Gas Leaks.—If a strong odor of gas is detected, probably a stopcock has been left open and the gas thus escapes at full force. Do not go near such an open gas jet with a light, as gas mingled with air is a highly explo sive mixture. To enter a room filled with gas, first open adjacent doors and windows to create a draught, throw the doors wide open, rush across the room, and throw the windows wide open, meantime holding the breath. The air is purest next the floor; hence if in danger of being overcome lie face down on the floor, where the air is likely to be comparatively pure. Turn off the open cock as soon as possible. If the odor of gas is slight, it may come from a small leak in the pipe or about ,a burner. To find such a leak light a match and carry the flame along the pipe from the tip of the jet as far as the pipe is exposed. When the leak is found, the gas will take fire.
Or dissolve half a bar of hard yel low soap ,in 1 pints of water, and apply the mixture to the gas pipe with a brush. If there is gas escaping through holes it will form bubbles which can be seen and the leak de tected without danger of explosion.
To mend a small leak in a gas pipe cover the place temporarily with yel low soap; stop it permanently with a cement made of white lead and boiled linseed oil.
Acetylene Gas.—The use of acetylene gas for lighting purposes marks an era in artificial illumination. Acety lene is produced by the contact of calcium carbide (which has somewhat the appearance of gunpowder) and water. The result is the evolution of a gas which burns with a pure white light giving the nearest approach to sunlight, and has an illuminating pow er more than twelve times as great as that of ordinary gas. The introduc tion of acetylene is comparatively re cent, and some prejudice against it has been aroused by defects in the style of generators first placed upon the market. The experimental period is now well-nigh passed, and the Na tional Board of Fire Underwriters has approved a large number of genera tors. If a proper apparatus is select ed, acetylene may be regarded to be as safe as any other illuminant. The various generators on the markets are of two types: one, in which the gas is produced by placing the calcium car bide in a suitable receptacle and al lowing water to gradually fall upon it; the other, in which a receptacle is filled with a relatively large quantity of water and the calcium carbide is al lowed to drop into the water in small quantities. The latter type of gen
erator is the safer and is consequently to be preferred. The brilliancy of acetylene flame is so great that a small one the size of a copper cent is suffi cient to light an ordinary living room. Hence the air is vitiated much less than by most other forms of illumina tion. Recent experiments at Cornell University show that the light fur nished by acetylene has, to a consid erable degree, the power that sunlight has in promoting the growth of vege tation. It is much less trying to the eyes than electricity or ordinary gas, and is likely to become increasingly popular.
Gasoline Gas.—Perhaps the cheap est method of illumination in localities that are not supplied with illuminating gas or that are furnished with the gas at high prices, is the use of gasoline gas. A tank of gasoline is located outside of the dwelling house and buried six or eight feet under ground. To produce the gas it is only neces sary to pass a current of air across the surface of the gasoline. A very simple contrivance for this purpose is a blower, which may be operated by windmill, water power, or by means of weights and pulleys installed in the cellar. Of course the necessary pip ing must be provided to carry the gasoline gas to various parts of the dwelling as required, and also an au tomatic air mixer. When the gasoline tank is outside the premises and un derground, there is no possibility of explosion. The entire apparatus is very simple, and while the first cost has to be taken into account, the cost of operation is very low, probably not more than one half that of an equal number of kerosene lamps.
Welsbach Burner. — The incandes cent principle of light, as applied in the well-known Welsbach burner, con sists in heating a gauze mantle, im pregnated with certain rare earths, to a white heat by means of a mixture of gas and air. The result is a flame five or six times as strong in propor tion to the gas consumed as that pro duced by an ordinary open gas burner. The air in the room is also vitiated much less, and less heat is given off. The Welsbach burner may be used with any form of gas, but is especially useful in connection with gasoline gas, as it admits of a proper mixture of air with the gas, and does away with the necessity of providing an auto matic air mixer.