NO MORE COLD WARDS.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13640, 26 August 1937, Page 4

NO MORE COLD WARDS.

CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM. IN USE AT PUBLIC HOSPITAL. With the completion of work on the central heating system at the Pahiatua Public Hospital yesterday all three institutions r un by the \V airarapa Hospital Hoard have now been fitted with the most modern ami efficient system on the market. Those who have had the misfortune to fay in sick beds at the Pahiatua Hospital during the winter months will readily appreciate just exactly what this means for it was an impossibility to keep the wards warm with the open fireplaces on chilly days. The cost of the Pahiatua mstn I lotion, which was carried out by Messrs A. and T. Hurt (who also did the Grey town and Masterton jobs) was £6OO, and cannot be regarded as too much to pay for such a necessary service. The boiler, constructed in England, gives off heat up to 160 degrees, the water being pumped from it along the pipes in the positive circulation system to the radiators. The boiler is fed with slack coal by an electric Robot stoker, a New Zealand patent, which automatically cuts itself off when the heat rises to the required degree, coming on again when the temperature drops below a certoin point. The hopper which feeds the boiler contains enough coal for six hours' burning, and thus eliminates constant attention which would ordinarily mean the employment of an additional porter to keep the boiler heat at the required level. By using slack coal the boiler is very economical and every tit-lie of the coal is burned by means of the special draught fitted with the stoker. The work of installing the system took nearly six weeks, and was carried out by three of Burt’s employees who had to take up the flooring in the bud 1 ding in older to keep the h*ad pipes from the boiler out of sight and therefore save extra cleaning work. In all there are 27 radiators in the building all of which are set UP to counteract the effects of draughts, turning the cold air passing in from windows and doors to a warm current which passes on into the rooms. The corridors have five, men’s ward four, men’s sunporcli four, women's sun porch five, the siderooms two and the matron’s room one. Each radiator may be turned off independently and may be regulated to bring the rooms up to 20 degrees on the coldest days. The system is already proving a great boon in the institution.