on tie a the use "old the pride
and availliiiity of fuels; and also upon
s-‘th‘e cost of installation.
All to the? reliability of operation:
There the steam engine easily ranks
first with its long list of satisfactory
performances or both turret and small
' ‘ Kit
mum pressure Whenever required. and
the installation remaiuad in an.
in] operation during the life of the
'lndians use held}: in 1898, because
of the decline of the gas field, we re-
sorted to compound compression, as.
modern complfessing station,“ and the
successful: delivery at the required
burnout of gas is deepgdsnt upon the
reliable cool-attain of such stations. in
show newcomer-easing the gas in.
creases the transportation capacity of
i
a .
.‘ths pipelines, let us consider the case ing eight units for the first comprea- units for various purposes (in land, as TH ,
of an) inch line 100 miles long. with sion. and the other four units on the well as its fine record of continuous E HODP,
FIN? 13th Ebblflllt m on initial- pressure of: 100 «porous: at second compression. aeivioe at see, even under the severe 1N0 BABY
the field end. and a terminal pressure The compressing machinery of this requirements met with in modern “a “ ‘ ‘
of 10 pounds at the city and;w This station was designed by the wail on} expansion and ocean steamship IN THE
ard'D. Leland, .for many years
1 - oul 1h , ,
ed in the Norwalk iron Vv’orks, W‘ a carry a Wt 12 700 000 cubic
feet per 24 hours, A compressing
known air and gas compressing ex-
pert, Mr. Ebenezer Hill, and it is in-
competition. 1
h. p, steam engine
“Power" tells of a 122
in Philadelphia ROLLER
G138
h 1" I ,, . . ‘ 1‘
who 11:)? ”:1: 3:11:11 r :31?! 12;: station, by ruisingthsinitialpressure terestlng to note that, even at this which )las been in continuous 5am“ ’; ‘ ‘ BEARING
resting PRINT on Conlnresx. in; Net- to 350 pounds, ‘would increase the early date, it contained many of the for 64 years, part of the time running MHWMHWW
amount ’69 41,300,0001cnblc-feet not important and desirable features of both day and night and of another ‘ COAL PAN.
of ills-Oven.
1-4 more heat around oven means
'quickcr Work with less fuel.
Hub ranges work m all drafts be-
cause our flue makes only 4
turns, .others make 6; 1-3 loss
turns means less friction and bet-
ter bake.
a», before the Engineers Society,
Western Pennsylvania, June 41b,
and the address is printed in full
" proceedings of the session, with
tuber of interesting illustrations.
cloud is superintendent of com-
ing. stations, Philadelphia Com-
' Pittsburg, Pa. and is a brother
illiom J. Leland, of Springfield,
e'rly of South Norwalk, and cons-
rank .l. Bradbury, of .South
my in The Sentinel reprints pen
the address:
rat gas is not a new discovery,
emote history we learn 'of the
1 Fires: which, gave inspira-
e' Persian Flre-Worshlppcrs
hares. of the Caspian Sea, ‘and
themost sucesslful compressdrs in use
at the present time. Be Well were the
compressors planned, that one of the
original type, a machine built 17 years
ago, has been in steady and satis' .-lc
tory operation throughout the recent
sevelo winter, most of the time rul1~
plug 24 hours a day.
As the large quantity of moral -: ls
used each day in Chicago tendered
storage capacity for a sufficient re-
serve suppiy near the city entirely out
of the question, it was most esscno
tion that 1a continuous delivery should
be maintained by the pipe-lines and
compressing station. Hence the In»
stallatlon was planned to consist of,
twelve straight-line, steamdrlven
24 hours. Again take the case or p
101 inch, line, .200 miles long. Afn in-
itial pressure of 360 pounds and ter-
minal pressure of 101,pounds would
give a delivery of 27, 000, 000 cubic feet
per 24 hours. By installing a witty
station near the center of the line
and restoring the pressure to 350
pounds, the delivery would be raised
to 40,000,000 cubic feet per 24 hours.
