Similarly, an acetylene generator might be charged
once a week or once a day without likelihood of being forgotten; but the
operation of charging at irregular intervals would certainly prove a
nuisance. With a non-automatic apparatus containing all its gas in the
holder, the attendant would note the position of the bell each morning,
and would introduce sufficient carbide to fill the holder full, or partly
full, as the case might be; with an automatic apparatus he would be
tempted to trust that the carbide holders still contained sufficient
material to last another night.
The automatic system of generating acetylene has undoubtedly one
advantage in those climates where frost tends to occur frequently, but
only to prevail for a short period. As the apparatus is in operation
during the evening hours, the heat evolved will, or can be made to,
suffice to protect the apparatus from freezing until the danger has
passed; whereas if the gas is generated of a morning in a non-automatic
apparatus the temperature of the plant may fall to that of the atmosphere
before evening, and some portion may freeze unless special precautions
are taken to protect it.
It was shown in Chapter II that overheating is one of the chief troubles
to be guarded against in acetylene generators, and that the temperature
attained is a function of the speed at which generation proceeds.
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