The Concealed Automatic Burner.
Fig. 19.
This automatic, Fig. 19, consists of two iron-clad magnets, placed one above the other, between which is located a gas valve. Through an extension of the latter a pin is driven, one end acted upon by the upper armature to open the valve and ignite the gas, the other by the lower armature which serves to close the valve and extinguish the flame. Around the burner is placed a porcelain candle slip of 3/4-inch diameter and from 4-3/4 inches in length upwards.
CHAPTER III.
Connections and Wiring.
Fig. 20 shows how to connect up an automatic burner with two pushes; thus one can be downstairs in the hall and the other upstairs, allowing one to either extinguish or light the gas from either place. The value of this arrangement is obvious; it allows one to light up the hall before descending at night, or to put out the gas after one is safely upstairs. Again, an automatic burner can be put in the cellar and lighted and extinguished from the head of the cellar-stairs, saving matches and danger of fire.
Fig. 21 shows the connections of one automatic burner and two pendant or rachet burners. P P are the pendent burners, A the automatic burner, C the primary coil, S the buttons which control the automatic burner, M M M the cells of battery, of which there should be at least four, if not six. A low-resistance cell must be used here, as before mentioned, one that gives not less than 5 amperes on short circuit. It will be seen here that one side of the battery is connected to ground (or gas pipe), the circuit being completed owing to the burners being themselves screwed into the gas pipe. Care must be taken, however, to first see that no insulating bushings have been used at the gas fixtures, as is done in wiring for electric light. In this case a double circuit will have to be run.
Fig. 20.
Fig. 21.
In wiring up an automatic burner with two electro-magnets, two wires are run, one from the black button and one from the white button on push-plate. Most burners have binding posts inside the case, the wires running through a rubber-bushed hole in the base. One of the greatest defects in the old style automatics arose from the two binding posts being fixed on a hard rubber block, which was held by one screw to the burner top. This screw got loose at times and the block used to twist, making it hard to tighten the wires. But improvements have been made in this direction, the later burners having a block with a projection which engages in a hole in the cover, and is held by two screws.
If the push has been set in place, and all wiring done, connect up the burner, first ascertaining to which binding post the two wires run. This is done by having one button pressed, the lighting (white) one, for example, and then touching the binding post with either wire. The lighting armature will buzz violently when touched, whereas the extinguishing one only strikes once when contact is made. When only one person is working, a pin can be wedged in the push so as to keep the circuit closed.
In setting up these burners care must be taken not to bend contacts or alter adjustments, and absolute precaution is necessary that no wires touch where uninsulated. A cause of trouble is a dirty burner which does not allow the gas to strike the contact spark. The collar carrying the second contact may shift, or perhaps become short-circuited in a pendant or ratchet burner; a strip of asbestos will remedy this.