Gas-fired New Lexington insulators for transmission lines

Gas-Fired Insulators for Transmission Lines.

The New Lexington High-Voltage Porcelain Company, of New Mexico [sic] New Lexington, Ohio, has adopted natural gas exclusively for use in the kilns in which are fired the insulators which it manufactures for transmission line service. It is claimed that the gas-firing has two distinct advantages:

First, it eliminates from the glaze of the insulator all the impurities deposited when the insulator is burned in a coal-fired kiln. There may be a considerable amount of metallic substance in the impurities, but the principal difficulty is experienced from the sulfur in coal, which is deposited in the glaze of the insulator, which leads to arcing over under test at a lower voltage than it otherwise would. After this arcing, streaks will be found on the surface of the insulator which look somewhat like crazing; these cannot be removed and act as a sure tell-tale for sulfur in the glaze.

Second, it is naturally much easier to regulate 12 gas burners, by merely turning the valve a little one way or the other, in order to keep the temperature in all parts of the kiln the same, than it is to regulate 12 coal fires to accomplish the same result. In gas-firing, therefore, a more even temperature is obtained throughout the kiln, and when the insulators are drawn from it, they are of uniform color and vitrification, free from foreign matter, and in general have a cleaner and neater appearance than is possible with the use of coal. The above considerations indicate that an increased reliability in the service may be obtained with gas-fired insulators, accompanied with a decreased feeling of worry on account of interruptions caused by faulty insulators, on the part of the operating superintendent.