Hemingray Glass Company - Muncie, Indiana

JENSEN PRODUCER SYSTEM.

It Proves to be Working Admirably at Ball

Bros. Plant at Muncie.

Muncie, Ind., Jan. 28. - The introduction of the artificial gas system at Ball Bros. glass factories, this city, is no doubt being watched with interest by the glass trade, and especially in the gas belt.

The fact that two systems have been tried here and that even your valuable paper had been led into confusing statements about them, owing to reproducing matter from a local paper, a few points about them may be appreciated by you and the glass trade.

Two weeks ago the Loomis-Pettiboon water seal system of producers, which had been in operation off and on for about a year, was abandoned. The system did not work very well in the tanks to melt the glass, and its use occasionally in the lehrs caused a sulfuric odor which made the workmen sick and the factory almost uninhabitable.

Several months ago the Jensen system of producers was introduced, and since September has been operating in one tank with such admirable results that the connections are now nearly completed to operated three more tanks on an extensive scale with this system. Excavations are also under way to introduce the system into the lehrs.

The new battery of producers is centered near the end of the lower plant, and a large pipe seven feet in diameter connects them with each of the three furnaces. The object in thus centralizing them is to facilitate the handling of coal and attending the producers. Sixty tons of coal will be required every 24 hours to run the producers for the three large tank furnaces, each of which is over 60 feet wide, and still this is said to be over one-third less coal than is consumed by the average producers.

The Jensen system burns nicely the poorest grade of Indiana coal, and is giving unusual results in Ball Bros. and Hemingray's factories here. At the latter's factory it is applied to two smaller tanks and considered entirely satisfactory. Of course it is well known how the Jensen producers work with hard coal of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

One especial advantage with the Jensen system is that it is so arranged that natural gas can be used at any time when there is a sufficient supply, and, of course, natural gas gets the preference when it can be had; but as it is not always abundant, especially in cold weather, a successful producer system for artificial gas is the next best substitute, or move their plants, which some gas belt manufacturers are reluctant about doing if they can avoid it.