March 4, 1916





RECORD   AND   GUIDE





359





USEFUL APPLIANCES





Novelties, New Applications of Familiar
Devices and the Trend of Invention, De¬
signed to Aid tlie Architect, Builder
and Building Manager, Described With¬
out  Regard to Advertising Consideration.





Gas   Heat   for   Apartments.

FREQUENT mention has been made
in this department of gas heating
systems for use in apartment houses and
residences and most of them have re¬
ported conditions in the natural gas belt.
The discovery has been
made that there ?.fe some
very modern and up-to-
date apartment houses in
Queens Borough that are
heated exclusively by city
gas. Through the co¬
operation of the .Ameri¬
can Gas Light Journal,
pictures of one of the nine
apartment houses in that
vicinity using gas for heat
and of the various appli¬
ances used in the system
are shown.

The    apartment    shown
is   the   Winston,   at    \'an
Alst     avenue,     northwest
corner     of     12th     street.
Long Island City, erected
last year.    It contains sixty-three apart¬
ments   of   three,    four   and   five   rooms
which rent from $4.50 to $5.00 per room
per month.

In each living-room and dining-room
there is a gas-fired steam radiator, and
the kitchens are equiiiped with coal
ranges and gas cookers. The gas for
the radiators is metered to the tenants.
The main halls and the bathrooms are
heated with hot-water heat, supplied by
the owners.

The system has proven successful as
far as the tenants are concerned, as
they can obtain heat at small expense
whenever they want it. The owners are
satisfied, as the cost of heating is re¬
duced, and there are fewer complaints
from the tenants, consequently it is easi¬
er to obtain and  keep good janitors.

When apartments are heated from a
central heating plant in the cellar, the
tenants are always at the mercy of the
janitor, and it is impossible to satisfy
all of them all the time. Some wish
heat late at night, others early in the
morning, and if the heating system is
not properly installed some of the apart¬
ments are too hot, while others are too
cold, and the pipes thump at the most
unexpected times; these objections do
not occur when gas-fired steam radiators
are used. The cost of installation of the
kind   referred   to   is   about   the   same   as





the older type of cellar supply systems,
the additional cost of the gas radiators
being offset by the saving in steam pip¬
ing.

The gas-fired steam radiator' is a port¬
able steam generator for room heating,
and consists of a cast-iron radiator of
conventional type, beneath which is a
comliusticjn chamber containing a gas
burner. The work of the appliance is to
supply heat from a small quantity of
water placed within the radiator, the
steam being generated by means of the
gas liurncr. The appliance performs the
function of a one-pipe steam-heating
system.







Gas is supplied by the East River Gas
Company, the rate being 80 cents per
1.0(1(1 cubic feet. The radiators were sup¬
plied by J. B. Slattery & Bro., Inc.

The gas piping necessary for the heat¬







ing system costs very little to install,
as it merely requires e.xtending the kit¬
chen fuel lines or the lighting lines, a
fraction of one per cent, of the total
cost of the building. The success of
tliese   installations   is   one   more   proof







of the necessity of piping modern build¬
ings throughout for gas.

There is shown the two main types
of radiators used. One view shows the
end appearance with gas feed, while the
second shows the combustion system.

The boiler and radiator are one, so
that no intermediate piping is necessary
and no heat is lost in transmission. The
radiator is so designed that it can be
used independently, or connected to a
central heating equipment of the one-
pipe type. The gas burner may be used
as an auxiliary when the main boiler
is not in operation. The radiators are
equipped with a positive air valve and a
regulator actuated by
steam pressure controls
the gas supply. The gas is
thereby reduced so that
steam pressure can never
be above five pounds per
square inch. An overflow
lining,cup shows the water
level when the cover cap
is removed. There is a
pilot lighter which, with
the safety valve, controls
x\\NN\\\v<4 the gas supply. Perfect
S^J^^^vw combustion is provided
with absence of odor from
this cause, both at the full
and shut-off consumptions,
and the burner is properly
proportioned so that flash-
hacks cannot occur.
backs cannot occur. This is made pos¬
sible through a highly perfected con¬
trol system in the form of imporving
mixing chambers  for the  gas and air.

Tlie air valve is of the positive type,
and the gas orifice is fixed—which as¬
sures satisfactory operation of the burn¬
er, as docs also the rigidity of the pip¬
ing which insures the gas jet being cen¬
trally located in the neck nf the burner.







which is important for complete com¬
bustion  in  a  blue  flame  burner.

Water is placed in the radiator
through the filling cup, wliich. when full,
indicates that the water in the radiator
is at the proper level. No gauge glass
is provided, the water being observed
by removing the cap of the filling cup,
which should be done aliout once a
week until tlie interval of time neces¬
sary for refilling the radiator is deter¬
mined, which in some cases is necessary
only once or twice during the entire
heating.

Coupled willi the many other gas
equipments that have been placed upon
the market in recent years, the modern
apartment house can be operated en¬
tirely by this fuel as has been the case
in the seven Long Island City operations,
of which the one described in the fore¬
going article is an excellent example.
X'ot only is this true of large apartments
liut the all-gas dwelling  is also  feasible.

Safety, besides, is the predominating
factor in modern gas appliances. The
1 igh development of the thermostatic
control of gas heating and similar de¬
vices has made it possible to utilize self
contained hot water radiators, hot water
heaters and even hot air furnaces with¬
out dan.ger of explosion or extinguish¬
ment,