KINDS OF FUEL The principal kinds of fuel used in this country are anthracite or hard, and bituminous or soft, coal, coke, gas, petroleum or kerosene, and wood, either hard or soft. Peat or turf fuel is quite common in European countries, and some attempts have been made to introduce it in the United States in the form of " bri quettes " and " eggettes," but thus far without much success. The cost of the various kinds of fuel naturally varies according to local conditions, but where all kinds are equally plenti ful, wood is the most expensive. About eighteen cords of the best hard wood is required to heat the home of an average family for a year. At six dollars a cord this would cost nine dollars a month. Anthracite or hard coal is the next most expensive fuel; its first cost is higher and it is not an economical fuel to use, the estimated cost of heating an average home with hard coal being about seven dollars a month. The cheapest forms of fuel in common use are bituminous or soft coal and coke. Where plenty of coke is available it may be regarded as perhaps the cheapest fuel, its cost being estimated on an average of about five dollars a month in tem perate latitudes. Bituminous coal is, ton for ton, cheaper than coke, but as somewhat more is required for fuel, the cost may be regarded as prac tically the same. Gas is, perhaps, the ideal fuel. It is clean, convenient, and when the price is not unduly advanced by monopolistic control, it is cheaper than any other fuel. Under present conditions it is usually somewhat more expensive, although the extra cost is, perhaps, more than made up by increased convenience and effi ciency.
Coal as Fuel.—Coal in its natural state consists of solid carbon com bined with various proportions of hydrocarbons (or compounds of car bon with hydrogen, which may be driven off in the form of illuminating gas) and various impurities. Thus coal is really made up of two kinds of fuel: coke—which is practically all car bon—and ordinary illuminating gas. It is much more convenient and satis factory to use coal in these two sepa rate forms than in its natural state. Very little bituminous or soft coal is used for domestic purposes in most parts of the United States, notwith standing its cheapness, because of the dirt, dust, coal gas, and cinders con sequent upon its use. Anthracite or hard coal is somewhat less trouble some, but its use is wasteful because little more than the hydrocarbons driven off as gas is really consumed, the remainder being left in the form of cinders, which are usually thrown away.
Sizes of Coal.—The large sizes of coal are the most wasteful, as the volatile gases are rarely all driven off and the heart of the large chunks is not usually consumed. The result is a residue of cinders and clinkers that choke up the grate and create a great deal of labor and discomfort. By the use of suitable grates and some care and attention, the smallest sizes of coal (which are also ton for ton much cheaper) may be utilized.
Coal — Small Sizes to Use. — The smallest size of coal in ordinary use is known as " pea coal." This requires a special grate, but after a fire has been kindled in an ordinary grate, and .L good bed of coals has been made, pea coal may be used if care is taken not to shake down all the ashes at once. There is a still smaller size known as " buckwheat coal," which is even cheaper than pea coal. This may be used in place of cinders to bank down the fires at night, the advantage being that when coke or larger coal is added to the fire next morning, the buckwheat coal will be entirely con sumed, whereas a bank of cinders tends to deaden the fire during the day.
Coke as Fuel.—Coke is produced in large quantities as a by-product of illuminating gas, and in the vicinity of gas plants in cities it is usually sold at low prices. Coke is cleaner than coal (whether hard or soft), easier to kindle, burns more freely, and leaves a much smaller residue of ash, with practically no cinders or clinkers. The principal objection to its use is, that unless care is taken it may produce too hot a fire. But this difficulty may be overcome by bank ing the fire after it is well kindled with buckwheat or pea coal.
Gas as Fuel.—The advantages of gas as fuel are manifold, and its use, especially for cooking purposes, is be ing rapidly extended. It is clean, convenient, and efficient, and will be the most economical fuel when proper arrangements are made for selling it to the public at a reasonable profit. It is probable that good gas can be manufactured and sold to the public in most localities in the neighborhood of fifty cents a thousand, and that under stress of competition new and approved appliances might be pro duced that would decrease still fur ther the cost of manufacture. Even at prices ranging from $1 to $1.50 and upward per thousand, the use of gas, if proper care is observed, must be regarded as economical.