Discussion on “thirty years´ progress in the electric furnace” (Fitzgerald), Boston, Mass., June 25, 1912. (see proceedings for June, 1912)

Carl Hering: I am very glad to see that Mr. FitzGerald emphasized the fact that the cost of the energy is not the principal item in an electric furnace; so many people seem to think that it is; the cost of the electrodes, the cost of the furnace, the saving of labor, the better quality of the product, etc., should also be considered. If the product is more valuable you could stand a greater cost, and if the electric furnace should save labor, a very little labor cost will pay for much energy. Mr. FitzGerald speaks of using fuel heat in conjunction with electric heat. It seems to me it is better to use them in series than in multiple, to use electrical terms, that is, not to use them simultaneously, but to preheat with fuel and then get the higher temperatures by electric heat; the heat absorbed b y preheating the metal will be found to be quite a large part of the total. Connecting carbon electrodes together, to avoid butts, gets over some of the electrode trouble, but on the other hand that junction is liable to break, allowing the butts to drop on to the bath, and to get those butts out of the bath is sometimes a very serious matter.