the gas maker at \Vaipukurau could make without any additional help a much larger quantity than, is now 'beingmade there. Indeed, he now does other Borough work, such as attend-, ing -o the town pumping plant, etc., so that the labor charges at 'the works would on a largo make be exceedingly low, 'and no matter what 'the make would be, -the, wean- and tear charges would be practically the same— a mere trifle.. This i- a very strong point' in favor of, the system. I have now to 'answer the question contained in my instsructLons, as vo how Dreadnought gas would act as a substitute for coal gas in; Greymouth. 1 would rir^t point out.. that all thegas stoves, cooking and heating, also boiling- .rings, in use here would be useless, as .would also all the , gas engines; all the gas burners in. -use. here Would also haVe to be discarded, and other (burners and mantles be sub s tituted for isame ; 'then again, if the Dreadnought gas were adopted here, and otter engines, stoves boiling aings a.nd, burners brought, into use, ihe charges for this gas would (owiiing to .the, large quantities .that would have to- ibe used) kave ito be lowered to the consumer to «uch Jbow ■rate's as -would!' prove altogether; unremuneraUve to. the Coundil. All ; our present- interest' charges on loans : would still have to be ; paid, with the additional burden of the cost of the D readnought : installa'tiiian . Another very serious^difficulty ."would be met with — the mains, services, meters, -and interior piping, owing .to the larjger '. quantity- of ith'is -gas- that would "be ; required- for the various purposes"

mentioned, would haye -to be. enlarged. This would not be : so noticeable . -. in small townships, where .the demand is small, but 1 am - certain tkait - iiv Greymouth it' would . provo a very expensive item. It will ;hus be seen that a serious disliocatiion ■■•of ithte ■ entire business financially and otherwise would take place an. Greymouth, were Dreadnought gas used here as a substitute lor coal gas. Thai Dreadnought gas is a g^od light f or private installation where coal gas is unobtainable, miis; be admitted. (For small townships, whero population is .not large, ; and where the-re is not likely to be much.demana for gas, for power, cooking and heating purposes, it has many and decided advantages, in that the installation coses are low, and the manufacture is so simple. Another point is that che holder, mains,- services, and : meters, of such an installation. could ? in the event. of coal gas .being iimstalk ed later on, ail be used for supplying coal gas, so ihat all the heavier expenditure of 'the retort house, carbonizing /plant, purifiers, , etc., would be staved off until the township would have reached the stage when gas for purposes o.her than light wou'kl U' required.. .' \ : . . The Dreadnought system would also be valuable -where., assuming a:gasworks to be ishont of holder .room. or manufacturing- power, and that this inconvenience is but .experienced during the busiest portion of the wiinter months or on. the Saturday nights of 'that period, a common . state of affairs, then the Dreadnought wouid be a valuable adjunct to a coal gas plant. The quantity required could.be made in a. short time, and be mixed with coal gas; <.f course 'the petrol gas wouid have to be 'a swong er mixture than 98 per' cent air and "is per cent petrol, but for those occasions it would pay to make' a l'cher petaiol gas, and Jrus .stave off a heavy expenditure for holders and •• --other plant for perhaps, a considerable period. The costs of *uch ah" auxiliary plant would^. be veiy small. 1 think, Gentlemen, I have said sufficient on 'this matter, and 1 will summarize ihe results of my linvesi:gations as- follows:— -' ' : •■•" The light with Dreadnough gas is very sadsfactory ; the st.neets'are weL l-'t, as are also the shops and dwellings. 1; -s dean and safe, theic arc no deposits fi'oin it. •"I believe ihat n miffht, with suitable appara/as, be applied for (the purposes of power, heating and cooking, where coal gas is not -obtainable, and fuel is dear. The.cosvs of installation, ma.intena.ncc and supervia^ou charges are very 'QWj as compared with such costs on a coal gas plant. The consumption of Dreadnought gas would, as 1 have saown, be very much larger than coal gas. After a careful consideration of all the ftic.s as herewith adduced, 1 cannoc recommend the adoption ul Dreadnought sa.s at Greymouth. i musit expi"ess my tnanks ito ihc gentlemen connected with the concern <vho so kindly assisted me in the in-vesti-gations and also to my s^nv.,i'lr. iVI. Kennedy, die gas engiijieer sue Palmersto.n North, who accompatiied : - f nrie on both occasions to Wa^ipuku-rau^ and assisted at .all the tests as mentioned. — I have the honor to be, Your d.bedJcnt servant, ■ ■ „..;,-. • JAMES KENNEDY. GAS MANACxER.. APRIL 29ih 1912.