POWER PRODUCTION REVOLUTIONISED.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10719, 18 March 1911, Page 1

POWER PRODUCTION REVOLUTIONISED.

The principal recommendation of the Atlas Compound Suction Gas Producer, the invention of Messrs Scott Bros., Christchurcli, is the fact that it will produce gas cheaply, as it can use cheap coal. By actual trial it ran for five hours and a-lialf, and used 1321b of lignite, the cost being about one-twentieth of a penny per brake liorse-power per hour, and the cost of a 40 brake horsepower engine for a week would be about 7s 3d. The plant was only completed on Friday. It was installed 011 Saturday, was run for an hour after work on that day, was put into harness on Monday, and has been running without a hitch ever since. The experts speak very highly of the invention, some remarking jokingly that with plants of. that character in general use there would be no need for the harnessing of Lake Coleridge. Messrs Scott Bros.' producer is similar to others ill consisting of a vertical cylindrical furnace, into which fuel is fed through " a hopper at the top. Hitherto producers using coke or anthracite coal as fuel have burned with an upward draft similarly to any ordinary furnace, and the gas produced has been taken away from the top of the producer, while those producers dealing with bituminous or semi-bituminous fuels have adopted a down draft, ;jnd gas is taken away at the bottom of the furnace. The latter method has been adopted, so that the tarry products of partial combustion may be compelled to pass finally through -the mass of incandescent fuel at the bottom of the producer, and pass on as permanent gases, instead of as unstable gases, which afterwards condense into tar again. The downward draft method makes it almost impossible to examine or interfere with the bottom part of the producer during its time of working without; interfering with its action, and ashes,can only- he taken out while at work by the adoption of a cumbrous and unsatisfactory device.

In the.new producer, this difficulty is obviated by the use of a double draft, part of the air beiug admitted at the top of- the producer and part at the bottom, while the gas is led away at a point somewhat below the middle of the producer. The principal improvements, however, are certain patented arrangements for the admission to* the producer of exhaust gases from the gas engine for the purpose 'of regulating the temperature of gas production, arid preventing the formation erf cliukor, and, especially, for the purpose of supplying a perfectly .-regular quality. r .of gas. It has been found Jhat the formation of gas regular -in quality lias had a marked effect on the steadiness in running of tlie;enginc, and has" largely increased its power.