Quotation from: General Science

Written by: Bertha M. Clark


When calcium carbide is used as a source of illumination, the crystals
are mechanically dropped into a tank containing water, and the gas
generated is automatically collected in a small sliding tank, whence
it passes through pipes to the various rooms. The slaked lime, formed
while the gas was generated, collects at the bottom of the tanks and
is removed from time to time.


The cost of an acetylene generator is about $50 for a small house, and
the cost of maintenance is not more than that of lamps. The generator
does not require filling oftener than once a week, and the labor is
less than that required for oil lamps. In a house in which there were
twenty burners, the tanks were filled with water and carbide but once
a fortnight. Acetylene is seldom used in large cities, but it is very
widely used in small communities and is particularly convenient in
more or less remote summer residences.

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