Some have/suggested installing gas
oxhausters. Ol‘ rotary-blowers} near
the delivery ends of the large supply
lines to a city, in order to increase
the rate of flow through the long
lines. In the early'days of the naltur-
a1 gas'industry, a few stations of this
type were built, but such a method
engine, built in 18117, of 4110 rated 11.
p., which at times developed 900 h p. ,‘
and which after running for 00 years,
was overhauled and started on a new
career of usefulness. it also men-
tions a. pair of twin engines, furnish
ing poster for t‘lle’Wlleeler and1 Wll~ .
sen machine shops at. Bridgeport,
Connecticut, which completed a run
of 44 years without being shut down
.ln working hours to exceed a total of
and and one-half hours during the
whole period. Nearly all are famil-
iar with the record of the famous
Centennial LCorllss engine that ran
the machinery at the Philadelphia Ex-
position in 1870 and then furnished-
power for so many years to the large
MOTHER 00.0K- BUT THE SAME
000KER
The A. J. Collins Co.
12—18 North Main So, So. Norwalk, Conn.
‘ /
.=
steam driven station, the usual cost NORWALK CONTRACTING NOTES.
of a steam engien station being about . (The Comerclal Record.)
one-half the cost of a gas engine sta- West Norwalk House.
.. a ._.... _
trict, we find 39 Corliss engine driv~
en compressors installed, comprising
a total maximum capacity of over
76,000 1h. .p.
ry of the “burning fountain" near
’ble’,France, was told in 1618. The
King Well" of Laucashlre, Eng-
_ 1 was tested in 1067“ “The“Flre
is” of Western China, six inches
lameter and from 1,500 to 2,000
deep, wore described by mission-
5 1111833. Travelers tell of na-
1 gas in the oil pools of Japan.
‘ we hear of the stream of hi-
”,’lnous gas which is used to illu-
ateone of "the silt mines of Hon-
anr we know that in Belgium
1' streams occurled, and near
hibtagong, India, natural gas is re-
ported as‘li‘l’owing from a crlvlce.
1 In_1.our own country George Wash-
ington visited at "Burning Spring" in
West Virginia. In 1819, near Mari-
et Ohio, 11 well 400 feet deep gave
, t quantities of gas find on. In
4 at Fredona, N. Y., natulal gas
or used for illuminating purposes In
1841 it was used for heating sallt ww
' r in the Great Kauawhn. valley in
West Virginia. in 18150, near Titus
lie, Pa., a vein of calbul’et'ted- hydro-
gen gas was struck at a depth of 09
feet, Flom the drilling of the first
ll well in 1859 the history of natural
gas has run parallel with the devel-
opulent of the oil industry As early
" 69 the pumps on the various oil
were dlalwing gas dram theln
rinse undel drilling boilers. Short
he were laid and In many places
and villages [begun to use the
, Would they ranged from 800 to
3,1, even to'11200 lbs. The first
' led in E‘lfiilloy, ‘ Ohio, in 1888,
“k pressure of 450 lbs. The
$1.326 lbs. West Virginia rock
,,:ranged from 100 to 1300 lbs
, sas gas fields the original
plop were from 230-10 000 lbs. '
éi‘th‘h of the industry with
at compressing the gas was re-
rtsdtto, and because the bulk of
natural gas thus for produced has
albinined in this country, this
, suing work has been almost en?
xly. an American development, el-
all much interest has been taken
our methods by the visiting engi~
, aof Russia, Hungary, Germany
' dthar countries .
