Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 89.djvu/392

 Keeping Watch on the Chimney

��TO-DAY power-plant owners in Cin- cinnati are as proud of the clean condition of their stacks as they are of their clean engine and boiler- rooms and general interiors.

The city of Cincinnati has been waging a relentless warfare against the factory smoke nuisance. As the result of a campaign of education the engineer and the fireman and the boss in his swivel chair arc all working together making a superb effort to reduce waste by smoke to a minimum. The manager of one factory was so anxious to co-operate v>ith the smoke inspection department that he installed in his office mirrors which enable him to see at any time of the day the volume and density of smoke emitting from his stack. He adjusted two mirrors in such a posi- tion that they reflect the top of the smoke stack so that they are easily seen from his desk, several feet from the window. When the mirrors di- vulge a smok- ing stack he compares the smoke den- sity with a smoke chart tacked to the window frame beside the upper mirror. When the smoke is cf|ual to or greater in density than "Number 3" on the chart lie presses a button on

����Mirrors Installed in the Manager's Office Are So Adjusted as to Enable Him to See the Smoke Stacks and Gage the Density of the Smoke from a Chart Hung Nearby

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��his desk which "blows" an automo- bile horn which is located in the engine room.

This serves to "wake up" the fireman, who immediately proceeds to give the furnace more air, and turns on steam-air jets which stop the smoke almost instantly, by burn- ing the rich gases from the fuel bed which would othenvise go to waste. The manager con- t i n u e s to operate the button on his desk until the faithful mirrors report that the smoke is reduced to below theobjcc- tionable density. The firemen in this plant are sup- plied with an open- ing in the roof of the )oiler-room to enable them to see the top of the stack, and if they get careless and fail to keep the smoke within law regulations, the manager proceeds to regulate things himself )y pressing the button, .liter determining just u)w much regulating is necessary by looking in lis mirrors.

The ])lan has proved entirely feasible and the lactory no doubt has an enviable reputation in Cincinnati, not only for the civic pride of the owners but also for the general efficiency of the works, as indicatetl by the alertness and com- I)reheiisi\-e oversight of its manager.

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