Kerosene stoves.—The best type is a blue-flame stove with a wick. Kerosene stoves are made with no wick, the kerosene being vaporized just before it reaches the burner, but such a stove requires occasional pumping to force the kerosene into the vaporizing chamber, and on the whole is less satisfactory than the stove with the wick. The heat is intense from this blue flame, and the burner is economical of the fuel. The small kerosene stoves, burning with a yellow flame are always inclined to smoke, and difficult to keep clean. A three- or four-burner oil stove with a portable oven will do the cooking in summer for a family of five or six. One burner consumes a gallon of oil in 15 hours. Portable double ovens are furnished with such stoves.
The kerosene stove is cheaper to operate than a gas range, even with kerosene at fourteen cents a gallon, but the heat is not under such perfect control, and the stove requires more work to keep it clean.
The one important point in the management of this blue-flame wick stove is to keep the flame down by having the wick low, and where it belongs. The cylinder around the burner prevents the escape of heat and carries it to the utensil above. A careless person, by raising the wick too high, and producing a yellow smoky flame, makes much trouble for herself. It is important to fill the tank without spilling a drop of kerosene, and to keep every part of the stove well washed off with soap and water. The wick should be rubbed off occasionally, never cut, and if an odor becomes perceptible, the burner should be taken apart and boiled in a solution of washing soda and water. The wick will need to be renewed at intervals, depending upon the amount of use that it has. With care a stove of this kind is clean and odorless.
Electric apparatus.—Figure 21 shows a table arranged for cooking by electricity, each piece of apparatus having its own connection. Compare this with the frontispiece, the method of cooking in the eighteenth century, and you will
realize how far we have progressed in the way of convenience, comfort, and heat economy. Figure 22 shows a disk stove four and a half inches in diameter, upon which a saucepan may stand, and which is therefore available for more than one purpose.
Fig. 21.—An electric cooking outfit. Courtesy of Department of Household Science, University of Illinois.
The advantages of electric cooking are obvious. The heat is directly conducted to each utensil, and a minimum amount is lost in radiation. The degree of heat is perfectly under control, and the manipulation is nothing more than the turning of a knob. When the apparatus is installed, it is adjusted to the voltage, so that no further regulation is
necessary. There are no waste products, and no matches to light or throw away. If the wiring is properly done, there is no danger from fire. The one present disadvantage is the cost. Each piece of apparatus is expensive. The cost of running must depend upon the cost of electricity in the neighborhood, and the number of watts per hour used by each piece of apparatus. The larger the utensil, the more watts consumed. The disk stove in Fig. 22 uses 250 watts; a disk of 6 inches diameter, 475 watts; of 8 inches, 650 watts. Some pieces of apparatus are arranged for three different heats, with a different number of watts for each heat. With one disk stove 10 inches in diameter, 3 heats are possible, with 250, 500, and 1000 watts respectively.