Naturally, a complete
valuation of the efficiency of automatic mechanism cannot be obtained
from one or even several tests, it demands long-continued watching; but a
general notion of reliability might have been obtained. Quantitatively,
however, the test applied by the Committee is not so free from reproach,
for, from the information given, it would appear to have been less fair
to some makers of apparatus than to others. Nevertheless the report is
valuable, and indicates the general character of the most important
apparatus which were being offered for sale in the United Kingdom in
1900-1901.
It is not possible to give a direct answer to the question as to which is
the best type of acetylene generator. There are no generators made by
responsible firms at the present time which are not safe. Some may be
easier to charge and clean than others; some require more frequent
attention than others; some have moving parts less likely to fail, when
handled carelessly, than others; some have no moving mechanism to fail.
For the illumination of a large institution or district where one man can
be fully occupied in attending to the plant, cleaning, lighting, and
extinguishing the lamps, or where other work can be found for him so as
to leave him an hour or so every day to look after the apparatus, the
hand-fed carbide-to-water generator L (Fig.
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