Vincent Works Westminster William Sugg & Co

1837 - 1969

 

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Gas Utilisation

 

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Burners
 
Open Flame Christiania & Argand Incandescent & Superheated

 

Choose the element of 'Lighting - Burners' above to link directly to that page after reading the introduction below.

Introduction to Burners.

The development of the gas burner is the very first step in the practical use of gas.  Before the burner, gas released from any natural source occasionally caught fire - perhaps from a spark or lightning.  These natural "fire wells" as they were known could often burn for a very long time and there is a well known picture of Thomas Shirley musing over one of these 'fire wells' back in 1659.  This is of course 'natural gas' formed by the action of rotting vegetation and which, many years later, would result in the revolution of the Gas Industry as it converted from 'Towns Gas' manufactured from coal to 'Natural Gas' brought up from below the north sea.  The story goes that the Chinese used the gas from these fire wells, collected in an animal bladder, as a means of mobile lighting, by piercing holes through which the gas escaped and could be lit.  The first 'burner'?

150 years after Thomas Shirley, the small amounts of gas manufactured from coal were simply burned through a hole or series of holes in a pipe.

This type of burner is known generally as an 'Open Flame' burner and included in this section are the later developments of the open flame such as 'Governor Burners' and some details on the production of Steatite jets and other items.

The 'Christiania and Argand' burners are significant William Sugg developments of the open flame burner.

'Incandescent & Superheated'
heralds the advent of the gas mantle - a development that changed the whole lighting industry.


 

 

Copyright © Chris Sugg 2006

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