. in ,the comparatively s/lnalln
«lint use in 1872,1the year in
aid, the production has increased
, he business expanded until, in
he produced In 22 states and from
total of over twenty-six thousand
to. (while the value amounted» to
r1 ‘ evanty million dollars. ,
fin, , while a very convenient fuel,
Its one of the most bulky, and
its consider that on a very cold
"the Pittsburgh' District over
mod millionmubic feet at gas
use, a volume more than six-
ty great as the built of this
311 plug, in which; we are
basin to realise the
I in the (1me de-
having had considerable experience,
with the use of natural gas for fuel
and power. purposes, are familiar with
many of the problems involved In its
production and transportation, and
they are in no danger of making
the mistake of molly,1otherwise well-'
informed citizens. who entertain the
idea that the chief function of a com-
pressing station ls to pump air into
the gas lines for the purpose increas-
ing the meter readings. These good
people appear to entirely overlook the
fact that any-where from seven to
twenty volumes of air mixed with one,
volume of gas forms an explosive
mixture, and that the presence of1
such a mixture in the gas lines would
invite disastrous results.
' Several years ago a company in ln-i
(llana, after repairing a 10 Inch gas
line, used air for testing purposes.
All explosion resulted, ‘1)l‘obllhly due
to gas 01 oil vapor that had remained
in the pipes, and twelve miles of pipei
line was mined, pelt of it being
blown entirely out of the ditch. ’l‘1his-
incident shows “but might occur, if.
for any reason, air was Introduced}
into gas lines. The resulting danger:
is both well understood and carefully“
gualdcd against by practical gas
men.
All example of this care is shown
in the course pursued in «case of re;
pairs to any of the inlge low pres-
sule gas mains ill Pittsburgh. whole:
apmtnblc vacuum pump. driven by a
gasoline engine, is used to exhaust
the air that may have entered the
pipes, while thellepall's were in prog
rose, and to snake celtnin that fuel
air is removed, this vacuum is car-
ried down to as low as 17 inches of;
melculy. 1
Tile success of curb careful and,
persistent effort is pleasingly shown
by the results of the government tests i
In Pittsburgh. as repelled by Geo. A.
lint-roll. of the Bureau of Mines, at
.the recent Kansas City Convention
or the Natural Gas Association of:
Amellcu, when be stated that ”sam- ,
ples of the natural gas sold in Pitts I
burgh have been tested at the govel'ln-
ment ln‘bmatorles twice a week for
the past three years and no trace of
air found in the gas."
The first natural gas compressing
station in this country was erected
in 1880‘ by Charles E. Hequembonrg,
of Dunkirk, N. Y., one of the pioneer
natural gas engineers. This station
of 6,000,000 cubic feet daily capacity
was located at Rixford. Pa, and pump-
ed gas to the city of Bradford through
eleven miles of seven Inch cast iron
pipe. The first compressor installed
was a duplex steamdriven machine
with 24 inch steam cylinders. 26 Inch
gas cylinders and 30 inch stroke. Lut-
er three smaller compressors of the
bums type were added, and all the
machines remained in successful oper-
ation until that particular field was
exhausted.
Later they were moved to Indiana,
where we used them in 1891 for tech,
lug pipelines, and were ultimately
sold for compressing air in the coal
mines of iilinois. This is certainly a
very creditable record for the asrilflt
natural gas compressors in use. 1
in 1892,1111. Greent‘own, Indiana... we
emaciated the first station designed
for compressing large quantities of
are are required, and
use the and flows
iuofl'li‘oi' gas to extremely high!
'Ohio and Kansas gas fields, where
fraugcmeuta tending to plomoie sure-
[lcsultiug In a shutdown, defeats the
ipunposc for «which the station was
delivery capacity of the station. The
wisdom of this precaution is maul-
fest when one considers that 1n 1892
we were just entering the then on-
known field of high pressure gas com-
pressing work, and as there was no
one who possascd a fund of exper-
ience upon which to draw, many fea-
tures were necessarily experimental,
and machinei'y troubles were to be
expected. Later in the history of gas
compressing, engineers felt jllstlfled in
venturing upon larger and fewer units
at any particular station. in fact, as
early as 1896, the Fort Wayne Gas
Company installed some large cross-
compound Corliss engines that were
used until the practical exhaustion of
the ludiaua gas field. and were then
sold for use in compressing gas in the
they are now running and giving good
service.
