Modern

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CHECK, AND DOUBLE CHECK
THAT HEATING PLANT!
6y GEORGE F. FRANTZ*
In last month's article we covered a
broad field in a general way but some of
the factors are so essential that they warrant
special emphasis. Getting the heating
and air-conditioning system in shape to
operate efficiently is especially desirable at
this time, in view of increased fuel and
operating costs.
\J
Have you checked the flues?
X^ Clogged or dirty flues can cause
much grief, such as poor draft, wasted
fuel, and even a hazard by causing gases
to back up and accumulate in the furnace
room. A coating of Va in. of soot on the
flue surfaces can increase your cost of fuel
an appreciable amount. This applies to
any furnace, be it steam, hot water, or
hot air. Many installations using stokers
will find an accumulation of fly-ash in the
flues which also forms an insulation preventing
the best efficiency from the coal
burned. Even in some types of hot air
furnace using gas for fuel, dust will collect
in the flues and reduce the efficiency.
The flue or smoke pipe between the furnace
and the chimney should also be
checked and cleaned thoroughly at the
start of the season, and if you use a stoker,
the checking should continue periodically
during the heating season.
To keep the accumulation of fly-ash
from a stoker to a minimum, adjust the air
supply to just the amount necesary to provide
complete combustion, and keep a fairly
deep bed of fuel over the fire pot or tuyere.
This will tend to keep the fine ash particles
from being blown around and eventually
picked up by the furnace draft and
deposited in the flues and smoke pipe.
And while we are talking about flues, don't
overlook checking the flue from a gasfired
hot water heater. While you would
hardly expect any difficulty from such a
source, they have been known to become
clogged with lint thus preventing the
proper escape of the burned gases.
ODoes
your furnace room have a vent to
the outside?
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*A To burn any fuel such as coal, gas, or
oil, an ample supply of air is necessary
and a source for this air supply should
be incorporated in every enclosed furnace
room. It may be a window which can be
opened, or a special vent built into the wall
or a duct which leads to the outside. Such
an arrangement will provide the supply of
oxygen so necessary for proper and com-
plete combustion of the
fuel used. Without
such an arrangement
the furnace will have
to depend upon such
air as can leak through
cracks and this is usually
inadequate and
unreliable. In situations
lacking such a
provision it frequently
happens that the use
of exhaust fans causes
George F. Frantz
the fire to burn poorly,
or even smoke and gases to be drawn from
the furnace into the auditorium.
^J Is
the furnace room ready?
x\ Tliis may sound like a silly question
but after you have looked at quite a few
you will realize that the condition of the
furnace room is generally a reflection of
the condition and operation of the heating
system. Regardless of what kind of fuel
you may use, there is no reason why the
furnace room should not be as clean and
orderly as your foyer. If the room is dark,
dingy, dusty, dirty, damp and full of trash
no one will go into it unless he has to
and then only for the shortest possible
time. On the other hand if it is well lighted,
painted and readily accessible it will be
easier to keep it clean and there will be
a natural tendency to keep it that way, and
the rest of the equipment, too.
The furnace room should not be allowed
to become the storage room and graveyard
for those spare seats, old displays and
what not that you think you will use again
some day, but probably never will. It
should be entirely free of all storage, both
for safety's sake and from the damage that
might happen to material stored in case
of an accident to the boUer or water,
steam, or oil lines that are usually present.
Wet floors will cause excessive rusting of
the furnace base, stoker, gas or oil burner
units, causing frequent repair bills and
greatly shortening their life. Whatever the
cause of any water on the floor, have it
corrected. If you have a problem of seepage
which may be difficult to overcome,
install a pit with pump near the source of
the seep so that it will not keep the entire
floor wet.
If your furnace room is one of those
having a maze of steam, water and gas
pipes and valves, and only the plumber
knows what they are and where they go,
you should get busy and place a tag the
size of a shipping tag on each valve and
pipe stating what it controls and where
it leads to. This will save time in future
repairs or changes and may be of inestimable
value in case of an emergency.
1 J How about those safety devices?
£\ Safety devices will provide as much or
more protection to you and your investment
as they will to your patrons so give
them a lot of consideration and attention.
Every steam boiler must have a safety or
pop-off valve that will release the steam
when it reaches a pre-determined pressure,
but have you ever checked yours to see if
it will work? As a rule these valves are
very seldom operated and as a consequence
have a tendency to rust and stick which
cffsets their intended purpose.
To play safe, operate the valve by hand
to free it of any tendency to bind, the first
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time each season that you get steam up
in the boiler. There is another device for
steam boilers that provides cheap protection
for your investment and that is a lowwater
cutoff. This device will shut off the
burner whenever the water in the boiler
becomes too low and prevent the cracking
of sections or the distortion and loosening
of plates and tubes in steel boilers. Of
course such a device won't be of any benefit
if the boiler is hand fired, but in that
case you should install an automatic filler
which will keep the water up to the proper
level. Where a boiler or furnace is fired
by gas it should be equipped with a safety
control that will positively shut off all
gas in case the pilot light should go out,
even during a time of power failure. Many
of the motor-operated valves now in use
will not function in such an emergency
should it occur during a period of power
failure.
Oil burners can be equally as hazardous
as gas if not properly protected. The most
potential hazard is that of oil continuing
to flow although it has failed to ignite.
There are several devices on the market
that will provide ample protection under
such conditions and it should be a "must"
on your program if your system lacks such
a device. There are many other varieties
of protective devices for various types of
automatic burners but the above described
devices will furnish essential protection In
their relative fields.
•President and general manager of Frantz Service
Company, Denver, Colo.
The MODERN THEATRE SECTION