Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/314

298 Soot is even a poorer conductor of heat than is asbestos.

Coal should be used sparingly in open fireplaces. Most of the heat goes up the chimney.

Don't let the house get too warm. It is uncomfortable, bad for health, and it means waste of fuel.

Don't bother with chemical "fuel-savers." They are humbugs.

Keep the rooms below 68 degrees. Most American houses are overheated.

Oil stoves and fireless cookers are recommended by the Fuel Administration as coal-savers.

Let the heat from the kitchen stove remove the chill from the air of the house as long as it will serve.

Reduce the hours of running the kitchen range as much as possible.

Be sure that the smoke-passages in the range are clean. Then keep them clean. If the scraper made for the purpose is lost, get another.

When the range must be run for several hours, a full firebox, carefully controlled by dampers, is more economical than a small fire.

With a big fire, a little air is needed over the coals, as well as through them.

When the fire is carried over night, fill the firebox with coal, cover it over tightly with ashes, and close all dampers. To start the fire, open the dampers below the grate and in the stovepipe. Break up the coke in the firebox, rattling the ashes into the ash-box.

Save as much coal as you can from the ashes, and use it when there is a good fire.

When the fire is well started, close the damper in the smoke-pipe as far as may be practicable with maintenance of the fire needed. When putting in fresh coal, open this damper, to prevent smoking.

Damper control is the secret of economical heating.

By observing these simple rules much coal may be saved. Now for the furnace:

Keep the ashes cleaned from under the grate. The fire will burn more uniformly, and with less clinker, with a clean ash-pit.

It is best to keep a full fire-pot, level with the firing door.

Keep the fire clean of ashes, else it will not be efficient for heating.

Attend to the furnace regularly. Anticipate the demand for heat. Rapid pushing or retarding of the fire is uneconomical.

Small charges of coal frequently applied are more economical than frequent firing. But the fire-bed should be disturbed as little as possible by shaking or poking. Shaking and clearing the grate twice a day is usually enough.

The United States Fuel Administration and the Bureau of Mines are ready at all times to aid with practical instructions and advice those who are striving to cut their own coal bills and save fuel for the nation.

VERY good air pump may be made from an old motorcycle engine of either a single or twin cylinder type. All that is required besides the engine is a few valves, some pipe fittings and a tank strong enough to stand 100 lb. pressure. The exhaust-valve lifts must be removed so that the valves will remain closed all the time, and must be ground in with emery and oil to a good fit to prevent any leaks. The connections are made from the spark-plug holes to the tank as shown in the illustration, with a check valve near the tank. The intake valves

must be altered, as they work at each stroke of the piston to let in the air. A 30-gal. tank, tested to 200 lb., is used with the safety valve set at 100 lb. The pump will supply a large amount of air if run at 200 r.p.m. and will not heat up to a great extent.—}}