In planning the modern compress
lug station the principal factors to be
consldclcti are the compressors, the
motilfh power and the general ar-
ty and continuous operation. All of
these demand attention. for we must
consider the station as a unit and
realize that any weakness 0i defect
built and may cause a gas shortage
at a critical time.
A gas com-plessor is practically an
air compressot designed to Operate
undel the higher presumes usually
leouiled in Miami gas lrullspmtu-
ilon. The high pressure compressing
empcllcnce of nearly twenty yeals
ago soon showed the essentials of re-
llullle compressing machinery, and
since that time there has existed no
necessity for eirperlmeutiug ill order
to obtain reliable compressors, nor
has there been any valid excuse for a
failure to delivcl gas on account of
defective machinel v
The desirable features of good com-
'prcssiug machinery are longstroke
cylilldcls, tending to high volumetric
efficiency; conical cylinder heads,
giving stlougth combined with ample
valve area; solid one-piece Intake and
delivery valves with shortdift avoidv
lug troubles from broken valves and
from valve-stem nuts working off; re-
movable liners for convenience in re.
newals; and. pistons of adequate
strength for the pressures encount-
ered. The long stroke machines, with
their less frequent revolutions, in a
measure avoid the tripham- mar effect
that has proven so injurious to valves
and seats. and thus the life of the
valves ls materially increased.
As an instance of what should now
be expected In compressor perform-
once i will cite the record of four com-
ressora installed in 19011. and which
have been in almost constant opera-
tion ever since.
steadily compressing gas to pressures
ranging from 200 to 275 pounds, and
are still operating“ successfully with
vice. '
my access
and other conditionsmau
1“ 11
They have been
the original intake and delivery valves
that came with the machines. Furtheo
more, at no time has it shut ddwn
been «used by valve troubles. Such
{a record leaves little to «be dashed
from the standpoint of reliable sen, .
Mechanically driven valves of new
feral types have been tried with vary»
but thereto ill the gas
of a station containing nine "large in-
ternal combustion engines, when
speaking of the greater possibility
maintaining the efficiency of
steam engine as compared with
other type of prime mover, said: "The
gas engine is such that if its effi-
h};
a question 'of a day or two when you
cannot run it at all, whereas with a
steam engine it simply imposes more
work on the boilers."
This is in line with the observer
tion of Mr. George Westinghouse, who
in February of this year refers to
”the generally recognized fact that no
internal combustion engine of any
known type can ever operate with
the same freedom from accidents and
interruptions as do modern steam e111
glues, turbine or reciprocating."
Of course all steam-driven com»
pressing stations are not equally re1
liable installations, for experience
is valuable in gas compressing work
as is the case 111 all other branches
of business, and, if in planning a
compressing plant, the results of
past experience are ignored, the pair
ally of unreliable service and increas-
ed expense follows as the natural re-
sult.
For compressing gas in small qu'nn'
titles or for draining nearly exhaust-
ed pools, many types and kinds of
compressing machinery have been or
are in use. We have the standard,
straight-line, steam engine driven
compressor, usually with the ordinary
flat. steam valve and Meyer cutoff.
the type of machine used for years
in air. compressing work. We have
the straight-lino tWo cyclg, and the
straight line «four-cycle. gas engine
driven compressor. These machines
are easy to erect and the foundations
not expensive. We have rotary blow-
ers bolted to either steam engines or
gas engines, and where it is desired
to ncclerste the flow of low pressure
gas in short lines such blowers may
serve a useful purpose. They should
not, however, be used against a head
cominresspoethnw Dznll2derSFlESTH
of over three or four pounds, as above
that point the gas looking back
through the blower prevents good re
sults. In. some cases the high speed
gas engine connected by rope driven
to a slower speed and longer stroke
compressor, proves a good arrange
ment. it not only affords relief from
the undesirable features of the short»
stroke compressor. but it also makes
it feasible to locate the engine at a
safe distance from the compressor.
