It should be built for service, to last and not simply to sell;
anything short of this is to be avoided as unsafe and unreliable.
It must be simple. The more complicated the machine the sooner it will get
out of order. Understand your generator. Know what is inside of it and
beware of an apparatus, however attractive its exterior, whose interior is
filled with pipes and tubes, valves and diaphragms whose functions you do
not perfectly understand.
It should be capable of being cleaned and recharged and of receiving all
other necessary attention without loss of gas, both for economy's sake, and
more particularly to avoid danger of fire.
It should require little attention. All machines have to be emptied and
recharged periodically; but the more this process is simplified and the
more quickly this can be accomplished, the better.
It should be provided with a suitable indicator to designate how low the
charge is in order that the refilling may be done in good season.
It should completely use up the carbide, generating the maximum amount of
gas.
_Overheating._--A large amount of heat is liberated when acetylene gas
is formed from the union of calcium carbide and water. Overheating during
this process, that is to say, an intense local heat rather than a large
amount of heat well distributed, brings about the phenomenon of
polymerization, converting the gas, or part of it, into oily matters, which
can do nothing but harm.
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