“The economy of obtaining gas for the production of light from oil, may be judged of from the following data.”
“One gallon of common whale oil, produces about ninety cubic feet of gas.[60] An argand burner required a cubic foot and a half of gas per hour; and consequently a gallon of oil when converted into gas, will supply the same burner for sixty hours. The expence of the gas at a moderate price of oil, will be, allowing for coals, labour, &c. for producing the gas, three farthings per hour, and such a burner will give a light, equal in intensity, to two argand lamps, or ten mould candles.”
[60] Our experiments produced 105 cubic feet, from one gallon of common whale oil.—Note of the Author.
“The expence of an argand oil lamp, is usually admitted to be, about three halfpence per hour. Now supposing ten candles to be burning, four to the pound (two pound and a half,) they will cost 2s. 11d. of which one-tenth part will be consumed in each hour. The cost of the tallow light is then three pence halfpenny per hour.”
“If wax candles be employed, the expence of the light equal to an oil gas burner for one hour, by the same mode of reckoning, allowing the candle to burn ten hours, and taking the price of the wax candles, at 4s. 6d. per pound, will be about 14d.”
“The comparative account will therefore stand thus:
| PENCE. | |
|---|---|
| Cost of an Argand burner, supplied with oil gas, per hour | 03⁄4 |
| Ditto of an Argand lamp, burning spermaceti oil | 3 |
| Ditto of Tallow mould candles | 31⁄2 |
| Wax candles | 14 |
“These calculations on the cost of light from oil gas, are taken at the usual price of good whale oil, but cheaper oils will answer the purpose nearly as well, and as many of these are often to be procured, the whole expence becomes materially reduced by their use.”