While-tile necessarily quick starting
of 1a gas engine is “more liable to
cause trouble by tweaking the 1‘01"?ii
or by throwing them out of mail
or American rope drive system. not,
advisable between engine and corn
be preferred
In fact at. unimportant points, al-
most any type of comprise
(was good enough for the purpose
vice in compressing area}
cicncy begins to decrease, it is only .
grooves, than in the case with .the
slower starting engine, still with this
type of plant fairly good results have
obtained with either steam or gas
engines and with either the 311811311
on the whole. in view of the distance
pressor. the American system is to
‘ will 1.
[But for continuous and reliable sen
quantities;
Sll’blect to'constant change. This 001
curs from hour. to hour and from day
to day, and it follows that the horse
howol' required at any given station
varies as these changing conditions
influence the ratio of compression,
The maximum load occurs at " the
highest delivery measure, with the
“compression ratio at 3:1,-01' slightly
over, and as the ratio changes to
above or below this point the WOIk
decreases. But. of course, the engine
installed must be large enough to
carry the peak load, notwithstanding
the fact that very few, if any, gas
compressing stations operate at their
maximum horsepower more than a
small proportion of the time.
People not familiar with gas com-
pressing details llnve wondered if it
pays to pump with the intake pres-
sure below atmosphere. The answer
is that this depends largely upon the
conditions that exist. With high rock
pressure and dolls-la rock it might not
pay, :but with low rock pressure, por-
ous rock and pool of reasonable size,
operating with even quite a high
mum is most assuredly profitable.
Most oil wells and nearly all water
wells are operated under similar cons
dlilons.
At present most compressing stu-
ilons are using gas for fuel, and as
they are usually located In the gas
fields and ill the vicinity of glass fac-
tories, carbon factories, zinc smelt-
ers, cement works, brick yards, or
other industries which use large quan-
tties of gas and are taking it. lfrom tlleé
some general fields as are the com-|
pressing stutlons, It is hardly feasible
to conserve the supply.
lint in planning compressing sta-
tions we must not place undue enl-
pbasls upon the importance of saving
a few pounds of coal or a few test of
gas, .for the ethical question involved
here is of slight moment compared
to the larger one arising in cities
where gas is used In such a variety
of ways, sometimes perhaps in fur-
naces with Inefficient burners, or pos-
sibly in ‘a wasteful manner in open
grates. One important question that
must be widered is what will no
tually be gained to offset the extra
expense incurred in securing a slight-
ly reduced .fuel consumption If this
perfectly proper question is decided
wisely it may save considerable
muney In the original cost of a com-
pressing station, and prevent the mis-
take or giving too great prominence
to what is comparatively an unimport-
ant feature.
To those‘of our members who know
the damage to tubes and sheets that
results from using the acid water of
the Monongahela River for feeding
boilers, any mention of steam power
In gall compressing work may suggest
the possibility of unsuitable feed WW
tor and consequent boiler troubles.
The type of gas burner u'sed under
boilers may be of interest as there
are several types of patented burners
in common use in. the Pittsburgh ms
careful euparimonts. ;
under a. large butts
. 1
1c
trict, moot-.1101 them the outcome of ..
tions there should be some escaping‘
gas. This is a well recognized fact,
and with care and proper attention
to the ventilation of buildings, in most
gasnelds this will do no harm.
Natural gas as it‘enters the com
pressor is at about the temperature
offaltlle ground, ranging from 35 to 40
degrees fnhrenheit in the winter, up
to 60 or 70 degrees in the summer.
The compression increases this tem-
perature. and it is not unusual to
have delivery gas temperatures of
over 300 degrees.
