Untitled

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1747, 30 August 1905, Page 62

A novelty as far as Wellington is concerned is to be seen in the boilerroom of the New Zealand Electrical Syndicate’s power-house—the first chain-grate automatic stoker to be introduced to the city. This has been fitted to one of the big Babcock boilers. The chain-grate stoker is really a moveable floor to tbe furnace taking the place of fire-bars. It takes the form of a broad many-jointed chain which revolves very slowly in the same manner as a bicycle chain. As it passes under the coal-hopper a certain, quantity of coal is deposited evenly and regularly on the chain-grating, and so carried into the furnaoe-box. The efficacy of tbe chain-grate stoker, as far as the public is concerned, is that it is going to solve tbe smoke nuisanceOnly two are at present fitted, but the intention is that each of the six Babcock boilers shall be so provided, and two more patent stokers are probably now on their way to the colony. The chain-grate stokers are in use both in the Auckland and Christchurch tramway power-houses, and have been found to be great savers of labour, as the furnaces* require no cleaning. ■