Among the many subjects in con-
nection with the «work of compressing
gas, the operating cost per horse now-
or hour is of interest, and there are
records showing this cost ranges all
the way from Me in some cases to
only 0.00071c in others, depending
among other features upon the engine
load and the size and type of station.
in looking forward to future devel-
opments in gas compressing, we find
that the ideal performance of the
modern com-pressir, during the past
eight years. leaves slight chance for
improvements in the line of efficiency,
reliable operation and freedom from
repairs.
in reviewing the many' phases and
features of the gas compressing sta-
tion and suming up th'e various le-
quirculents, it Is apparent that the two
qualities of lplinlc importance are
safety and reliability.
ponds In a1 large measure upon the ill-
telllgellt and faithful care of an ex-
perielrted station crew, and proper
consideration for their welfare de—
mands that they be subjected to no
unnecessary risks.
Reliability. because upon the con-
jinuauce of\ the‘ station to deliver the
required amount of gas, may depend,
not only adequate return from the in-
vestment, but also the comfort, and
possibly the health of many persons,
and serious results may followcven
the partiaI'afailure of the gas com-
pressing machinery.
ov E R’S
“The Place"
w
x Q ELITE
no n.1LsTON
~ OXFORDS;
Safety, because good service de~l
H V!
m; giotl-llgea’.d;v§2::8tggfgis :3 is, however. neither feasible nor compressor units of moderate size, in punman car shops near Chicago. Preset re . tiou of these'me capacity. Irving Whitney has taken the con-
urnished the weavers of the econom on. ‘ a. order that an accident to any one our At the recent Pittsburgh Conven~ different! :t‘im not only different at , Gas under pressure Will go tillWOUgh tract to build a new house 011 West.
| with light an d best. The Members of this Society,.havlng chine would not seriously affect the tion of the Natural‘Gus Association, 11 s a one, but at “Ch station ‘3‘ minute ”will“ and it Is in ‘Nolwalk avenue for Wilfred Smith '
one of the members who is in charge 1 e intake and delivery pressures are evitable that around compressing sta-l The house will be of flame consume.
tion, containing eight looms, provid-
1ed with every convenience.
Work has been started on changes
to the l‘ésidence of William Stewnlt
on Fillowa
avenue. Irving Whitney has
the genera] contract.
The contlact for the steel work on "
the store and info building for the Har-
ris & Gaps (30., has been given to the
National Bridge Works of New York.
H. W; Mother is the general contrac-
CHIBHE§1h0.§..t|il-S,
I‘ll eat Ask your Dru “are;
run
(‘hl- chol- “I'll! llmnn d©;
Hill in Red and Hold metallic
boxes, sealed with Blue Ribbon ‘
11 pm Buy
13:15“ l'l'l’l "ll-3} 71.1011135de 'rsrw
1H“ "RAND Pl” 5. for our
years knoanns Best. Safest. Always Rahal it
5th “Y DRUGfiISl‘S ElitRYWltUlE
._.._.....,_... ”on...” -. . s... -.~ .-...._..s_.w-._.. ~._
THAMER
" ocULls‘rs ANELOPTICIANS
HOME READiNG
to be thoroughly enjoyed should
not tire the eyes and be followed
with a dull headache.
if when reading, your eyes
1blul,lirc or ache, come to us I01
11 pair of Reading Glasses made
for your special use, only after an
oxlpcrt examination of the eyes by
our Oi‘llLlST.
87 Atlantic Square, Stamford, Conn.
Established 15 years
Open Saturday Evenings
for
1 VACATION TRIPS '
Via Red Cross Libs and Maine 5. a.
Company
to .
Maine. Halifax, Nova Scotla and
Newfoundland. <
Ask Us for Rates.
(Incorporated) _
NEAL ESTATAEGEN ANTI) INSURANCE
ll Railroad Ave... South Norwaik, 0'1
anagh Brethers
Grocers 7
' 'WAsHmo'rdn
erase-r -,
sales:
Telephone: 923
Great Reduction Sale
on all Porch Furniture.
Realtors, Screens and all Household
‘ ”5.,
p. Sell Tickets
J. M. LAYTON 81 Co. "
Hammocks. ,
Goods sold 1-3 of regular page, _ 1 1 '
Norwalk Chronicler